CIRILO R. VALLES, Petitioner, v. COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS and ROSALIND YBASCO LOPEZ, Respondents; G.R. No. 13700, August 9, 2000

GIST:

Lopez' citizenship was already challenged in a quo warranto petition in 1992 which COMELEC dismissed after finding no sufficient proof that respondent had renounced her Philippine citizenship.

1995, respondent ran for re-election. Her opponent filed a petition for disqualification before the COMELEC. The said petition was likewise dismissed.

1998, Valles petitioned for Lopez to be disqualified for Davao governor election on the ground that she is an Australian Citizen when:

1. she registered herself with Bureau of Immigration as an Australian national and was issued an Alien Certificate of Registration.

2. She applied for the issuance of an Immigrant Certificate of Residence.

3. She was issued an Australian Passport.

However, since there was no express renunciation of her Philippine citizenship, she is considered to have dual citizenship. 

“The Philippine law on citizenship adheres to the principle of jus sanguinis. Thereunder, a child follows the nationality or citizenship of the parents regardless of the place of his/her birth, as opposed to the doctrine of jus soli which determines nationality or citizenship on the basis of place of birth.”

Since she was born of a Filipino father, qualified under Article 4, Section 1, (2), she is deemed to be a natural-born Filipino citizen.

Facts:

Cirilo R. Valles filed for a petition for certiorari under Rule 65, pursuant to Section 2, Rule 64 of the 1997 Rules of Civil Procedure against Commission on Election. The COMELEC dismissed the petition for disqualification filed by the petitioner against respondent Rosalind Ybasco Lopez, in the May 1998 elections for governor of Davao Oriental.

Issues:

1. Whether the COMELEC acted with grave abuse of discretion

2. Whether the respondent is a Filipino citizen

Petitioner’s claims: Petitioner claimed that respondent is an Australian citizen and that she had renounced her Filipino citizenship based on the facts herein:

1. In 1988, private respondent registered herself with the Bureau of Immigration as an Australian national and was issued an Alien Certificate of Registration.

2. She applied for the issuance of an Immigrant Certificate of Residence.

3. She was issued an Australian Passport.

The court, however, held that for a citizenship to be renounced, such renunciation must be expressed. Petitioner’s contention that the application of private respondent for an alien certificate of registration, and her Australian passport, is bereft of merit.

The application of the respondent for the aforementioned documents were mere acts of assertion of her Australian citizenship before she renounced the same. At the most, the Court explained that the private respondent had dual citizenship – she was an Australian and a Filipino.

Thus, the fact that the private respondent had dual citizenship did not automatically disqualify her from running for a public office. Furthermore, it was ruled that for candidates with dual citizenship, it is enough that they elect Philippine citizenship upon the filing of their certificate of candidacy, to terminate their status as persons with dual citizenship.

Ruling:

1) The petition is dismissed and the COMELEC Resolutions, dated July 17, 1998, and January 15, 1999, respectively, affirmed.

COMELEC ruled that private respondent Lopez is a Filipino citizen and qualified to run for a public office because:

a. Her father is a Filipino citizen and by virtue of jus sanguinis, she was a Filipino citizen under the 1987 constitution.

b. She was married to a Filipino, thereby making her also a Filipino citizen ipso jure under Section 4 of the Commonwealth Act 473.

c. She renounced her Australian citizenship before the Department of Immigration and Ethnic Affairs of Australia and her passport was cancelled.

d. There are COMELEC resolutions declaring her a Filipino citizen duly qualified to run.

2) Private respondent Rosalind Ybasco Lopez is qualified to run for governor of Davao Oriental.

Rosalind Ybasco Lopez was born on May 16, 1934 in Western Austalia, to the spouses, Telesforo Ybasco, a Filipino citizen and native of Daet, Camarines Norte, and Theresa Marquez, an Australian. In 1949, at the age of fifteen, she left Australia and came to settle in the Philippines.

On June 27, 1952, she married Leopoldo Lopez, a Filipino citizen, at the Malate Catholic Church in Manila. She participated in the electoral process not only as a voter but as a candidate.

In 1992, she ran for and was elected governor of Davao Oriental. Her election was contested by her opponent, Gil Taojo Jr., in a petition for quo warranto alleging as ground her alleged Australian citizenship. Comelec dismissed the petition after finding no sufficient proof that respondent had renounced her Philippine citizenship.

In 1995, respondent ran for re-election. Her opponent filed a petition for disqualification before the COMELEC. The said petition was likewise dismissed.

The citizenship of private respondent was once again raised as an issue when she ran for re-election as governor of Davao Oriental in the May 11, 1998 elections. Her candidacy was questioned by the herein petitioner.  

The court explained that:

“The Philippine law on citizenship adheres to the principle of jus sanguinis. Thereunder, a child follows the nationality or citizenship of the parents regardless of the place of his/her birth, as opposed to the doctrine of jus soli which determines nationality or citizenship on the basis of place of birth.”