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Poll candidates must renounce foreign citizenship before seeking public office - SC
QUEZON CITY, Philippines – The Supreme Court orders politicians with dual citizenship to give up their foreign citizenship before an authorized body to qualify as candidates in the country's elections.
The 24-page ruling written by Justice Bienvenido Reyes slammed the petition of Teodora Sobejana-Condon over the low court's decision that disqualified her from being the Vice Mayor of Caba, La Union.
It was after Condon failed to renounce her Australian citizenship before running into office, as declared by the Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 33's ruling on October 2010, and affirmed by the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) on 2011.
Renunciation not under oath
Condon is a natural-born Filipino who gained foreign citizenship upon marriage to Australian husband.
She re-acquired her Philippine citizenship on 2005, taking an oath before the Philippine Embassy in Canberra, Australia. On 2006, she filed an unsworn Declaration of Renounciation of Australian Citizenship which ceased her Australian citizenship.
She ran for Mayor in Caba during the May 2007 elections but lost in her bid. Three years later, she again sought for public post, this time securing hometown votes for the position of Vice Mayor.
However, private respondents Robelito Picar, Wilma Pagaduan and Luis Bautista filed separate petitions before the RTC questioning Condon's eligibilty to hold elective public office.
The petitions seek to disqualify her for failing to execute "personal and sworn renunciation of any and all foreign citizenship before any public officer authorized to administer an oath" as mandated by Section 5 (2) of R.A. No. 9225.
For her part, Condon denied being a dual citizen and contend that she ceased to be an Australian citizen as the declaration she made on 2006 sufficiently complied with the provisions of the law.
Yet the trial court held her ineligible for office, stating in its ruling that Condon herself admitted during trial that "the personal declaration of renunciation she filed in Australia was not under oath.”
The COMELEC also stood with the findings of the RTC when Condon appealed the case on November 2010.
Free from ambiguity
In its decision, the SC affirmed the conclusions of the two chambers, maintaining that Section 5(2) of R.A. 9225 is "clear and free from any doubt" to be interpreted as "a m