Barely warming his seat in office, a Sangguniang Kabataan chairman will have to relinquish the post, after the Commission on Elections disqualified him on the issue of residency.
In a 7-page ruling, the Comelec First Division, presided by Commissioner Rene V. Sarmiento, with concurrence of two members, Commissioners Armando C. Velasco and Gregorio V. Larrazabal, found respondent Iam Alastraire Painagan Palgan lacking the most vital requirement before he can run for the position of Chairman, Sangguniang Kabataan of Barangay Poblacion Norte, Carmen, Bohol.
Palgan’s disqualification came as an offshoot of a petition filed by Kristine Jeane Budiongan, daughter of former Carmen mayor Pedro Budiongan, Jr who is now the incumbent vice mayor of the town.
Petitioner was assisted by the Trabajo-Lim Law Office, based in this city.
The petition against Palgan alleged that he is not qualified to run for the position for the simple reason that he is not a resident of Barangay Poblacion Norte, Carmen, Bohol.
Contrary to what is indicated in the Certificate of Candidacy of the respondent, petitioner claims that the former is a resident not of Poblacion Norte but of Barangay Poblacion Sur, Carmen, Bohol.
Respondent, denied the allegations and in his answer, he argued that despite the fact that his father is a resident of Barangay Poblacion Sur, his mother is a resident of barangay Poblacion Norte , as evidenced by her COC when she ran for public office.
Palgan claims he is choosing the mother’s residence as his.
But petitioner Budiongan insisted that Palgan being a minor, follows the residence of his parents. To substantiate her claim, Budiongan submitted several documents stating that respondent is not a resident of Barangay Poblacion Norte; most notable of which are copies of respondent’s father’s COC when he ran for public office during the 2007 and 20120 elections.
The COC of Palgan’s father indicated therein that he is a resident of Barangay Poblacion Sur, Carmen, Bohol.
RESIDENCY
Defining first the term residency in relation to election laws, the Comelec cited several Supreme Court cases that define residency as synonymous to domicile. The high court had held the concept of “domicile†to mean an individual’s “permanent homeâ€, a place to which, whenever absent for business or for pleasure, one intends to return.
Using this pronouncement, the Court in the famous case of Romualdez-Marcos vs. Comelec, stated that domicile includes the twin elements of the fact of residing or physical presence in a fixed place and “animus manendi†or the intention of returning there permanently.
Having made clear the definition of the term residency, the Comelec went into the issue presented before them: “whether respondent is a resident of Barangay Poblacion Norte, Carmen, Boholâ€. - Bohol Standard
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