G.R. No.
119976 September 18, 1995 In a Supplemental Petition dated 25 May 1995, Marcos claimed that
IMELDA ROMUALDEZ-MARCOS, petitioner,
vs.
COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS and CIRILO ROY MONTEJO,
respondents.
FACTS:
Petitioner Imelda Romualdez-Marcos filed her Certificate of
Candidacy for the position of Representative of the First District of
Leyte in 1995, providing that her residence in the place was seven
(7) months.
On March 23, 1995, Cirilo Roy Montejo, the incumbent
Representative of the First District of Leyte and also a candidate for
the same position filed a petition for cancellation and
disqualification with the COMELEC charging Marcos as she did not
comply with the constitutional requirement for residency as she
lacked the Constitution’s one-year residency requirement for
candidates for the House of Representative.
In her Amended Corrected Certificate of Candidacy, the petitioner
changed seven months to since childhood under residency. Thus,
the petitioner’s motion for reconsideration was denied.
On May 11, 1995, the COMELEC issued a Resolution allowing
petitioner’s proclamation showing that she obtained the highest
number of votes in the congressional elections in the First District of
Leyte. The COMELEC reversed itself and issued a second Resolution
directing that the proclamation of petitioner be suspended in the
event that she obtains the highest number of votes.
she was the overwhelming winner of the elections based on the
canvass completed by the Provincial Board of Canvassers.
ISSUE:
Whether or not Imelda Marcos was a resident of the First District of
Leyte to satisfy the one-year residency requirement to be eligible in
running as representative. (YES)
RULING:
Yes. The court is in favor of a conclusion supporting petitioner’s
claim of legal residence or domicile in the First District of Leyte.
Residence is synonymous with domicile which reveals a tendency
for 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 her domicile even if she has lived and
maintained residences in different places. In the case at bench, the
evidence adduced by Montejo 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.
It can be concluded that the facts supporting its proposition that
petitioner was ineligible to run for the position of Representative of
the First District of Leyte, the COMELEC was obviously referring to
petitioner’s various places of (actual) residence, not her domicile.

Having determined that Marcos possessed 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, May 11, 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.