Gallego V.

Verra

A.WON p et it ioner lost his domicile in Abu yog b y wor king in Malyba lay, r egist er ing as a vot er and vot ed ther e in elect ion of

Pet it ioner was declar ed mu nicipa l ma yor of Abu yog, L eyt e. Resp ondent, howev er , ar gu es t hat the p et it ioner s elect ion t o t he off ice of mu nicipal ma yor is illega l and void on t he gr ou nd that he did not ha ve t he r es idence qualif ication. Pet it ioner is a native of Abu yog, L eyt e. Aft er losing in t he 1937 mu nicipa l ma yor elect ion, he went t o M inda nao in s ear ch of a job. I n 1938, he f ou nd a job as a nur ser yma n in the chinchona pla ntation at Malaybala y, Bu kidnon. H e stayed in t he p lantat ion unt il he r es igned in 1940. Dur ing his p er iod of stay in Bu kidnon, his wif e and childr en r ema ined in Abu yog. P et it ioner vis it ed his fa mily in 1938, 1939 and 1940. H e tur ned down t he G over nment of f er of fr ee hous e in the p la ntation. H e and his wif e own r ea l pr op er t y in Ab u yog. I n 1938, he r egist er ed as a vot er in Malayba lay, Bu kdinon and vot ed in t he election f or assemb lymen. Accor ding t o his r es idence cer tif icat e f or 1940 (Januar y), he had r es ided in Bu kidnon f or one year and a ha lf. T r ial Cour t and Cour t of App ea ls held t hat the p et itioner ha d acqu ir ed a domicile of choice in Malayba lay, Bu kidnon, and ha d lost his domicile of or igin in Abu yog, L eyt e, at the t ime he was elect ed ma yor of Abu yog, L eyt e. T her ef or e, his elect ion was void f or he had not b een a r es ident of Abu yog f or at least one year pr ior t o the election.

1938

Supr eme cour t : Pet it ioner did not los e his domicile in Abu yog.

T her e is a dif f er ence b et ween domicile and r esidence. "R es idence" is us ed t o indicat e a place of abode, whet her p er manent or temp or ar y; "domicile" denot es a fix ed p er ma nent r es idence t o which, when abs ent, one has the int ent ion of r etur ning. A ma n ma y ha ve a r es idence in one p lace a nd a domicile in anot her . R es idence is not domicile, but domicile is r esidence cou pled wit h t he int ent ion t o r ema in f or an unlimit ed t ime. A ma n can have but one domicile f or the sa me p ur pos e at any time, b ut he ma y have nu mer ous p laces of r es idence.

Acqu ir ing a domicile of choice: 1) Res idence or b odily pr es ence in new localit y 2) I nt ent ion t o r ema in t her e (a nimus ma nendi) 3) I nt ent ion t o abandon old domicile (animus non r evert endi)

T her e was no int ent ion to r ema in in Bu kidno n. Als o, t her e was no int ention t o abandon old domicile. H e left Abu yog, L eyt e f or the pur p os e of looking f or emp loyment to ma ke up f or fina ncia l dr a wback. H e did not take his wif e a nd childr en t o Malayba lay des pit e t he offer of a fr ee

ISSUE : Won p et it ioner had b een a r es ident of Abu yog f or at least one year pr ior to t he elect ion

hous e. H e b ou ght hims elf a piece of land in Abu yog. T her e was no int ent ion t o abandon old domicile - in fact, he vis it ed his

home t own a nd his fa mily no less t ha n thr ee t imes dur ing t he p er iod he stayed in Ma layba lay. Lar ena V. T eves 1)M er e r egistr ation in mu nicipalit y in or der to b e elect or does not ma ke one a r es ident of said mu nicip alit y 2) Domicile or r es idence denot es a per ma nen t dwelling place, t o which an abs ent p er s on int ends t o r etur n 3) T he r ight to vot e in a mu nicipa lit y r equ ir es (a) act of r es iding (b ) int ention t o r ema in 4) T eves has always lived wit h fa mily in Du ma gu et e a nd never in Bacong, he has never lost his r es idence in Du ma gu et e

HELD : Ju dgment of C A r ever s ed, wit h costs of this instance against t he r esp ondent.

*r egistr ation in t he list of vot er s is not one of the conditions pr es cr ib ed b y E lect ion La w in or der t o b e an elect or *Failur e t o r egist er does not const itut e dis qu alif ications pr es cr ib ed in E lect ion la w

B. Assu ming t hat he did, WON p et it ioner r eacqu ir ed his domicile of or igin at least one year pr ior to his elect ion as mayor of Abu yog

Supr eme cour t : Pet it ioner did not los e his domicile of or igin. T he alleged lack of r es idence qua lif icat ion is wea k and inconclus ive. Pet it ioner is a native of Abu yog, had r u n f or the sa me off ice of mu nicipa l ma yor of said t own in elect ion pr eceding t he one in qu estion, ha d only b een abs ent f or two year s wit hout los ing contact wit h t ownsp eop le a nd wit hout int ent ion of r ema ining and r es iding indef init ely in t he p lace of his emp loyment, and he was elect ed wit h an over whelming ma jor it y of vot es.