Case Summary (G.R. No. 92191-92)
Factual Background
• Ong Te (grandfather) arrived from China in 1895 and settled in Laoang, Samar, obtaining a Spanish colonial residence certificate.
• His son, Jose Ong Chuan, born in China in 1905, joined him in Samar in 1915, assimilated locally, married a natural-born Filipina in 1932, and fathered eight children, including Respondent Jose Ong, Jr. (born 1948).
• Ong Chuan applied for and obtained naturalization under Commonwealth Act No. 473 in 1955–1957. As a minor, Ong, Jr. acquired citizenship by operation of Section 15 of that Act.
• Ong, Jr. completed education in Samar and Manila, worked in Manila, married in 1984, registered and voted in Laoang in 1984 and 1986, and ran for Congress in 1987, winning by over 7,000 votes against Co and Balanquit.
Jurisdiction and Standard of Review
Article VI, Section 17 of the 1987 Constitution grants HRET “sole” and exclusive jurisdiction over contests involving House members’ elections and qualifications. The Supreme Court may intervene only via extraordinary writ upon clear showing that the Tribunal acted without or in excess of jurisdiction or with grave abuse of discretion denying due process. The Court will not correct perceived errors but only arbitrariness so glaring as to demand remedy.
Citizenship Issue: Natural-Born Status
Article IV of the 1987 Constitution defines natural-born citizens as those “citizens … from birth without having to perform any act to acquire or perfect their citizenship,” plus those born before January 17, 1973 to Filipino mothers who “elect Philippine citizenship upon reaching the age of majority.” Ong, Jr. was born in 1948 to a Filipina mother and a Chinese father, later naturalized.
Constitutional Interpretation of Election Provision
Debates in the 1986 Constitutional Commission reveal the framers intended to remedy the prior anomaly that children of Filipino mothers had to elect citizenship to qualify as natural-born. The provision was made retrospective to cover those who had elected citizenship under the 1935 Constitution, regardless of timing relative to the 1973 or 1987 charters.
Application to Respondent’s Citizenship
The HRET found that Ong, Jr. “elected” Philippine citizenship informally by voting upon reaching majority and by his father’s 1957 naturalization automatically extending citizenship to him. The Supreme Court majority upheld this, applying the In re Mallare rule that voting and participation in elections suffice as positive acts of election where formal declaration would be superfluous.
Residence Qualification
“Residence” for congressional candidacy is construed as domicile— a fixed and permanent home with animus revertendi. Ong, Jr. maintained Laoang as his domicile despite education and work in Manila, continued periodic returns, and his family rebuilt successive homes there after fires. Ownership by inheritance and rental rights sufficed; no property-holding requirement attaches to residency.
Reliance on 1971 Constitutional Convention Resolution
Ong, Jr. also invoked the 1971 Constitutional Convention’s Committee report and plenary dismissal of protests against his brother, Emil Ong, as a natural-born citizen based on the Philippine Bill of 1902. The Supreme Court majority accepted this as corroborative evidence, noting no protestant rebutted the underlying facts of the grandfather’s domici
...continue readingCase Syllabus (G.R. No. 92191-92)
Parties
- Petitioners: Antonio Y. Co and Sixto T. Balanquit, Jr., candidates in the Second District of Northern Samar congressional elections (May 11, 1987).
- Respondents: House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal (HRET) and private respondent Jose Ong, Jr., proclaimed winner of that election.
Facts
- On May 11, 1987, congressional elections were held in Northern Samar’s Second District.
- Major candidates: petitioners Co and Balanquit; private respondent Ong, Jr.
- Ong was proclaimed representative; petitioners filed protests alleging (1) Ong was not a natural-born Filipino citizen, and (2) Ong was not a resident of the district for voting.
- HRET, in a decision dated November 6, 1989, upheld Ong’s qualifications; its February 22, 1990 resolution denied petitioners’ motions for reconsideration.
- Petitioners brought certiorari and mandamus petitions to the Supreme Court, challenging HRET’s findings as grave abuse of discretion.
Procedural History
- Election protests docketed as HRET Cases Nos. 13 and 15 were consolidated.
- HRET’s decision and denial of reconsideration led to petitions for extraordinary relief in the Supreme Court.
- Comments filed by respondents treated as answers; issues briefed and argued en banc.
Issues Presented
- Did the HRET commit grave abuse of discretion in declaring Jose Ong, Jr. a natural-born Filipino citizen?
- Did the HRET commit grave abuse of discretion in finding Ong, Jr. a resident of Laoang, Northern Samar, for at least one year preceding the May 1987 elections?
- (Dissent also raises validity of Ong Sr.’s naturalization and whether either petitioner can replace Ong in office.)
HRET Decision
- Held Ong, Jr. a natural-born Filipino under:
• Derivation from a naturalized father (Certificate of Naturalization, 1957) and a natural-born Filipino mother.
• Positive acts of election (voting, professional practice, Oath of Allegiance). - Held Ong, Jr. a resident of Laoang by domicile:
• Family residence rebuilt after fires; voter registration in 1984, 1986, and 1987. - Declared Ong, Jr. qualified to sit as representative.
Supreme Court Analysis—Jurisdiction
- Constitution (Art. VI, Sec. 17) vests HRET with exclusive, original jurisdiction over membership contests.
- Judicial review is limited to instances of grave abuse of discretion, lack or excess of jurisdiction, fraud or denial of due process (Lazatin v. HRET; Robles v. HRET; Morrero v. Bocar).
- Supreme Court will not correct mere errors of fact or law by the tribunal; it intervenes only for constitutional checks.
Supreme Court Analysis—Citizenship
- Constitutional definition (Art. IV, Secs. 1(3), 2, 1987 Const.):
• Citizens by birth: those whose fathers or mothers are Filipinos.
• Natural-born: citizens “