CASE DIGEST BY HOLLY-ANN A. CABASAG

 

LOPEZ V. COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS

G.R. NO. 182701, July 23, 2008

 

FACTS:

Petitioner Eusebio Eugenio K. Lopez was a candidate for the position of Chairman of Barangay Bagacay, San Dionisio, Iloilo City in the synchronized Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections held on October 29, 2007. He was eventually declared the winner. On the other hand, respondent Tessie P. Villanueva filed a petition before the Provincial Election Supervisor of the Province of Iloilo, praying for the disqualification of petitioner on the ground that he is an American citizen, hence, ineligible from running for any public office. Petitioner on the other hand argued that he is a dual citizen, a Filipino, and at the same time an American, by virtue of Republic Act (R.A.) No. 9225, otherwise known as the Citizenship Retention and Re-acquisition Act of 2003. Thus, he said, he possessed all the qualifications to run for Barangay Chairman.

On February 6, 2008, COMELEC issued the Resolution granting the petition for disqualification of Lopez from running as Barangay Chairman. COMELEC said, to be able to qualify as a candidate in the elections, Lopez should have made a personal and sworn renunciation of any and foreign citizenship. Upon other hand, his motion for reconsideration having been denied, Lopez resorted to petition for certiorari, imputing grave abuse of discretion on the part of the COMELEC for disqualifying him from running and assuming the office of Barangay Chairman.

ISSUE:

Whether or not there was grave abuse of discretion on the part of the COMELEC for disqualifying petitioner.

HELD:

No. The COMELEC committed no grave abuse of discretion in disqualifying petitioner as candidate for Chairman in the Barangay elections of 2007.  Petitioner was born a Filipino but he deliberately sought American citizenship and renounced his Filipino citizenship. He later on became a dual citizen by re-acquiring Filipino citizenship.

R.A. No. 9225 expressly provides for the conditions before those who re-acquired Filipino citizenship may run for a public office in the Philippines. Section 5 of the said law states: those who retain or re-acquire Philippine citizenship under this Act shall enjoy full civil and political rights and be subject to all attendant liabilities and responsibilities under existing laws of the Philippines and the following conditions: (2) Those seeking elective public office in the Philippines shall meet the qualification for holding such public office as required by the Constitution and existing laws and, at the time of the filing of the certificate of candidacy, make a personal and sworn renunciation of any and all foreign citizenship before any public officer authorized to administer an oath.

Lopez was able to regain his Filipino Citizenship by virtue of the Dual Citizenship Law when he took his oath of allegiance before the Vice Consul of the Philippine Consulate General’s Office in Los Angeles, California; the same is not enough to allow him to run for a public office. Lopez failure to renounce his American citizenship as proven by the absence of an affidavit that will prove the contrary leads this Commission to believe that he failed to comply with the positive mandate of law.