Facts: Petitioners, who reacquired Philippine citizenship under R.A. No. 9225, sought registration and certification as “overseas absentee voters” however they were advised by the Philippine Embassy in the US that as per a COMELEC letter to DFA dated September 23, 2003, they have no right yet to vote in such elections owing to their lack of the one-year residence requirement prescribed by Sec. 1, Art. IV of the Constitution.
When petitioner Nicolas-Lewis
clarified on said requirement, the COMELEC replied its position that
the OAVL was not enacted for the petitioners and that they are considered regular
voters who have to meet the requirements of residency under the Constitution.
Faced with the prospect of not being
able to vote in the May 2004 elections because of COMELEC's refusal to
include them in the National Registry of Absentee Voters, petitioners filed on April 1, 2004 a petition for certiorari and
mandamus.
On April 30, 2004 (a little over a
week before Election Day), COMELEC filed a Comment praying for the denial of
the petition. Consequently, petitioners were not able to register let
alone vote in said elections.
On May 20, 2004, the OSG filed a
Manifestation (in Lieu of Comment) stating that “all qualified overseas
Filipinos, including dual citizens who care to exercise the right of suffrage,
may do so,” observing, however, that the conclusion of the 2004 elections had rendered
the petition moot and academic.
Issue: Must the
Supreme Court still resolve said petition considering that under the
circumstances the same has already been rendered moot and academic?
Held: The holding of
the 2004 elections had indeed rendered the petition
moot and academic, but only insofar as petitioners’ participation in such
political exercise is concerned. The broader and transcendental issue tendered in the petition is the propriety of allowing dual citizens to participate and vote as absentee voter in future elections, which however, remains
unresolved.
The issues are thus reduced to the question of whether or not petitioners and others who might have meanwhile
retained and/or reacquired Philippine citizenship pursuant to R.A. 9225 may
vote as absentee voter under R.A. 9189.
[Ruling on the main issue:
Considering the unison intent of the Constitution and R.A. 9189 and the
expansion of the scope of that law with the passage of R.A. 9225, the
irresistible conclusion is that dual citizens may now exercise the right of
suffrage thru the absentee voting scheme and as overseas absentee voters.
The Court granted the instant
petition and held that those who retain or re‑acquire Philippine citizenship
under R.A. No. 9225 may exercise the right to vote under the system of
absentee voting in R.A. No. 9189, the Overseas Absentee Voting Act of
2003.]
No comments:
Post a Comment