Mquiling Vs COMELEC

Maquiling v.
Commission on Elections, 696 SCRA 420 (2013) and 700 SCRA 367 (2013)
Doctrine: Only natural-born Filipinos who owe total and undivided allegiance to the Republic of
the Philippines could run for and hold elective public office. A Certificate of Candidacy which has a
material misrepresentation is considered void from the beginning.
Nature: Petition for Certiorari under Rule 64 in conjunction with Rule 65 of the Rules of Court to review
the Resolutions of the Commission on Elections (COMELEC).
Facts:
PETITIONER:
 Petitioner Rommel Arnado is a natural-born Filipino citizen who lost his Philippine citizenship
after he was naturalized as citizen of the USA. Subsequently, and in preparation for his plans to
run for public office in the Philippines, Arnado applied for repatriation under RA 9225 before the
Consul General of the Philippines in San Franciso, USA.
 He took an Oath of Allegiance to the Republic of the Philippines on July 10, 2008 and, on even
date, an Order of Approval of Citizenship Retention and Re acquisition was issued in his favor.
On April 3, 2009, Arnado executed an Affidavit of Renunciation of his foreign citizenship.
 On November 30, 2009, Arnado filed his Certificate of Candidacy (CoC) for the mayoralty post
of Kauswagan, Lanao del Norte for the May 10, 2010 national and local elections.
RESPONDENT:
 Linog C. Balua, another mayoralty candidate, however, filed a petition to disqualify Arnado
and/or to cancel his CoC on the ground, among others, that Arnado remained a US citizen
because he continued to use his US passport for entry to and exit from the Philippines after
executing aforesaid Affidavit of Renunciation.
 While Balua's petition remained pending, the May 10, 2010 elections proceeded where Arnado
garnered the highest number of votes for the mayoralty post of Kauswagan. He was proclaimed
the winning candidate.
On October 5, 2010, the Comelec First Division issued a Resolution holding that Arnado's continued use
of his US passport effectively negated his April 3, 2009 Affidavit of Renunciation. Thus, he was
disqualified to run for public office for failure to comply with the requirements of RA 9225. The Comelec
First Division accordingly nullified his proclamation and held that the rule on succession should be
followed.
On February 2, 2011, the Comelec En Banc rendered a Resolution reversing the ruling of the Comelec
First Division. It held that Arnado's use of his US passport did not operate to revert his status to dual
citizenship. The Comelec En Banc found merit in Arnado's explanation that he continued to use his US
passport because he did not yet know that he had been issued a Philippine passport at the time of the
relevant foreign trips. The Comelec En Banc further noted that, after receiving his Philippine passport,
Arnado used the same for his subsequent trips.
RESPONDENT – Maquiling then sought recourse to this Court by filing a petition docketed as G.R No.
195649. While G.R No. 195649 was pending, the period for the filing of CoCs for local elective officials
for the May 13, 2013 elections officially began. On October 1, 2012, Arnado filed his CoC for the same
position. Respondent Capitan also filed his CoC for the mayoralty post of Kauswagan.
On April 16, 2013, SC rendered its Decision in Maquiling. Voting 10-5, it annulled and set aside the
Comelec En Banc's February 2, 2011 Resolution, disqualified Arnado from running for elective position,
and declared Maquiling as the duly elected mayor of Kauswagan, Lanao Del Norte in the May 10, 2010
elections.
In so ruling, the majority of the Members of the Court opined that in his subsequent use of his US
passport, Arnado effectively disavowed or recalled his April 3, 2009 Affidavit of Renunciation. The
issuance of this Court's April 16, 2013 Decision sets the stage for the present controversy.
On May 9, 2013 or shortly after the Court issued its Decision in Maquiling, Arnado executed an Affidavit
Affirming Rommel C. Arnado's "Affidavit of Renunciation Dated April3, 2009." Capitan, Arnado's lone
rival for the mayoralty post, filed a Petition seeking to disqualify him from running for municipal mayor
of Kauswagan and/or to cancel his CoC based on the ruling of this Court in Maquiling. The case was
docketed as SPA No. 13-309 (DC) and was raffled to the Comelec's Second Division. The resolution of
said petition was, however, overtaken by the May 13, 2013 elections where Arnado garnered 8,902 votes
(84% of the total votes cast) while Capitan obtained 1,707 (16% of the total votes cast) votes only. On
May 14, 2013, Arnado was proclaimed as the winning candidate.
Capitan filed another Petition this time seeking to nullify Arnado's proclamation. He argued that with the
April 16, 2013 Decision of this Court in Maquiling, there is no doubt that Arnado is disqualified from
running for any local elective office. Hence, Arnado's proclamation is void and without any legal effect.
Issue:
WHETHER OR NOT ARNADO IS DISQUALIFIED FROM RUNNING FOR PUBLIC OFFICE
DESPITE THE FACT THAT HE HAS FULLY COMPLIED WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF RA
9225 BEFORE THE FILING OF HIS COC ON OCTOBER 1, 2012.
Held:
The Petition is devoid of merit. YES ARNADO IS DISQUALIFIED.
Arnado has not yet satisfied the twin requirements of Section 5(2) of RA 9225 at the time
he filed his CoC for the May 13, 2013 elections; subsequent compliance does not suffice.
Under Section 4(d) of the Local Government Code, a person with "dual citizenship" is
disqualified from running for any elective local position. In Mercado v. anzano, it was clarified
that the phrase "dual citizenship" in said Section 4(d) must be understood as referring to "dual
allegiance.''
Subsequent, Congress enacted RA 9225 allowing natural-born citizens of the Philippines who
have lost their Philippine citizenship by reason of their naturalization abroad to reacquire
Philippine citizenship and to enjoy full civil and political rights upon compliance with the
requirements of the law.
They may now run for public office in the Philippines provided that they: (1) meet the
qualifications for holding such public office as required by the Constitution and existing laws;
and, (2) make a personal and sworn renunciation of any and all foreign citizenships before any
public officer authorized to administer an oath46 prior to or at the time of filing of their CoC.
In the case at bench, Comelec En Banc, ruled that Arnado failed to comply with the second
requisite of Section 5 (2) of RA 9225 because, as held in Maquiling v. Commission on Elections,
his April 3, 2009 Affidavit of Renunciation was deemed withdrawn when he used his US
passport after executing said affidavit. Consequently, at the time he filed his CoC on October 1,
2012 for purposes of the May 13, 2013 elections, Arnado had yet to comply with said second
requirement.
The Comelec also noted that while Arnado submitted an affidavit dated May 9, 2013, affirming
his April 3, 2009 Affidavit of Renunciation, the same would not suffice for having been belatedly
executed.
Moreover, it cannot be validly argued that Arnado should be given the opportunity to correct the
deficiency in his qualification because at the time this Court promulgated its Decision in
Maquiling on April 16, 2013, the period for filing the CoC for local elective office had already
lapsed.
use of his US passport in 2009 invalidated his oath of renunciation resulting in his
disqualification to run for mayor of Kauswagan in the 2010 elections. Since then and up to the
time he filed his CoC for the 2013 elections, Arnado had not cured the defect in his qualification.
Maquiling, therefore, is binding on and applicable to this case following the salutary doctrine of
stare decisis et non quieta movere, which means to adhere to precedents, and not to unsettle
things which are established.

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