No ‘birthright’ to be elected

Orphan can’t be the President

ALEADING contender for the Philippine presidency, Senator Grace Poe, could be barred from standing next year after the election commission ruled she was not a “natural-born” Filipino.

The neophyte politician, who topped the senatorial election in 2013, was a foundling with unknown parents and was adopted and raised by Philippine movie stars.

She went to study in the United States in the late 1980s and lived there until April 2005, although she briefly returned to the Philippines to help her father in the 2004 presidential election campaign.

“Seven members of the commission believe that Poe is not a natural-born citizen,” Commission on Elections chairman Andres Bautista said, adding she had five days to get the Supreme Court to stop the commission enforcing yesterday’s ruling.

Under the constitution, a Philippine president must be a “natural-born citizen”, literate, at least 40 years old and a resident of the country for 10 years before the vote.

Bautista said the commission also found Poe, 47, failed to comply with the 10-year residency requirement.

Poe, who for a time became a naturalised US citizen, returned to the Philippines when her movie star father Fernando Poe jnr died seven months after being defeated in the May 2004 presidential election.

She maintains she has renounced her US citizenship and also fulfilled the residency requirement.

She plans to appeal to the Supreme Court on Monday.

Poe was the clear front-runner when she announced her candidacy in September.

However, she lost her outright lead amid legal challenges to her candidacy. — AFP