|
By William B. Depasupil, Reporter
A lawmaker from Negros Oriental
has asked the Supreme Court (SC) to dismiss the petitions seeking
her disqualification from office for not being a natural-born
Filipino citizen.
In a 40-page memorandum, Rep.
Jocelyn Limkaichong of Negros Oriental, through lawyer Pete Quirino-Quadra,
asked the High Tribunal to reverse and set aside a resolution of the
Commission of Elections’ (Comelec) Second Division handed down on
May 17, 2007, disqualifying her from running for the position of
representatives of the First District of Negros Oriental on the
ground that she is allegedly a Chinese national because her father
Julio Ong Sy did not acquire Filipino citizenship through
naturalization proceedings before a court.
Limkaichong, who ran under the
banner of the administration Lakas-CMD party, won by a majority of
7,746 votes over her next rival Olivia Paras, and less than 40,000
votes over the third placer former Rep. Jerome Paras.
Olivia is the wife of former Rep.
Jacinto “Jing” Paras, while Jerome, also a former
representative, is the brother of Jacinto.
“Congresswoman Limkaichong is a
natural-born Filipino citizen. At the time of her birth on November
9, 1959, her father Julio Sy was already a naturalized Filipino
citizen,” the memorandum stressed.
Limkaichong told the Court that
her father filed his petition for naturalization on July 28, 1955,
when he was still single, at the age of 22, with the Court of First
Instance of Negros Oriental, Branch 2. On May 27, 1956, Julio Sy
married Anecia Uy Guangco-Dy, a natural-born Filipino citizen.
After the hearing of July 10,
1959, the Court of First Instance on September 21, 1959, issued the
order declaring Julio Ong Sy a naturalized Filipino citizen. On
October 21, 1959, Julio Ong Sy took his oath of allegiance and was
issued the Certificate of Naturalization.
“As shown by the logbook
of the office of the Solicitor General, the Oath of Allegiance was
furnished the Solicitor General on November 2, 1959. If the
Solicitor General was not furnished a copy of the Order of September
21, 1959; if it was not notified of the hearing of July 10, 1959,
surely, the Solicitor General should have filed the necessary
petition to cancel the Certificate of Naturalization pursuant to
Section 18, Commonwealth Act No. 473,” the petitioner said.
“No such petition has been
filed up to the present. In the comment filed by the Solicitor
General, there is no that the Naturalization Certificate of Julio
Ong Sy was obtained fraudulently or illegally,” she added.
Limkaichong also asserted that
the citizenship of Julio Sy couldn’t be collaterally attacked in
the petition for disqualification. “It could only be assailed in
the proper proceedings to be instituted by the Solicitor General
with the Regional Trial Court in accordance with the Section 18,
Commonwealth Act No. 473,” she said.
“This is the best proof that
the accusation that I am allegedly a Chinese national has no factual
nor legal basis,” she stressed.
Limkaichong, who claims that the
disputed Comelec resolution was issued with grave abuse of
discretion, also asserted that the petitions for disqualification
against her are “deemed dismissed” because of the June 29, 2007,
Comelec en banc resolution ruling that the Comelec was divested of
jurisdiction because of the proclamation of Limkaichong on May 25,
2007.
Under the Constitution, election
cases which are no longer “pre-proclamation” suits must be
handled by the House Electoral Tribunal (HRET) in recognition of the
legislature’s innate right to determine the fitness of its
members.
Article VI, Section 17 of the
1987 Constitution provides that the Senate and the House of
Representatives shall each have an electoral tribunal that shall be
the sole judge of all contests relating to the election, returns and
disqualifications of their respective members.
Limkaichong was referring to the
August 16, 2007, resolution of the Comelec en banc, where all the
six commissioners unanimously ruled that it no longer has
jurisdiction over the petitions for disqualification against
Limkaichong and that all issues pertaining to her proclamation is
now vested with the HRET.
|
