Case Digest (G.R. No. 191970)
Facts:
Rommel Apolinario Jalosjos v. The Commission on Elections and Dan Erasmo, Sr., G.R. No. 191970, April 24, 2012, Supreme Court En Banc, Abad, J., writing for the Court. This petition challenged COMELEC resolutions that disqualified petitioner from running for governor on the ground that he failed to prove residency in Zamboanga Sibugay.Petitioner Rommel Jalosjos was born in Quezon City in 1973, migrated to Australia in 1981 where he acquired Australian citizenship, and returned to the Philippines on November 22, 2008. Four days after his return he took an oath of allegiance to the Philippines and was issued a Certificate of Reacquisition of Philippine Citizenship; on September 1, 2009 he executed a sworn renunciation of his Australian citizenship in compliance with R.A. No. 9225. From the time of his return he lived with his brother in Barangay Veterans Village, Ipil, Zamboanga Sibugay, acquired a residential lot there and a fishpond in San Isidro, Naga, Zamboanga Sibugay, and sought voter registration in Ipil.
Respondent Dan Erasmo, Sr. (Barangay Captain) opposed Jalosjos’s voter registration. The Election Registration Board approved the registration and included Jalosjos in the voters list for Precinct 0051F. Erasmo filed an election case before the 1st Municipal Circuit Trial Court (MCTC) to exclude Jalosjos’s name; the MCTC denied the petition and the Regional Trial Court (RTC) affirmed on appeal, the RTC judgment becoming final and executory.
Jalosjos filed a Certificate of Candidacy for Governor of Zamboanga Sibugay on November 28, 2009. Erasmo filed a petition to deny due course or cancel the COC, alleging noncompliance with R.A. No. 9225 and failure to meet the one-year residency requirement of the Local Government Code (R.A. No. 7160, Sec. 39). The COMELEC Second Division found that Jalosjos had reacquired Philippine citizenship but ruled he failed to prove domicile in Ipil; on reconsideration the COMELEC En Banc affirmed, concluding he was merely a guest at his brother’s house. The Supreme Court issued a status quo ante order on May 7,...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Did the COMELEC commit grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction in ruling that Rommel Jalosjos failed to prove a bona fide intention to establish domicile in Ipil, Zamboanga Sibugay, for purposes of the one-year residency requir...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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