Regina Ongsiako Reyes v. Commission on Elections and Joseph Socorro B.

Tan
G.R. No. 207264, 25 June 2013
Ponente: Perez, J.

Facts:
Petitioner submitted her Certificate of Candidacy (COC) for the position of Representative
of Marinduque's lone district. Respondent, a registered voter, and inhabitant of Torrijos,
Marinduque, petitioned the COMELEC for the cancellation of petitioner's COC. The
respondent filed the amended petition on October 31, 2012, claiming that the petitioner's
COC contains serious misrepresentations about her marital status, domicile, date of birth, and
citizenship. Respondent claimed that the petitioner is an American citizen and submitted a
manifestation with motion to admit newly discovered evidence and revised final exhibit on
February 8, 2013. The COMELEC First Division issued a Resolution on March 27, 2013,
cancelling the petitioner's COC on the grounds that she is not a Filipino citizen due to her
failure to comply with the provisions of Republic Act (RA) No. 9225.

On April 8, 2013, the petitioner filed a Motion for Reconsideration. However, the
COMELEC en banc issued a Resolution on May 14, 2013 dismissing the petitioner's Motion
for Reconsideration for lack of merit. Petitioner was declared the winner of the May 13, 2013
elections on May 18, 2013, and took her oath of office before the Speaker of the House of
Representatives on June 5, 2013. She is yet to take office on June 30, 2013, at noon. On June
5, 2013, the COMELEC en banc issued a Certificate of Finality, making the COMELEC en
banc Resolution of May 14, 2013 official and executory. Petitioner then filed a Petition for
Certiorari with a Prayer for Temporary Restraining Order and/or Status Quo Ante Order with
the court.

Issue:
Whether or not the COMELEC has jurisdiction over the petitioner who is a duly proclaimed
winner and has already taken her oath of office for the position of member of the House of
Representative

Whether or not the COMELEC erred in ruling that the petitioner is illegible to run for office.

Ruling:

Pursuant to Section 17, Article 6 of the 1987 Constitution, the House of Representative
Electoral Tribunal has the exclusive jurisdiction to be the sole judge of all contests relating to
the election returns and qualification of the members of House of Representative.

In R.A 9925, for a respondent to reacquire Filipino citizenship and become eligible for public
office, the law requires that she must have accomplished the following:
1) take the oath of allegiance to the Republic of the Philippines before the consul-general of
the Philippine Consulate in the USA, and
2) make a personal and sworn renunciation of her American citizenship before any public
officer authorized to administer an oath.

There is no evidence in this case that petitioner met the requirements. The oath of office
taken by the petitioner as Provincial Administrator cannot be deemed the oath of allegiance
required under RA 9225. As to the issue of residency, the court approved the finding if the
COMELEC that a Filipino citizen who becomes naturalized elsewhere effectively abandons
his domicile of origin. Upon regaining Filipino citizenship, he must still demonstrate that he
decided to establish his domicile in the Philippines through positive activities, and his
residency will be counted from the time he made it his domicile of choice.

In this case, there is no evidence that the petitioner reacquired her Filipino citizenship in
accordance with RA 9225, implying that she resigned her American citizenship; thus, she has
not abandoned her domicile of choice in the United States. Petitioner's allegation that she
served as Provincial Administrator of the province of Marinduque from January 18, 2011, to
July 13, 2011, is insufficient to establish her one-year residency because she has never
recognized her domicile in Marinduque as an American citizen. No amount of time she
spends in the area can compensate for the fact that she has not abandoned her primary
residence in the United States.