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Actress Susan Roces came to the defense of her daughter, Senator Grace Poe, amid losing senatorial candidate Rizalino David’s accusations that the latter wasn’t forthcoming about her citizenship.
“David accused Poe of not being a Filipino since she only lost her US citizenship in the last quarter of 2012 based on the US Registry. He also claimed Poe failed to satisfy the 10-year residency requirement for senatorial candidates. David earlier filed a quo warranto petition against Poe before the Senate Electoral Tribunal, citing a similar complaint. The camp of Sen. Poe has since branded David’s case as a form of ‘harassment,'” reports ABS-CBNnews.com.
In an interview with reporters, the 74-year-old Roces said, “Nakakabit pa ang pusod niya nung siya ay matagpuan sa simabahan ng Jaro. Kukuwestiyunin nila kung citizen siya ng bansang ito? Hindi ko alam kung ano ang pamantayan nila (Her umbilical cord was still intact when they found her at the church in Jaro. But they question her citizenship? I don’t know what their basis is).”
The report recalled that “Poe was found in Iloilo’s Jaro Cathedral back in 1968, and she was later legally adopted by Roces and her late husband, film star Fernando Poe Jr.”
Roces added: “Wala silang karapatan na duru-duruin ang anak ko at tawaging hindi [siya] citizen ng bansang ito. (They have no right to keep taunting my daughter about not being a citizen of this country).”
Photo: Press release
