G.R. No.

119976 September 18, 1995

IMELDA ROMUALDEZ-MARCOS vs. COMMISION ON ELECTIONS & CIRILYO BOY MONTEJO

FACTS:

Petitioner Imelda Marcos established her domicile in Tacloban City, which was her father’s
hometown, in 1938 when she moved there at the age of 8. She pursued her studies (GS,HS, College)
in the aforementioned city and subsequently taught in the Leyte Chinese School. In 1952, she went
to Manila to work in the House of Representatives. Two years after, she married Pres. Ferdinand
Marcos when he was still a Congressman in Ilocos Norte and registered there as a voter. In 1959, her
husband was elected a Senator and they lived in San Juan, Rizal where she again registered as a
voter. And in 1965, she lived in the Malacanang Palace when her husband became the President.
This time, she registered as a voter in San Miguel, Manila. After their exile in Hawaii, she ran for
President in 1992 and indicated in her (Certificate of Candidacy) CoC that she was a resident and
register voter of San Juan, Metro Manila.

Marcos filed her CoC for the position of Representative of the First District of Leyte.

March 23,1995, Cirilo Roy Montejo filed a petition for cancellation and disqualification with the
COMELEC alleging that Imelda-Romualdez Marcos did not meet the 1 year constitutional
requirement for residency.

Apparently, she wrote down in her CoC in item no.8, which asked for the number of years of
residency, that she had been a resident in Tolosa for 7 months.

Marcos filed an amended CoC changing “7 months” to “since childhood”, claiming that it was an
honest misinterpretation that she thought she was being asked for her actual and physical presence
in Tolosa, and not her domicile.

The COMELEC found the petition for her disqualification meritorious and cancelled her amended
CoC. For them, it was clear that Marcos has not complied with the 1 year residency requirement.

- In election cases, the term residence has always been considered synonymous with domicile.
This is the intention to reside in the place coupled with the personal presence.
- When she returned after her exile, she did not choose to go back to Tacloban. Thus, her animus
revertendi (intention to return)
- Pure intention to reside in Tacloban is not sufficient, there must be conduct indicative of such
intention.

May 11, 1995, The COMELEC denied her motion for reconsideration but issued are solution allowing
for her proclamation should she obtain the highest number of votes. On the same day, however, the
COMELEC reversed itself and directed the suspension of her proclamation.

Marcos found out that she was won by a landslide in the said elections and prayed for her
proclamation. Based on the canvass completed by the Provincial Board of Canvassers on May 14,
1995, Petitioner alleged that the canvass showed that she obtained a total of 70,471 votes
compared to the 36,833 votes received by Respondent Montejo.

Hence, this petition.

ISSUE:

Whether or not petitioner was a resident, for election purposes, of the First District of Leyte for a
period of one year at the time of the May 9, 1995 elections.

HELD:

Residence is synonymous with domicile which reveals a tendency or mistake the concept of
domicile for actual residence, a conception not intended for the purpose of determining a
candidate’s qualifications for the election to the House of Representatives as required by the 1987
Constitution. An individual does not lose his domicile even if he has lived and maintained residences
in different places. In the case at bench, the evidence adduced by Motejo lacks the degree of
persuasiveness as required to convince the court that an abandonment of domicile of origin in favor
of a domicile of choice indeed incurred. It cannot be correctly argued that Marcos lost her domicile
of origin by operation of law as a result of her marriage to the late President Ferdinand E. Marcos.
Having determined that Marcos possess the necessary residence qualifications to run for a seat in
the House of Representatives in the First District of Leyte, the COMELEC’s questioned resolutions
dated April 24, May 7, May11, and May 25 are set aside. Provincial Board of Canvassers is directed
to proclaim Marcos as the duly elected Representative of the First District of Leyte.