FAST FACTS: Poll candidates who

faced disqualification due to

citizenship issues
Apart from Grace Poe, there are candidates in the past whose citizenship was also
questioned. Here they are.

Reynaldo Santos Jr

@reysantosjr
Published 5:30 PM, July 13, 2015
Updated 12:10 AM, July 14, 2015
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MANILA, Philippines The 1987 Philippine Constitution has made

it clear that only those who are "natural-born citizens of the
Philippines" can run for national elective positions.

Also, the Local Government Code says dual citizenship and

permanent residency outside the country are grounds for
disqualification of local elective officials.

That's why during an election season, issues on citizenship surface

to discredit some candidates and potential poll contenders the
latest of which, is 2016 presidential contender Senator Grace Poe.

Poe admitted she used to hold dual citizenship, but stressed she
renounced her US citizenship before she joined government
thus reverting to being a natural-born Filipino. (READ: Grace Poe:
I'm a natural born Filipino citizen)

Other candidates in the past were faced with the same issue, and
most of them were able to successfully prove their eligibility to
participate in the elections and be elected to a post. Here are some
of them:

Fernando Poe Jr
2004 elections

CAMPAIGN. Movie actor and opposition presidential candidate Fernando Poe Jr

greets his supporters in Malabon on June 15, 2004. File photo by Dennis M.
Sabangan/EPA

The lady senator's fate resembles that of his father, Fernando Poe Jr
(FPJ), who faced the same issue when he ran for president in 2004.

A disqualification case was filed against FPJ, claiming that the

actor-turned-candidate acquired the citizenship of his American
mother at birth because his father a Spanish-turned-Filipino
citizen did not acknowledge him in his birth certificate.

In March 2004 two months before the polls the Supreme Court
(SC) favored FPJ's candidacy. (READ: FPJ's citizenship woes a
glimpse of Grace Poe's battle ahead)

The results of the poll didn't favor Poe, however, as he lost to then
incumbent president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo with just a small
margin.

Edu Manzano
1998 elections

CONFISCATION. Edu Manzano shows copies of pirated DVDs seized and

impounded at an airport cargo terminal. File photo by Rolex dela Pea/EPA

Just like Poe, Manzano also failed to snatch a national elective post,
as he ran but lost in the 2010 vice presidential elections.

But before his failed vice presidential bid, he actually ran for vice
mayor of Makati City in 1998 and won.

His victory, however, didn't come uncontested. His proclamation

was delayed due to a case filed against him that claimed he was an
American citizen. Manzano was born in San Francisco, California
in 1955 to both Filipino parents.

The Commission on Elections (Comelec), however, sided with

Manzano, saying that he did not take an oath of allegiance to the
US, and that he was even a registered voter in the past elections.

The case was raised to the Supreme Court, which confirmed the
Comelec's decision.

Manzano stayed in his post for just one term. He ran for mayor in
the 2001 elections but lost to Jejomar Binay the same official who
defeated him in the 2010 vice presidential elections.

Emilio Mario "Lito" Osmea

1988 elections

POLITICAL CLAN. Lito Osmea is the grandson of former president Sergio Osmea.
Photo from Osmea's Facebook page

Another contested local poll victory was that of Osmea, who won
as Cebu governor in the 1988 elections.

His proclamation was also suspended after a petition was filed,

which claimed that he is an American citizen, and that he holds
an Alien Certificate of Registration.

Osmea was born on September 11, 1938 in Cebu to a Filipino

father (Emilio Osmea, son of former president Sergio
Osmea) and a foreigner mother.

The Comelec dismissed in June 1988 the disqualification case "for

not having been timely filed and for lack of sufficient proof that
[Osmea] is not a Filipino citizen."

Alfredo Lim
1998 and 2013 elections

FORMER SENATOR. Alfredo Lim was elected senator in 2004, but opted not to
finish his term and instead ran for mayor in 2007. File photo by Patricia Evangelista

The former Manila City mayor has been faced with questions about
his citizenship not just in one instance.

In the 1998 elections, when he ran for president, a petition was filed
to disqualify Lim due to his citizenship. Petitioners claimed that a
1929 birth certificate found in the National Archives mentioned that
his parents are "Chinese Mestizo and Chinese Mestiza." A second
birth certificate issued a year later indicated that his parents are
Filipino.

The Comelec dismissed the petition, saying that a birth certificate

simply can't prove one's citizenship.

The Supreme Court didn't proceed with deciding on the merits of

the case, however, as Lim eventually lost in that presidential race.

The issue was again raised in the 2013 elections, when former
president Joseph Estrada hinted at the possibility of filing a
disqualification case against rival Lim. The filing didn't push
through, however, and Estrada eventually won in the polls.

Regina Reyes
2013 elections

EVIDENCE. Regina Reyes shows evidence that will prove she's a natural-born
Filipino. File photo by Ace Tamayo

Reyes ran and won as Marinduque representative in 2013. But she

still ended up being disqualified due to a case filed against her.

The case against her stemmed from a blog article that showed
documents of Reyes using her US passport on June 30, 2012, and
records from the Bureau of Immigration (BID) showing that she is
an American citizen.

Reyes claimed she has always been a natural-born Filipino, and that
she has renounced the American citizenship she acquired because of
her marriage. She even denounced the blog article as "hearsay".

The Supreme Court initially ruled against Reyes, with Reyes

claiming thatAssociate Justice Presbitero Velasco Jr influenced the
decision. Velasco is the father of Reyes' opponent in the 2013 polls.

Despite the Comelec proclaiming Velasco as winner, the House of

Representatives formally recognized Reyes in its roll call of
members. Rappler.com

Filed under:alfredo limcitizenshipdisqualificationedu manzanoelection

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