G.R. No. 209835 - Caballero vs. Commission on Elections

Case Summary (G.R. No. 209835)

Factual Background

Petitioner Rogelio Batin Caballero and private respondent Jonathan Enrique V. Nanud, Jr. both filed Certificates of Candidacy for mayor of Uyugan, Batanes in the May 13, 2013 elections. Private respondent filed a verified petition to deny due course to or cancel petitioner’s COC, alleging that petitioner made a material misrepresentation by declaring in his COC that he was a resident of Uyugan for at least one (1) year prior to the election while he had become a Canadian citizen and was a nonresident. Petitioner alleged that he had reacquired Filipino citizenship under RA No. 9225 by taking an Oath of Allegiance before the Philippine Consul General in Toronto on September 13, 2012 and that he renounced his Canadian citizenship before a notary public on October 1, 2012.

Proceedings Before the COMELEC First Division

The COMELEC First Division conducted conferences and received petitioner’s memorandum but noted that petitioner did not file a formal Answer. The Division found that petitioner had complied with the formal requirements of RA No. 9225 but concluded that petitioner had abandoned his domicile of origin in Uyugan when he was naturalized in Canada and had not reestablished Uyugan as his domicile of choice for the one (1) year immediately preceding the election. On May 3, 2013, the First Division resolved to grant the petition and cancelled petitioner’s COC.

COMELEC En Banc Resolution

Petitioner moved for reconsideration. On November 6, 2013, the COMELEC En Banc denied the motion for reconsideration and affirmed the First Division’s cancellation of the COC. The Commission reasoned that the residency issue implicated petitioner’s qualification for elective office and that petitioner failed to prove that he had reestablished residency in Uyugan for the one (1) year required by Section 39 of RA No. 7160.

Interim Actions and Aftermath of Elections

Elections were held on May 13, 2013 and official returns showed that petitioner secured the most votes. Private respondent moved to defer proclamation. Petitioner was nonetheless proclaimed mayor on May 14, 2013. After the COMELEC En Banc denial of reconsideration, a Writ of Execution was issued on December 12, 2013 and private respondent took his oath of office on December 20, 2013.

Petition to the Supreme Court and Assignments of Error

Petitioner filed a petition for certiorari under Rule 65, Rules of Court seeking to set aside the COMELEC Resolutions. He advanced two principal assignments of error: first, that the COMELEC erred in disregarding procedural requirements of Rule 23 Section 4 of the COMELEC Rules of Procedure regarding prior personal service of the petition; and second, that the COMELEC gravely erred in finding abandonment of Philippine domicile and in refusing to accept petitioner’s reacquisition of Filipino citizenship and nine months’ actual stay in Uyugan as substantial compliance with the one (1) year residency requirement.

Parties’ Principal Contentions

Petitioner contended that personal service requirements were not observed and that the petition should have been denied on procedural grounds; he also asserted that he had not abandoned his domicile of origin because of birth, baptismal records, voter registration, payment of community tax, construction of a house, and recurrent vacation visits, and that his nine (9) months’ physical presence after taking the oath of allegiance sufficed as substantial compliance. Private respondent maintained that petitioner’s naturalization abroad effected abandonment of his Philippine domicile and that petitioner failed to prove reestablishment of domicile in Uyugan for the statutory one (1) year period.

Legal Issues Framed for Review

The Court framed the legal issues as whether the COMELEC abused its discretion in accepting and deciding private respondent’s petition despite the procedural lapses in service, and whether petitioner retained or reacquired the residency required by Section 39 of RA No. 7160 so as to render his COC free of material misrepresentation under Sections 74 and 78 of the Omnibus Election Code.

The Court’s Analysis on Procedural Compliance

The Court held that the COMELEC Rules of Procedure are subject to liberal construction and that COMELEC may suspend its rules in the interest of justice and to obtain speedy disposition under Rule 1 Section 4. The Court cited Hayudini v. COMELEC and related precedents to justify COMELEC’s acceptance of the petition despite defects in prior personal service, finding that petitioner had actual notice, participated in conference, and filed a memorandum; hence, petitioner was not deprived of due process and the COMELEC did not err in entertaining the petition.

The Court’s Analysis on Citizenship and Residency

The Court explained that RA No. 9225 treats citizenship independently of residence and that reacquisition of Philippine citizenship under that Act does not automatically restore a prior domicile. The Court relied on Japzon v. COMELEC to hold that a person who reacquires Philippine citizenship must still establish domicile of choice by actual presence plus animus manendi, and that the period of residence required by Section 39, RA No. 7160 is reckoned from the time the domicile of choice is established. The Court found that petitioner’s acquisition of Canadian citizenship and permanent residency abroad constituted abandonment of his domicile of origin in Uyugan and that his frequent vacation visits were insufficient to rebut that abandonment.

Application of Legal Standards to the Facts

Case Syllabus (G.R. No. 209835)

Parties and Procedural Posture

Rogelio Batin Caballero filed a petition for certiorari with prayer for temporary restraining order seeking to set aside COMELEC resolutions canceling his Certificate of Candidacy.
Commission on Elections First Division issued a Resolution dated May 3, 2013 canceling petitioner’s COC, which the COMELEC En Banc affirmed by Resolution dated November 6, 2013.
Jonathan Enrique V. Nanud, Jr. filed the petition to deny due course to or cancel petitioner’s COC and later filed a petition to annul proclamation after the May 13, 2013 elections.
Petitioner was proclaimed mayor on May 14, 2013 but the COMELEC issued a Writ of Execution on December 12, 2013 that culminated in private respondent’s taking of the oath of office on December 20, 2013.
The Supreme Court reviewed the COMELEC En Banc resolution through a Rule 65 petition for certiorari alleging grave abuse of discretion.

Key Factual Allegations

Petitioner filed his Certificate of Candidacy on October 3, 2012 and declared residency in Barangay Imnajbu, Uyugan, Batanes for at least one year immediately preceding the May 13, 2013 elections.
Petitioner took an Oath of Allegiance before the Philippine Consul General in Toronto, Canada on September 13, 2012 and executed an Affidavit of Renunciation of Canadian citizenship on October 1, 2012.
Petitioner had previously naturalized as a Canadian citizen and worked abroad in Nigeria, California, and Canada, but he returned to Uyugan on vacations and asserted continued ties there.
Private respondent served the petition by registered mail and a copy was furnished to petitioner at a December 10, 2012 conference, and petitioner filed a Memorandum but no Answer.
Election returns showed petitioner having won the mayoralty contest on May 13, 2013 before the COMELEC cancelled his COC and later executed the cancellation.

Issues Presented

Whether the COMELEC gravely abused its discretion by suspending its procedural rules and accepting the petition to cancel petitioner’s COC despite alleged defective service in violation of COMELEC Resolution No. 9523 and Rule 23.
Whether petitioner abandoned his Philippine domicile upon acquiring Canadian citizenship and, if so, whether his reacquisition of Philippine citizenship under RA No. 9225 and his nine months’ actual stay in Uyugan constituted compliance with the one-year residency requirement under Section 39, Republic Act No. 7160.

Petitioner’s Contentions

Petitioner contended that the petition should have been denied outright for failure of private respondent to personally serve a copy of the petition and to attach an affidavit explaining resort to registered mail as required by Section 4, Rule 23 of the COMELEC Rules of Procedure as amended by COMELEC Resolution No. 9523.
Petitioner asserted that he did not abandon his Philippine domicile since he was born, baptized, and maintained various indicia of domicile in Uyugan and that his nine months’ physical presence prior to the election substantially complied with residency requirements.
Petitioner argued that hi