Case Digest (G.R. No. 137000)
Facts:
Cirilo R. Valles v. Commission on Elections and Rosalind Ybasco Lopez, G.R. No. 137000, August 09, 2000, the Supreme Court En Banc, Purisima, J., writing for the Court. This is a petition for certiorari under Rule 65 (pursuant to Section 2, Rule 64, 1997 Rules of Civil Procedure) assailing the Commission on Elections’ Resolutions dated July 17, 1998 (First Division) and January 15, 1999 (en banc) in SPA No. 98-336, which dismissed petitioner Cirilo R. Valles’ petition for disqualification of private respondent Rosalind Ybasco Lopez in the May 1998 gubernatorial elections for Davao Oriental.Rosalind Ybasco Lopez was born May 16, 1934 in Broome, Western Australia, to Telesforo Ybasco (a Filipino) and Theresa Marquez (an Australian). She settled in the Philippines in 1949, married a Filipino in 1952, participated in elections as voter and candidate, served as provincial board member, and was elected governor in 1992. Her citizenship was previously challenged in EPC No. 92-54 (quo warranto) and SPA No. 95-066, but the COMELEC dismissed those petitions for lack of sufficient proof of renunciation of Philippine citizenship.
In SPA No. 98-336, petitioner Valles again questioned Lopez’s Filipino citizenship, citing that she registered with the Bureau of Immigration as an Australian national (Alien Certificate of Registration No. 404695 dated September 19, 1988), applied for an Immigrant Certificate of Residence the same date, and was issued Australian Passport No. H700888 on March 3, 1988. The COMELEC First Division dismissed the petition on July 17, 1998 principally because petitioner produced no new evidence to disturb the earlier COMELEC resolutions; the COMELEC en banc likewise denied reconsideration on January 15, 1999.
COMELEC had found Lopez qualified because: (1) under the principle of jus sanguinis she is a Filipino by virtue of her Filipino father; (2) under Commonwealth Act No. 473 her 1952 marriage to a Filipino conferred Filipino nationality ipso jure; (3) she executed a Declaration of Renunciation of Australian Citizenship on January 15, 1992 and her Australian passport was cancelled February 11, 1992 (certified by the Australian Embassy); and (4) prior COMELEC resolutions had adjudged her a Filipino citizen. Petitioner argued those facts showed renunciation of Philippine citizenship and that, absent proper repatriation under R.A. 8171, Lopez could be stateless or disqualified. He also inv...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Was the COMELEC’s dismissal of SPA No. 98-336 on the ground of res judicata and prior findings proper?
- Did private respondent Rosalind Ybasco Lopez lose her Philippine citizenship by virtue of her 1988 alien registration, immigrant certificate application, and possession of an Australian passport (i.e., did she effect an express renunciation under Commonwealth Act No. 63)?
- If Lopez had dual citizenship, did that status disqualify her from running for governor under Section 40(d), R.A. No. 7160, and was repatriation under R.A. 8171...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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