Co v HRET

Facts:

Respondent Ong was proclaimed the duly elected representative of the 2nd district of Northern
Samar. His adversaries, which include petitioners Co et al., filed election protests against him
averring that he is not a natural-born citizen of the Phils. and that he is not a resident of the 2nd
district of Northern Samar and therefore he did not satisfy the qualification for representatives
mandated in Art VI, Sec 6 of the Constitution. It is argued that Ong does not even have real
properties in that district. Respondent HRET found for Ong, hence his petition for certiori. Ong
was born of a natural-born citizen mother and a Chinese father who was later naturalized while
Ong was a minor. Ong was born in the said district of Samar and grew up there. Their house was
twice burned and, in both times, they rebuilt their residence in the same place. After elementary,
he pursued his studies in Mla. and practiced his profession as CPA in the Central Bank of the Phils.
Later, he engaged himself in the management of the family business in Mla. He married a Filipina.
In between, he made periodical journeys back to his home province. However, Ong does not
have property in the district.

Issues:

(1) Is Ong a naturally-born Filipino citizen?

(2) Is Ong a resident of the 2nd district of Northern Samar?

Held:

(1) Yes. When Ong’s father was naturalized, Sec 15 of the Revised Naturalization Act squarely
applies its benefit to him for he was then a minor residing in this country. Thus, it was the law
itself which elected Philippine citizenship to him when he was only 9. Election through a sworn
statement when he turned 21 (age of majority) would have been an unusual and unnecessary
procedure for one who is already a Filipino citizen. Moreover, formal declaration is a requirement
for those who still have to elect citizenship. For those already Filipinos, when the time to elect
came up, there are acts of deliberate choice which cannot be less binding and, in this case, Ong’s
establishment of his life here are themselves formal manifestations of choice.

(2) Yes. The domicile of origin of Ong, which was the domicile of his parents, is fixed at Laoang,
Samar (in the district). Although no merit was found in the petitioners’ argument that Ong does
not even have property in the district, the Court nonetheless held, for the sake of argument, that
did it is not required that a person should have a house in order to establish his residence and
domicile because that would tantamount to a property qualification. It is enough that he should
live in the municipality. Although he studied in Manila and practiced his profession therein, the
periodical journeys made to his home province reveal that he always had the animus revertendi.