EDUARDO, RAY BRADLEY B.

19-00327
CONSTITUTIONAL LAW 1

1. The COMELEC, pursuant to its mandate to enforce and administer election laws,
promulgated rules and regulations which state that a person must be able to read and write
in order to vote. It also mandated the submission proof of employment or proof of income.
Can the COMELEC issue rules and regulations which impose these requirements for the
exercise of the right to suffrage? State the reasons for your answer. (5 pts)

- No. Under Section 1, Article V of the Constitution, the COMELEC cannot impose literacy,
property, or another substantive requirement on the exercise of suffrage. Here, it is clear that the
imposition is based on the ability of the person to read, write, and proof of employment or proof
of income. These requirements are substantive means to restrict persons from achieving their
Constitutional rights. Moreover, these are prejudicial to the persons’ right of suffrage and shall not
be countenanced in full accord with the Constitution.

2. a. As used in the law prescribing the qualifications for suffrage and for elective office, what
is the difference between "residence" and "domicile"? (5 pts)
- Residence is a place where an individual has a relationship to it. Even if he remains in his
domicile, it does not mean that he truly abandoned his residence. Under Sec. 117 of B.P. 881, any
person who transfers residence to another city shall not be deemed to have abandoned or lost the
same.
On the other hand, a domicile is where a person intends to return, even if he intended to
leave for a specific purpose. A person can have many residences, but he cannot have multiple
domiciles unless he renounces his current domicile in favor of another. According to Sec. 5(d) of
R.A. 9198, a person who has a domicile in the Philippines shall execute an affidavit declaring that
he/ she shall resume actual, physical, permanent residence in the Philippines not later than three
years and that he/she had not applied for citizenship in another country.
b. Define/explain the concepts of animus manendi, animus revertendi and animus non
revertendi .(5 pts)
- Animus manendi is the place from which one could or might depart. It is also a principle
where a person intends to remain permanently to his residence. Animus revertendi is based on the
principle that a person remains his domicile even if he left it for a specific purpose. Animus non-
revertendi applies when a person intends to abandon his domicile and transfer to another domicile
of his/her choice.