CANDIDACY

8. MITRA vs COMELEC

G.R. No. 191938

FACTS:

When his COC for the position of Governor of Palawan was declared cancelled, Mitra was the incumbent
Representative of the Second District of Palawan. This district then included, among other territories,
the Municipality of Aborlan and Puerto Princesa City. He was elected Representative as a domiciliary
of Puerto Princesa City, and represented the legislative district for three (3) terms immediately before
the elections of 2010.

On March 26, 2007 (or before the end of Mitra’s second term as
Representative), Puerto PrincesaCity was reclassified as a "highly urbanized city" and thus ceased to be a
component city of theProvince of Palawan. The direct legal consequence of this new status was the
ineligibility of PuertoPrincesa City residents from voting for candidates for elective provincial officials.

On March 20, 2009, with the intention of running for the position of Governor, Mitra applied for the
transfer of his Voter’s Registration Record from Precinct No. 03720 of Brgy. Sta.
Monica, PuertoPrincesa City, to Sitio Maligaya,Brgy. Isaub, Municipality of Aborlan, Province of Palawan.
He subsequently filed his COC for the position of Governor of Palawan as a resident of Aborlan.

Soon thereafter, respondents Antonio V. Gonzales and Orlando R. Balbon, Jr. (the respondents) filed a
petition to deny due course or to cancel Mitra’s COC.

ISSUE:

Whether or not Mitra is qualified to run for Governor of Palawan.

HELD: YES.

Mitra is qualified to rum for the position as Governor of Palawan. The Supreme Court ruled that Mitra
did not misrepresent himself and that he met the residency requirement as mandated by the
Constitution.

The election of Abraham Kahlil Mitra as governor of Palawan in the May 10, 2010 elections was upheld
in a vote of 11-3. The respondents were not able to present a convincing case sufficient to overcome
Mitra’s evidence of effective transfer to and residence in Aborlan and the validity of his representation
on this point in his COC. Likewise, the "COMELEC could not present any legally acceptable basis to
conclude that Mitra’s statement in his COC regarding his residence was a misrepresentation."