G.R. No. 192856 , March 8, 2011
FERNANDO V. GONZALEZ, Petitioner, vs. COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS, RENO G. LIM, STEPHEN C. BICHARA and THE SPECIAL BOARD OF CANVASSERS constituted per Res. dated July 23, 2010 of the Commission on Elections En Banc, Respondents.

FACTS

Petitioner Fernando V. Gonzalez and private respondent Reno G. Lim were candidates for Representative of the 3rd District of Albay in the May 10, 2010 elections. On March 30, 2010, Stephen Bichara filed a Petition for Disqualification and Cancellation of Certificate of Candidacy (COC) against Gonzalez, alleging he was a Spanish national as the legitimate child of a Spanish father and a Filipino mother, and that he failed to elect Philippine citizenship upon reaching the age of majority as required by Commonwealth Act No. 625 . The petition also noted Gonzalez’s late registration of his birth certificate in 2006, 45 years after reaching majority age in 1961. Gonzalez asserted he was a Filipino, having taken an Oath of Allegiance on his 21st birthday, September 11, 1961, and having comported himself as a Filipino throughout his life, including being elected to various positions. The COMELEC Second Division, on May 8, 2010, granted the petition and declared Gonzalez disqualified, finding his evidence of the oath insufficient and the late registration ineffective for electing citizenship. Despite this, Gonzalez was proclaimed the winner on May 12, 2010, after the canvass showed he garnered 96,000 votes against Lim’s 68,701. Gonzalez filed a motion for reconsideration. The COMELEC En Banc, on July 23, 2010, denied the motion, affirmed the disqualification, annulled Gonzalez’s proclamation as illegal and premature, and ordered the constitution of a Special Board of Canvassers to proclaim Lim as the duly elected Representative.

ISSUE

Whether the COMELEC committed grave abuse of discretion in disqualifying Fernando V. Gonzalez as a candidate and subsequently annulling his proclamation.

RULING

The Supreme Court granted the petition, reversed and set aside the COMELEC Resolutions dated May 8, 2010 and July 23, 2010, and declared Fernando V. Gonzalez the duly elected Representative of the 3rd District of Albay. The Court held that the COMELEC committed grave abuse of discretion.
1. On the Timeliness of the Disqualification Petition: The Court ruled that the petition filed by Bichara was essentially one for cancellation of the COC under Section 78 of the Omnibus Election Code, based on an alleged false material representation regarding citizenship. Such a petition must be filed within 25 days from the filing of the COC. Gonzalez filed his COC on December 1, 2009, making the deadline December 26, 2009. Bichara’s petition filed on March 30, 2010 was therefore filed out of time and should have been dismissed.
2. On the Validity of Gonzalez’s Election of Philippine Citizenship: The Court found that Gonzalez successfully elected Philippine citizenship. He took a valid Oath of Allegiance before a notary public on September 11, 1961, his 21st birthday. This act of election was done within a “reasonable time” from reaching the age of majority, as required by jurisprudence. His subsequent acts—registering as a voter, voting in elections, running and being elected to public office (City Mayor and Governor), obtaining a Philippine passport, and participating in civic affairs—conclusively established his positive act of election and his consistent conduct as a Filipino citizen. The late registration of his birth certificate in 2006, which indicated his citizenship as “Filipino,” was merely a confirmatory act and did not detract from his earlier valid election.
3. On the Effect of Proclamation and the Will of the Electorate: The Court emphasized that Gonzalez had already been proclaimed winner, taken his oath of office, and assumed the duties of his position. In such cases, the proper remedy for questioning his eligibility is a quo warranto proceeding before the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal (HRET), which has exclusive jurisdiction over post-proclamation contests concerning a member of the House of Representatives. The COMELEC’s order to proclaim the second-placer, Lim, was erroneous. When the winning candidate is ineligible, the votes cast for him are not considered stray. The second-placer cannot be proclaimed winner simply because the first-placer is ineligible, as the second-placer did not receive the majority or plurality of valid votes.