REYES v.

COMELEC
Topic: Alienage

FACTS:

Reyes, a candidate for the House of Representatives, was questioned by the

COMELEC for not having completed her requirements to run as a member of the
House. Among other issues, she was deemed as not a Filipino citizen for she
possessed an American passport when she filed her candidacy. Reyes, in her defense,
argued that she had already renounced her citizenship when she took an oath of
allegiance when she was appointed as Provincial Administrator of Marinduque. The
COMELEC denied her petition to allow her to be a candidate. As a result, Reyes filed
this petition before the Supreme Court stating that the COMELEC acted in grave abuse
of discretion when it denied her petition.

ISSUE: Whether or not Reyes is a Filipino citizen and therefore allowed to run as a
candidate of the House of Representatives

HELD:

NO. The Court herein ruled that Reyes was not a Filipino citizen when she filed her
certificate of candidacy. To be a candidate of the House of Representatives, an
individual should be a Filipino citizen at the time of his or her filing of the COC and must
be resident thereof (of the municipality he or she will be representing) for not less than 1
year. In the case at bar, petitioner Reyes failed to prove that she had already renounced
her American citizenship. Her contention that she already renounced the same cannot
be entertained. She stated that she already took her oath of allegiance when she was
appointed as Provincial Administrator of Marinduque. However, the said oath taking was
not in accordance with present laws. For a former citizen to be considered as a Filipino
citizen again, he or she must conform to the rules stated in RA 9225. In this case,
petitioner Reyes did not comply with the said requirements. Moreover, her residency
issue was also barring her candidacy. She failed to prove that she had intent to
establish her domicile in the Philippines. Her actions prove that she has no intention of
leaving her domicile in the United States.

PETITION IS DISMISSED.