DOMICILE

 is the relation which the law creates between an individual and a particular locality and country
 place where he has his true, fixed, permanent home and principal establishment and to which,
whenever he is absent, he has the intention of returning, and from which he has no present
intention of moving.
ELEMENTS OF DOMICILE
1. fact of residing or physical presence in a fixed place; and
2. animus manendi or the intention of returning there permanently

Domicile Residence

Requires both physical presence and intent to Used to indicate a place of abode whether permanent
return or temporary

Permanent Temporary

A man can have but one domicile for the same A man may have numerous places of residence
purpose at any time

o Residence is not domicile but domicile is residence coupled with the intention to remain for an
unlimited time.

KINDS OF DOMICILE
1. Domicile of origin or birth
 Refers to the domicile of a person’s parents, the head of his family, or the person on
whom he is legally dependent, at the time of his birth
2. Domicile of choice
 Refers to the place chosen by a person to replace hos former domicile
3. Domicile by operation of law
 Refers to the domicile assigned or attributed by law to a person
 May result from husband and wife or parent and child relationship
Loss and Retention
Domicile may be lost through the performance of certain acts indicative of an intent to abandon
domicile. These acts, however, may also indicate the intent to retain one’s domicile.
Example:
Members of the armed forces, students and clergymen do not lose their domicile while
assigned or staying somewhere else so long as they retain the intent to return to their domicile.
 A person may abandon his domicile by choosing a new domicile, actually residing therein, and
intending that place to be his permanent residence.
Change of Domicile
Domicile of origin is not easily lost.
To effect a change of domicile, one must demonstrate:

1. an actual removal or an actual change of domicile;

2. a bona fide intention of abandoning the former place of residence and establishing a new
one; and
3. acts which correspond with the purpose

Refugees and asylum seekers, do not act with voluntariness so they do not lose their
domicile.

Acts indicative of domicile

1. Person’s residence
2. Membership in church
3. Voting
4. Holding office
5. Paying taxes
6. Ownership of property

Romualdez Marcos v. COMELEC 248 scra 300 (1995)

ISSUE: Whether Marcos possessed the one-year residency requirement for the position of
representative of Leyte
RULING: Yes, Leyte is the domicile of Marcos.
Petitioner held various residences for different purpose during the last four decades. None of these
purposes unequivocally point to an intention to abandon her domicile of origin in Tacloban City. In the
absence of clear and positive proof, the residence of origin should be deemed to continue.
FACTS INDICATIVE OF DOMICILE
In or about 1938- she established her domicile in Tacloban, Leyte
1938-1949- studied in Holy Infant Academy in Tacloban
College- studied in Divine World University
Worked- taught in a Chinese Scholl in Tacloban
1952- went to Manila to work
1954- married the congressman of Ilocos Norte and registered as voter
1959- lived in San Juan, Rizal and registered as voter
1986- Honolulu, Hawaii
1. Establishing residences in Tacloban,
2. Celebrating birthdays and other important personal milestones in her home province,
3. instituting well-publicizes projects for the benefit of her province and town, and
 4. establishing political power base

Principles:
 An individual does not lose his domicile even if he has lived and maintained residences
in different places.

 The absence from legal residence or domicile to pursue a profession, to study or to to

do other things of a temporary or semi-permanent nature does not constitute loss of
residence.

 When constitution speaks of residence in election law, it actually means domicile.

Jalosjos v. COMELECG.R. NO. 191979, April 24, 2012

FACTS:
 1973-born in Quezon
 1981-Migrated to Australia
 2008- return to the Philippines and stayed at his brother’s house in Quezon
o -took the oath of allegiance to the Philippines and renounce Australian
citizenship
o -bought residential property in Quezon and fishpond in Zamboanga
o -filed a candidacy for Governor of Zamboanga

ISSUE: Whether the COMELEC was correct in holding that Jalosjos failed to establish that his
domicile was in Ipil, Zamboanga Sibugay.
RULING: No, the COMELEC was wrong.
Principles:
 A candidate is not required to have a house in the community to establish his residence or
domicile in a particular place. It is sufficient that he should live there even if it be rented house
or in the house of a friend or relative.

 Important to prove two things:

1. Actual presence; and
2. Intention of making it his domicile.

Permanent Residency Overseas and the Process of Foreign Naturalization

1. For people with non-immigrant visas (tourist and students) who are already in the
united states
  They usually file a petition for the adjustment of status from non-immigrant status to
permanent resident.
2. For people who are still in the Philippines, and who are petitioned by their loved ones
abroad
 They have to wait for the approval and release of their immigrant visas before they can go
abroad.
Immigration is the removing into one place from another; the act of immigrating is the entering into a
country with the intention of residing in it.
Immigrant is a person who removes into a country without for the purpose of permanent residence.
Permanent visa
 Referred to as Green card
 Issued to applicants who are given privilege to stay in the United States on a permanent
basis.

Permanent resident of the US

 Deemed to make United States their home
 Implies abandonment of the foreign domicile of the green card holder
 They could not be away from the US too long, usually more than one year, without
endangering their status.
 They must demonstrate concrete ties to the US, and these ties are those that bind.
US Citizenship
 Once the person complies with the conditions of his permanent residency and after a
continued stay in the US, the permanent residence becomes eligible to apply for US
citizenship.
 US citizenship is a more permanent status and is not lost even if the person later on moves to
another country to establish his domicile there.

Caballero v. COMELEC, G.R. No. 209835, September 22, 2015

FACTS:
 Petitioner was a natural-born Filipino and was raised in Uyugan, Batanes.
 Later, worked in Canada and became a Canadian citizen.
 2012- took oath of allegiance to the Philippines and renounced his Canadian citizenship
 2013- filed a candidacy for the position of mayor in Uyugan, Batanes

ISSUE: Whether petitioner had abandoned his domicile in Uyugan, Batanes

RULING: Yes, petitioner had abandoned his domicile in Uyugan, Batanes.
He failed to prove that he was able to reestablish his residence within a period of one year
immediately preceding the elections.
PRINCIPLES:
 Naturalization in a foreign country may result in an abandonment of domicile in the Philippines.
(Coquilla v. COMELEC)
 Retention of Philippine citizenship does not automatically make him regain his residence. He must
still prove that after becoming a Philippine citizen he had re-established his new domicile of choice
which is reckoned from the time he made it as such.
 One-year Residency Requirement
SECTION 39. Qualifications. - (a) An elective local official must be a citizen of the
Philippines; a registered voter in the Barangay, municipality, city, or province or, in the
case of a member of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, Sangguniang Panlungsod, or
Sanggunian bayan, the district where he intends to be elected; a resident therein for at
least one (1) year immediately preceding the day of the election; and able to read and
write Filipino or any other local language or dialect. (Local Government Code)

Absentee Voting and Domicile

ARTICLE V CONSTITUTION
SUFFRAGE
Section 1. Suffrage may be exercised by all citizens of the Philippines not otherwise disqualified by
law, who are at least eighteen years of age, and who shall have resided in the Philippines for at least
one year, and in the place wherein they propose to vote, for at least six months immediately
preceding the election.
 There is a residency requirement before a person can exercise his right of suffrage. This
residency requirement must conform with the doctrine of domicile so the persons who have the
intention of returning to their domicile may be allowed to vote despite being absent thereat for
a considerable time.

Section 2. The Congress shall provide a system for securing the secrecy and sanctity of the ballot as
well as a system for absentee voting by qualified Filipinos abroad.
 The provision grants citizens who are abroad and who may not otherwise be able to cast their
votes on election day in Philippine precincts to vote in Philippine consulates and authorized
foreign stations.

REPUBLIC ACT 10590 AMENDED RA 9189

Section 3. Section 4 of the same Act is hereby amended to read as follows:
"SEC. 4. Coverage. - All citizens of the Philippines abroad, who are not otherwise disqualified by law,
at least eighteen (18) years of age on the day of elections, may vote for President, Vice-President,
Senators and Party-List Representatives, as well as in all national referenda and plebiscites."
  All Filipino overseas may vote without demonstrating actual residency or domicile in the
Philippines.

Section 4. Section 5 of the same Act is hereby amended to read as follows:

SEC. 5. Disqualifications. - The following shall be disqualified from registering and voting under this
Act:
(a) Those who have lost their Filipino citizenship in accordance with Philippine laws;
(b) Those who have expressly renounced their Philippine citizenship and who have pledged
allegiance to a foreign country, except those who have reacquired or retained their Philippine
citizenship under Republic Act No. 9225, otherwise known as the 'Citizenship Retention and
Reacquisition Act of 2003;

Nicolas-Lewis v. COMELEC G.R. NO. 162759, August 4, 2006

FACTS: Nicolas-Lewis et al. reacquired their Philippine citizenship under RA 9225.
ISSUE: Whether petitioners and others who have reacquired their Philippine citizenship pursuant to
RA 9225 may vote as absentee under RA 9189
RULING: Yes, they are entitled to vote as absentee voters.
Duals may now exercise the right of suffrage through the absentee voting scheme and as overseas
absentee voters.

Venue in Estate Proceedings

Residence of a person
 is significant in determining the venue of estate proceedings and ordinary civil actions.
 Actual residence or place of abode
 Not the person’s domicile