Prieto, Reyes, Senador

As part of the Adoptive Parents and Adopted Children Association, we believe and
reiterate that Mary Grace Poe-Llamanzares is a natural born Filipino Citizen based on
the Constitution, local and international laws.

Is Grace Poe a natural born Filipino?

Sec. 1, Art. 4 of the 1987 Constitution states who are Filipino citizens:

(1) Those who are citizens of the Philippines at the time of the adoption of the
Constitution

(2) Those whose fathers and mothers are citizens of the Philippines

(3) Those born before January 17, 1973, of Filipino mothers, who elect Philippine
citizenship upon reaching the age of majority

(4) Those who are naturalized in accordance with law

Sec. 2, however, describes who are natural born citizens:

Natural born citizens are those who are citizens of the Philippines from birth without
having to perform any act to acquire or perfect their Philippine citizenship.

The constitution speaks of 2 kinds of Filipino citizens: Natural-born and naturalized

Filipino citizens.

As already stated earlier, natural born citizens are those who do not need to perform any
act to acquire or perfect their Philippine citizenship. This includes the situations stated
on (1) to (3) of Sec. 1 Art. 4 of the 1987 Constitution. A naturalized Filipino citizen, is
the opposite of a natural born, because such person who wants to become a Filipino
citizen, should perform an act to perfect or acquire Philippine citizenship (RA 9139).
Because Grace Poe no longer needs to perform any act to become a Filipino, it can be
concluded that she is a natural born Filipino citizen.

In the laws on adoption--The Inter-Country Adoption Act of 1995 (RA 8043), Domestic
Adoption Act of 1998 (RA 8552), and Rule on Adoption (A.M. No. 02-6-02-SC), all
expressly refer to “Filipino children” and include foundlings as among Filipino children
who may be adopted. Moreover, these laws state that the adoptee may only be adopted if
he/she is a Filipino. Provided that the law includes “foundlings” as persons who can be
adopted, it can be concluded that “foundlings” are treated as natural-born Filipinos in the
laws on adoption. Thus, it is only logical that Grace Poe, as a foundling, found in the
Philippines, is a natural-born Filipino even prior to her being adopted by her adoptive
parents, rendering the issue of the citizenship of her parents, whether biological or
adoptive parents—merely superfluous .
Furthermore, based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, UN Convention on
the Rights of the Child, and 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,
the grant of nationality must be at the time of birth, and it cannot be accomplished by the
application of our present naturalization laws, Commonwealth Act 473, and RA 9139,
both of which require the applicant to be at least 18 years old.

Additionally, under Art. 14 of the 1930 Hague Convention on Certain Questions

Relating to the Conflict of Nationality Laws, even if the Philippines has not ratified it
but through generally accepted principles of international law, foundlings are presumed
to have the “nationality of the country of birth:

Article 14

A child whose parents are both unknown shall have the nationality o f the country o f
birth. If the child's parentage is established, its nationality shall be determined by the
rules applicable in cases where the parentage is known.

A foundling is, until the contrary is proved, presumed to have been born on the territory
of the State in which it was found.

In conclusion, we believe that Grace Poe is more than qualified to run for the Senate in
2019 for being a natural-born citizen. The issue of her being a foundling should not be a
hindrance nor a deterrent for her to serve the country under the Constitution, local, and
international laws.