G.R. No.

161434 March 3, 2004

MARIA JEANETTE C. TECSON and FELIX B. DESIDERIO, JR., petitioners,

vs.
The COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS, RONALD ALLAN KELLY POE (a.k.a. FERNANDO POE,
JR.) and VICTORINO X. FORNIER, respondents.

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G.R. No. 161634 March 3, 2004

ZOILO ANTONIO VELEZ, petitioner,

vs.
RONALD ALLAN KELLEY POE, a.k.a. FERNANDO POE, JR., respondent.

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G. R. No. 161824 March 3, 2004

VICTORINO X. FORNIER, petitioner,

vs.
HON. COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS and RONALD ALLAN KELLEY POE, ALSO KNOWN AS
FERNANDO POE JR., respondents.

Facts:

On December 2003, Ronald Allan Kelly Poe, also known as Fernando Poe Jr. Filed his
Certificate of Candidacy (COC) for the position of the President of the Republic of the
Philippines. In his Certificate of Candidacy FPJ representing himself to be a natural-born citizen
of the Philippines, his name to be “Fernando Jr. or “Ronald Allan”, his date of birth 20 August
1939, and his place of birth to be Manila. In GR No. 161824, petitioner Victorino X. Forneir
with docketed SPA No. 04-003 to disqualify FPJ or to cancel his COC upon material
misrepresentation by claiming to be a natural born citizen when in truth his parents were
foreigners; his mother Bessy Kelly Poe, was an American, and his father, Allan Poe, a Spanish
National, being the son of Lorenzo Pou, a Spanish subject. The COMELEC on January 23, 2004
dismissed the petition SPA No.04-003 for lack of Merit. Petitioner filed his motion for
reconsideration and was denied by the COMELEC En Banc. On February 10, 2004, petitioner
assailed the decision of the COMELEC in its jurisdiction on the matter when it took cognizance
of SPA No. 04-003 stating that under Article VII, Section 4, Par 7 of the 1987 Constitution that
only the Supreme Court has original and exclusive jurisdiction to resolve the basic issue of the
case. The said provision was then invoked by two other petitions GR No. 161434 and GR No.
161634 both urging the Supreme Court to take the petition directly under their institution.
Issue:

Whether or not the COMELEC committed an abuse in accepting FPJ’s Certificate of

Candidacy as a natural-born citizen even if he’s of a foreign parents and whether or not the
Supreme Court has jurisdiction on the matter on the question of ‘qualification of candidate.’

Held:

Article VII Section 2 of the Constitution, “No person may be elected President unless he
is a natural born citizen of the Philippines...” Natural Born Citizen we define to include “those
who are citizens of the Philippines from birth without having to perform any act to acquire or
perfect their Philippine citizenship.

The COMELEC did not violate any provisions in accepting Fernando Poe Jr. COC in
holding that he is a Filipino citizen. FPJ was born on August 20,1939 during the regime of 1935
Constitution. The prevailing law on citizenship was that of “those fathers are citizen of the
Philippines.” There are only two qualification of a person to be natural, jus soli and jus
sanguinis. The former is citizenship determined by the place of its birth and the latter determined
by its Parent’s Citizenship. Upon tracing respondent’s paternal lineage, his grandfather Lorenzo
Pou in his death certificate was identified as FILIPINO and a resident of San Carlos,
Pangasinan. His citizenship was drawn from the presumption that having died in 1954 at the age
of 84, he would have been born in 1870. However, in the absence of any other evidence,
Lorenzo’s residence upon his death was presumed to be his place of residence and that he was
benefitted by the “Mass Filipinization” appeared on the Philippine Bill of 1902 or commonly
known as Philippine Organic Act,

“that all inhabitants of the Philippine Islands continuing to reside therein, who were
Spanish subjects on the 11th day of April 1899, and then resided in said islands, and their
children born subsequently thereto shall be deemed citizens of the Philippines.

Thus, Lorenzo Pou’s citizenship would have extend to his son Allan Pou who was FPJ’s
father. The respondent FPJ, having been acknowledge as Allan’s son to Bessie Kelly who was
an American Citizen, was a FILIPINO CITIZEN by virtue of Paternal Filiation as evidence of
FPJ birth certificate and of the consideration of the provision of the constitution.

On the issue of whether the Supreme Court has jurisdiction over the qualification of
candidate the Supreme Court has NO JURISDICTION regarding the qualification for the
Presidency or Vice Presidency. The petitioner in GR. 161434 and GR. 161634 upon invoking
Article VII, Section 4, Par 7 of the Constitution which states that,
 “The Supreme Court, sitting en banc, shall be the sole judge of all contest relating
to the election, returns and qualification of the President and Vice President and may
promulgate its rule for the purpose.”

The “contest” is in reference to a post-election scenario. Election contest consists of

either an election protest or q quo warranto which although two distinct remedies, would have an
objective view and that to DISLODGE THE WINNING CANDIDATE FROM THE OFFICE.

The jurisdiction of the tribunal over contest relating to election are those returns and
qualification of the President and Vice President of the Philippines and NOT of
“CANDIDATES. In such context, the election contest can only contemplate POST-ELECTION
scenario. It is fair to conclude that the jurisdiction defined by Article VII, Section 4, Par. 7 of the
1987 Constitution would not include cases of ‘candidates’ for President and Vice President
making the decision of COMELEC En Banc Valid.

Accordingly GR No. 161434 and GR 161634 would have to DISMISSED for want of
jurisdiction.