A graceful way out for Sen. Grace Poe Llamanzares

THE ORAL ARGUMENTS at the Supreme Court on the quo warranto (“by what warrant?”) suit against Sen. Grace Poe Llamanzares before the Senate Electoral Tribunal proved to be an absolute disaster for the respondent, even though she was not present at the proceedings, and the final ruling on the case has yet to be formally pronounced and promulgated at a later date. The suit questions the right of Mrs. Llamanzares to sit in the Senate, in light of the fact that she is not a natural-born citizen of the Philippines, contrary to her false claim.

Upon interpellation of Atty. Manuelito Luna, counsel for petitioner Lito David, on Monday, SET chairman Senior SC Associate Justice Antonio Carpio categorically declared Mrs. Llamanzares is not a natural-born Filipino, which is an absolute requirement not only for becoming a senator, but also for running for the presidency, which she has announced to seek. A natural-born citizen is one who is a citizen from birth without having to perform any act to acquire or perfect his/her citizenship. One who is not a citizen from birth can never be a natural-born citizen at any stage in his/her life. This is the unchangeable situation of Mrs. Llamanzares.