MACALINTAL vs. COMELEC, G.R No.

157013

Facts:
● Romulo B. Macalintal files petition for certiorari and prohibition seeking a
declaration that certain provisions of Republic Act No. 9189 (The Overseas
Absentee Voting Act of 2003) suffer from constitutional infirmity.
● Romulo contends that Section 5(d) of Rep. Act No. 9189 allowing the registration
of voters who are immigrants or permanent residents in other countries by their
mere act of executing an affidavit expressing their intention to return to the
Philippines violate the residency requirement in Section 1 of Article V of the
Constitution

Issue:
W/N Section 5(d) of Rep. Act No. 9189 violate Section 1, Article V of the 1987
Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines

Ruling:
Congress promulgated RA 9189 to allow Filipinos who are living abroad to exercise the
privilege to vote through absentee voting.
- Sec 5 (d) of RA 9189 allows an immigrant and permanent resident abroad to
register as a voter for as long as he/she executes an affidavit to show that
he/she has not abandoned his domicile in pursuance of the constitutional
intent expressed in Sections 1 and 2 of Article V that "all citizens of the
Philippines not otherwise disqualified by law" must be entitled to exercise the
right of suffrage
- Congress must establish a system for absentee voting; for otherwise, if actual,
physical residence in the Philippines is required, there is no sense for the
framers of the Constitution to mandate Congress to establish a system for
absentee voting.

Self-executing and Non-self-executing provisions

Note: Some provisions have already been categorically declared by this Court as non
self-executing. In Tanada v. Angara, the Court specifically set apart the sections found
under Article II of the 1987 Constitution as non self-executing and ruled that such
broad principles need legislative enactments before they can be implemented