Topic: Dual Citizenship/ Dual Allegiance
JAPSON VS. COMELEC
Facts:
Ø Both petitioner Manuel
B. Japzon (Japzon) and private respondent Jaime S. Ty (Ty) were candidates for
the Office of Mayor of the Municipality of General Macarthur, Eastern Samar, in
the local elections held on 14 May 2007.
Ø Japzon instituted SPA
No. 07-568 by filing before the COMELEC a Petition[5] to disqualify
and/or cancel Ty's Certificate of Candidacy on the ground of material
misrepresentation. Japzon averred in his Petition that Ty was a former
natural-born Filipino, having been born on 9 October 1943 in what was then
Pambujan Sur, Hernani Eastern Samar (now the Municipality of General Macarthur,
Easter Samar) to spouses Ang Chim Ty (a Chinese) and Crisanta Aranas Sumiguin
(a Filipino).
Ø Ty eventually migrated
to the United States of America (USA) and became a citizen thereof. Ty had been
residing in the USA for the last 25 years. When Ty filed his Certificate of
Candidacy on 28 March 2007, he falsely represented therein that he was a resident
of Barangay6, Poblacion, General Macarthur, Eastern Samar, for one
year before 14 May 2007, and was not a permanent resident or immigrant of any
foreign country.
Ø While Ty may have
applied for the reacquisition of his Philippine citizenship, he never actually
resided in Barangay 6, Poblacion, General Macarthur, Eastern
Samar, for a period of one year immediately preceding the date of election as
required under Section 39 of Republic Act No. 7160, otherwise known as the
Local Government Code of 1991
Ø Inspite of having reacquisition in his Philippine
citizenship, Ty continued to make trips to the USA, the most recent of which
was on 31 October 2006 lasting until 20 January 2007.
Ø Ty already took his
Oath of Allegiance to the Republic of the Philippines, he continued to comport
himself as an American citizen as proven by his travel records. He had also
failed to renounce his foreign citizenship as required by Republic Act No.
9225, otherwise known as the Citizenship Retention and Reacquisition Act of 2003,
or related laws.
Ø Japzon prayed for in
his Petition that the COMELEC order the disqualification of Ty from running for
public office and the cancellation of the latter's Certificate of Candidacy.
Ø Ty admitted that he
was a natural-born Filipino who went to the USA to work and subsequently became
a naturalized American citizen. Ty claimed, however, that prior to filing his
Certificate of Candidacy for the Office of Mayor of the Municipality of General
Macarthur, Eastern Samar, on 28 March 2007, he already performed the following
acts: (1) with the enactment of Republic Act No. 9225, granting dual
citizenship to natural-born Filipinos, Ty filed with the Philippine Consulate
General in Los Angeles, California, USA, an application for the reacquisition
of his Philippine citizenship; (2) on 2 October 2005, Ty executed an Oath of
Allegiance to the Republic of the Philippines before Noemi T. Diaz, Vice Consul
of the Philippine Consulate General in Los Angeles, California, USA; (3) Ty
applied for a Philippine passport indicating in his application that his
residence in the Philippines was at A. Mabini St., Barangay 6,
Poblacion, General Macarthur, Eastern Samar. Ty's application was approved and
he was issued on 26 October 2005 a Philippine passport; (4) on 8 March 2006, Ty
personally secured and signed his Community Tax Certificate (CTC) from the
Municipality of General Macarthur, in which he stated that his address was
at Barangay 6, Poblacion, General Macarthur, Eastern Samar;
(5) thereafter, on 17 July 2006, Ty was registered as a voter in Precinct
0013A, Barangay 6, Poblacion, General Macarthur, Eastern
Samar; (6) Ty secured another CTC dated 4 January 2007 again stating therein
his address as Barangay 6, Poblacion, General Macarthur,
Eastern Samar; and (7) finally, Ty executed on 19 March 2007 a duly notarized
Renunciation of Foreign Citizenship.
Ø He had reacquired his
Philippine citizenship and renounced his American citizenship, and he had been
a resident of the Municipality of General Macarthur, Eastern Samar, for more
than one year prior to the 14 May 2007 elections. Therefore, Ty sought the
dismissal of Japzon's Petition in SPA No. 07-568.
Ty acquired the highest number of votes and was declared Mayor of the Municipality of General Macarthur, Eastern Samar, by the Municipal Board of Canvassers on 15 May 2007.[7]
Ty acquired the highest number of votes and was declared Mayor of the Municipality of General Macarthur, Eastern Samar, by the Municipal Board of Canvassers on 15 May 2007.[7]
Ø The COMELEC First
Division found that Ty complied with the requirements of Sections 3 and 5 of
Republic Act No. 9225 and reacquired his Philippine citizenship, to wit:
Philippine citizenship
is an indispensable requirement for holding an elective public office, and the
purpose of the citizenship qualification is none other than to ensure that no
alien, i.e., no person owing allegiance to another nation, shall
govern our people and our country or a unit of territory thereof.
Ø Evidences revealed that Ty executed an Oath
of Allegiance before Noemi T. Diaz, Vice Consul of the Philippine
Consulate General, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A. on October 2, 2005 and
executed a Renunciation of Foreign Citizenship on March 19,
2007 in compliance with R.A. [No.] 9225. Moreover, neither is Ty a candidate
for or occupying public office nor is in active service as commissioned or
non-commissioned officer in the armed forces in the country of which he was
naturalized citizen
Ø
Ty did not commit
material misrepresentation in stating in his Certificate of Candidacy that he
was a resident of Barangay 6, Poblacion, General Macarthur,
Eastern Samar, for at least one year before the elections on 14 May 2007. It
reasoned that: Although Ty has lost his domicile in [the] Philippines when he was
naturalized as U.S. citizen in 1969, the reacquisition of his Philippine
citizenship and subsequent acts thereof proved that he has been a resident of
Barangay 6, Poblacion, General Macarthur, Eastern Samar for at least one (1)
year before the elections held on 14 May 2007 as he represented in his
certificate of candidacy.
Ø
The petition was
denied and COMELEC was in favor of the defendant failing to obtain a favorable
resolution from the COMELEC, Japzon proceeded to file the instant Petition
for Certiorari, that the COMELEC had committed grave abuse of
discretion and lack of discretion for dismissing the petition.
Ø
Japzon prays for the
Court to annul and set aside the Resolutions dated 31 July 2007 and 28
September 2007 of the COMELEC First Division and en banc,
respectively; to issue a new resolution denying due course to or canceling Ty's
Certificate of Candidacy; and to declare Japzon as the duly elected Mayor of
the Municipality of General Macarthur, Eastern Samar.
Ø
Ty sought the
dismissal of the present Petition. According to Ty, the COMELEC already found
sufficient evidence to prove that Ty was a resident of the Municipality of
General Macarthur, Eastern Samar, one year prior to the 14 May 2007 local
elections. The Court cannot evaluate again the very same pieces of evidence
without violating the well-entrenched rule that findings of fact of the COMELEC
are binding on the Court.
Ø
The Office of the
Solicitor General (OSG), meanwhile, is of the position that Ty failed to meet
the one-year residency requirement set by law to qualify him to run as a
mayoralty candidate in the 14 May 2007 local elections.The Court finds no merit
in the Petition at bar.
Ø
. On 19 March
2007, he personally executed a Renunciation of Foreign Citizenship before a
notary public. By the time he filed his Certificate of Candidacy for the Office
of Mayor of the Municipality of General Macarthur, Eastern Samar, on 28
March 2007, he had already effectively renounced his American citizenship,
keeping solely his Philippine citizenship.
Ø
The
Court of Appeals set
aside the appealed orders of the COMELEC and the Court of Appeals and annulled
the election of the respondent as Municipal Mayor of Bolinao, Pangasinan on the
ground that respondent's immigration to the United States in 1984 constituted
an abandonment of his domicile and
residence in the Philippines. Being a green card holder, which was proof that
he was a permanent resident or immigrant of the United States, and in the absence
of any waiver of his status as such before he ran for election on January 18,
1988, respondent was held to be disqualified under §68 of the Omnibus Election
Code of the Philippines (Batas Pambansa Blg. 881).
ISSUE:
Whether or not the defedant has complied with the residency
requirement for elective positions.
RULING:
Yes, the defendant solely complied the
residency requirements for elective position.
Ø It bears to point out
that Republic Act No. 9225 governs the manner in which a natural-born Filipino
may reacquire or retain[17] his Philippine citizenship despite acquiring a foreign
citizenship, and provides for his rights and liabilities under such circumstances.
A close scrutiny of said statute would reveal that it does not at all touch on
the matter of residence of the natural-born Filipino taking advantage of its
provisions. Republic Act No. 9225 imposes no residency requirement for the
reacquisition or retention of Philippine citizenship; nor does it mention any
effect of such reacquisition or retention of Philippine citizenship on the
current residence of the concerned natural-born Filipino. Clearly, Republic Act
No. 9225 treats citizenship independently of residence. This is only logical
and consistent with the general intent of the law to allow for dual
citizenship.
Ø There is no basis for
this Court to require Ty to stay in and never leave at all the Municipality of
General Macarthur, Eastern Samar, for the full one-year period prior to the 14
May 2007 local elections so that he could be considered a resident thereof. To
the contrary, the Court has previously ruled that absence from residence to
pursue studies or practice a profession or registration as a voter other than
in the place where one is elected, does not constitute loss of residence.[24] The Court also
notes, that even with his trips to other countries, Ty was actually present in
the Municipality of General Macarthur, Eastern Samar, Philippines, for at least
nine of the 12 months preceding the 14 May 2007 local elections. Even if length
of actual stay in a place is not necessarily determinative of the fact of
residence therein, it does strongly support and is only consistent with Ty's
avowed intent in the instant case to establish residence/domicile in the Municipality of General
Macarthur, Eastern Samar.
Ø Japzon repeatedly
brings to the attention of this Court that Ty arrived in the Municipality of
General Macarthur, Eastern Samar, on 4 May 2006 only to comply with the
one-year residency requirement, so Ty could run as a mayoralty candidate in the
14 May 2007 elections. In Aquino v. COMELEC,[25] the Court did
not find anything wrong in an individual changing residences so he could run
for an elective post, for as long as he is able to prove with reasonable
certainty that he has effected a change of residence for election law purposes
for the period required by law. As this Court already found in the present
case, Ty has proven by substantial evidence that he had established residence/domicile in the
Municipality of General Macarthur, Eastern Samar, by 4 May 2006, a little over
a year prior to the 14 May 2007 local elections, in which he ran as a candidate
for the Office of the Mayor and in which he garnered the most number of votes.
Ø To successfully
challenge Ty's disqualification, Japzon must clearly demonstrate that Ty's
ineligibility is so patently antagonistic to constitutional and legal
principles that overriding such ineligibility and thereby giving effect to the
apparent will of the people would ultimately create greater prejudice to the
very democratic institutions and juristic traditions that our Constitution and
laws so zealously protect and promote. In this case, Japzon failed to substantiate
his claim that Ty is ineligible to be Mayor of the Municipality, the instant
Petition for Certiorari is dismiss.
