Facts:
Merito Miguel was
elected as mayor of Bolinao, Pangasinan in the local elections of January 18,
1988. His disqualification, however, was sought by Mateo Caasi on the ground
that under Section 68 of the Omnibus Election Code Miguel was not qualified
because he is a green card holder, hence, a permanent resident of the USA and
not of Bolinao. Sec. 48 provides:
Sec.
68. Disqualifications - Any person who
is a permanent resident of or an immigrant to a foreign country shall not be
qualified to run for any elective office under this Code, unless said person
has waived his status as permanent resident or immigrant of a foreign country
in accordance with the residence requirement provided for in the election laws.
Miguel admitted that he holds a green card,
but he denied that he is a permanent resident of the United States. He argued
that he obtained the green card for convenience in order that he may freely
enter the United States for his periodic medical examination and to visit his
children there. He alleged that he is a permanent resident of Bolinao,
Pangasinan and that he voted in all previous elections, including the
plebiscite on February 2, 1987 for the ratification of the 1987 Constitution
and the congressional elections on May 18, 1987.
After hearing, the Comelec dismissed the
petition. It held that the possession of a green card by the respondent Miguel
does not sufficiently establish that he has abandoned his residence in the
Philippines.
Issue:
Whether a green card is proof that the holder thereof is a permanent resident
of the United States such that it would disqualify him to run for any elective
local position.
Held: Yes. Miguel's application for immigrant
status and permanent residence in the U.S. and his possession of a green
card attesting to such status are conclusive proof that he is a
permanent resident of the United States. In the "Application for Immigrant Visa and Alien Registration" which
Miguel filled up in his own handwriting and submitted to the US Embassy in
Manila before his departure for the United States in 1984, Miguel's answer to
Question No. 21 therein regarding his "Length of intended stay (if
permanently, so state)," Miguel's answer was, "Permanently." On
its face, the green card that was subsequently issued by the US Department of
Justice and Immigration and Registration Service to Miguel identifies him in
clear bold letters as a RESIDENT ALIEN. On the back of the card, the upper
portion, the following information is printed: “Alien Registration Receipt Card. Person identified by this card is
entitled to reside permanently and work in the United States.”
Despite his vigorous disclaimer, Miguel's
immigration to the United States in 1984 constituted an abandonment of
his domicile and residence in the Philippines. He did not go to the United
States merely to visit his children or his doctor there. He entered the US
with the intention to live there permanently as evidenced by his application
for an immigrant's (not a visitor's or tourist's) visa.
Issue:
Whether Miguel, by returning to the Philippines in November 1987 and presenting
himself as a candidate for mayor of Bolinao in the January 18, 1988 local
elections, waived his status as a permanent resident or immigrant of the United
States
Held: No. To be "qualified to run for elective
office" in the Philippines, the law requires that the candidate who is a
green card holder must have "waived his status as a permanent resident or
immigrant of a foreign country." Therefore, his act of filing a certificate
of candidacy for elective office in the Philippines, did not of itself
constitute a waiver of his status as a permanent resident or immigrant of the
United States. The waiver of his green card should be manifested by some act or
acts independent of and done prior to filing his candidacy for elective office
in this country. Without such prior waiver, he was "disqualified to run
for any elective office."
Miguel's application for immigrant status and
permanent residence in the U.S. and his possession of a green card attesting to
such status are conclusive proof that he is a permanent resident of the U.S.
despite his occasional visits to the Philippines. The waiver of such immigrant
status should be as indubitable as his application for it. Absent clear evidence
that he made an irrevocable waiver of that status or that he surrendered his
green card to the appropriate U.S. authorities before he ran for mayor of
Bolinao in the local elections on January 18, 1988, the conclusion is that he
was disqualified to run for said public office.
Issue:
Whether or not Miguel is disqualified from office.
Held: Yes. Miguel
admits that he holds a green card, which proves that he is a permanent resident
or immigrant it of the United States, but the records of this case are starkly
bare of proof that he had waived his status as such before he ran for election
as municipal mayor of Bolinao on January 18, 1988. We, therefore, hold that he
was disqualified to become a candidate for that office. Hence, his election was
null and void.
Residence in the municipality where he
intends to run for elective office for at least one (1) year at the time of
filing his certificate of candidacy is one of the qualifications that a
candidate for elective public office must possess. Miguel did not possess that
qualification because he was a permanent resident of the United States and he
resided in Bolinao for a period of only three (3) months (not one year) after
his return to the Philippines in November 1987 and before he ran for mayor of that
municipality on January 18, 1988.
● In banning from elective public office
Philippine citizens who are permanent residents or immigrants of a foreign
country, the Omnibus Election Code has laid down a clear policy of excluding
from the right to hold elective public office those Philippine citizens who
possess dual loyalties and allegiance. The law has reserved that privilege for
its citizens who have cast their lot with our country "without mental
reservations or purpose of evasion." The assumption is that those who are
resident aliens of a foreign country are incapable of such entire devotion to
the interest and welfare of their homeland for with one eye on their public
duties here, they must keep another eye on their duties under the laws of the
foreign country of their choice in order to preserve their status as permanent
residents thereof.
●
Section 18, Article XI of the 1987 Constitution which provides that "any
public officer or employee who seeks to change his citizenship or acquire the
status of an immigrant of another country during his tenure shall be dealt with
by law" is not applicable to Merito Miguel for he acquired the status of
an immigrant of the United States before he was elected to public office, not
"during his tenure" as mayor of Bolinao, Pangasinan. (
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