Published on 04 April 2013
Written by Jomar Canlas Senior Reporter
In a ruling dated March 27, the Comelec First Division held
that Reyes is a US citizen and is therefore disqualified from running
for a seat in the House of Representatives in the May 13 elections.
The
case stemmed from a petition filed by Joseph Tan to deny due course to
or cancel Reyes’ certificate of candidacy on the basis of several false
representations made by Reyes in her certificate of candidacy.
The
petition stated that Reyes, daughter of Marinduque Governor Carmencita
Reyes and sister of Toll Regulatory Board Executive Director Edmundo
Reyes, Jr., intentionally withheld the fact that she is single, a
natural-born Filipino citizen, and a resident of Boac, Marinduque, but
who carries a US passport.
Reyes was supposed to face Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco, who defeated her brother Edmundo during the May 2010 polls.
In
its decision, the poll body pointed out that Reyes is a US citizen and
relied on the certificate issued by the Bureau of Immigration detailing
Reyes’ use of a US passport since 2005.
“Unless and until she can
establish that she had availed of the privileges of RA 9225 by becoming
a dual Filipino-American citizen, and thereafter, made a valid sworn
renunciation of her American citizenship, she remains to be an American
citizen and is, therefore, ineligible to run for and hold any elective
public office in the Philippines,” the Comelec ruling said.
The
poll body further stated that “the requirement of Philippine citizenship
is indispensable for a person seeking for an elective public office…It
is a requisite which should be dealt with more scrutiny, if only to
ensure that no person owing allegiance to other nation is actually
permitted to govern our people.”
Sources from the Comelec say
that when the finality of the ruling is rendered, all votes for Reyes
will be deemed as stray votes or will not be counted by the PCOS
machines.
