POE-LLAMANZARES vs.

COMELEC
G.R. No. 221697 March 8, 2016
PEREZ, J.

Facts:

Mary Grace Natividad S. Poe-Llamanzares (petitioner) was found abandoned as a newborn infant in
the Parish Church of Jaro, Iloilo City. In her Foundling Certificate and Certificate of Live Birth, the
petitioner was given the name "Mary Grace Natividad Contreras Militar." When petitioner was five (5)
years old, celebrity spouses Ronald Allan Kelley Poe (a.k.a. Fenando Poe, Jr.) and Jesusa Sonora
Poe (a.k.a. Susan Roces) filed a petition for her adoption. The trial court granted their petition and
ordered that petitioner's name be changed from "Mary Grace Natividad Contreras Militar" to "Mary
Grace Natividad Sonora Poe."

Issue:

Whether or not a foundling is a natural-born citizen

Whether or not petitioner is disqualified to run for a position in the Philippine Senate

Ruling:

Yes. As a matter of law, foundlings are as a class, natural-born citizens. Domestic laws on adoption
also support the principle that foundlings are Filipinos. These laws do not provide that adoption
confers citizenship upon the adoptee. Under Article IV, Section 2 "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." In the first place, "having to perform an act" means that the act must be
personally done by the citizen. In this instance, the determination of foundling status is done not by
the child but by the authorities. Secondly, the object of the process is the determination of the
whereabouts of the parents, not the citizenship of the child.

The Decree of Adoption issued which approved petitioner's adoption by Jesusa Sonora Poe and
Ronald Allan Kelley Poe, expressly refers to Emiliano and his wife, Rosario Militar, as her "foundling
parents," hence effectively affirming petitioner's status as a foundling.

In this instance, such an issue is moot because there is no dispute that petitioner is a foundling, as
evidenced by a Foundling Certificate issued in her favor.