ISSUE:
(1) Whether or not petitioner is disqualified in running for Representative of 1 st
district of Leyte.
(2) Whether or not the COMELEC has jurisdiction to hear and judge the
disqualification of herein petitioner.
HELD:
The court ruled in favor of the petitioner. The residence which referred to by the
Constitution as one of the requirements in running for a position of a District
Representative is one that of having a characteristics of domicile. A domicile is a kind of
residence which one is absent for business or pleasure, has the intention of returning
back. In other words this is pertaining to a permanent residence. The court further
states that one may choose to have several residence because of some reasons like
business or engaging in a profession, but there is only one domicile in which that certain
person or individual has an attached relationship with the place or community. A
domicile ceases to be one if there is an intention to abandon it, but it is not conclusive
that when you have several residences you automatically disregard or abandon the
domicile.
In the instant case, the petitioner believes that Leyte is her domicile because it
is where she grew up, it is where most of her relatives live and she always comes back
during her lifetime. There was no concrete evidence contrary to the allegation of the
COMELEC, that would show that she abandoned it. Therefore the Supreme Court
convinced that the 7 months she wrote in her certificate of candidacy was an honest
mistake of fact. Based on the evidence, the petitioner was able to establish that 1 st
district of Leyte is her legal residence or Domicile. Hence she cannot be disqualified in
running the said position.
On the second issue of jurisdiction, the COMELEC has the authority to judge
the election, returns and disqualification of the petitioner, since the petition was filed
before the actual election has been made and it was pending even at the time of the
actual casting of vote. Even though Marcos garnered the highest vote, she is not
considered yet to be a member of the House of Representative until she took an oath.
HRET is a sole judge in matters of election, returns and disqualification of its members
as provided in Section 17, Article VI of the 1987 Constitution , the law contemplates
member to be one who has already taken an oath.