Case Digest (G.R. No. 193993)
Facts:
Vivenne K. Tan v. Vincent "Bingbong" Crisologo, G.R. No. 193993, November 08, 2017, Supreme Court Third Division, Martires, J., writing for the Court.Petitioner Vivenne K. Tan was born to Filipino parents and became a naturalized citizen of the United States on 19 January 1993. On 26 October 2009 she applied to register as a voter in Quezon City, indicating she was a Filipino citizen by birth; the Election Registration Board (ERB) approved her application on 16 November 2009, placing her on the permanent list for Precinct 0853‑A, Barangay Sto. Domingo, Quezon City.
On 30 November 2009 Tan took an Oath of Allegiance to the Republic of the Philippines before a notary public, and on 1 December 2009 she filed a petition with the Bureau of Immigration (BI) for reacquisition of Philippine citizenship under R.A. No. 9225, executing a sworn declaration renouncing United States allegiance; the BI thereafter confirmed her reacquisition. On 1 December 2009 she also filed a Certificate of Candidacy for the 2010 elections.
On 28 December 2009 respondent Vincent "Bingbong" Crisologo filed a petition in the Metropolitan Trial Court (MeTC), Civil Case No. 37‑09‑1292, seeking Tan’s exclusion from the voter’s list on the grounds that she was not a Filipino citizen when she registered and that she did not meet residency requirements. The MeTC, by decision dated 14 January 2010, granted the petition and ordered Tan excluded from the voter’s list, finding she was an American citizen at the time of registration based on her later acts (oath, BI petition).
Tan appealed to the Regional Trial Court (RTC), Branch 95, Quezon City, which reversed the MeTC and dismissed Crisologo’s petition for lack of merit, holding that Tan’s reacquisition under R.A. No. 9225 cured any defect in her citizenship status. Because the RTC decision became final and executory under R.A. No. 8189, Crisologo filed a petition for certiorari with the Court of Appeals (CA). The CA, in its 20 April 2010 Decision ...(Pro-only)
Issues:
- Was Vivenne K. Tan a Philippine citizen at the time she filed her voter registration application on 26 October 2009?
- If not, does R.A. No. 9225 (the Citizenship Retention and Re‑acquisition Act of 2003) operate retroactively or otherwise cure defects in Tan’s earlier registration such that she should be deemed a Filipino citize...(Pro-only)
Ruling:
- (Pro-only)
Ratio:
- (Pro-only)
Doctrine:
- (Pro-only)