Frivaldo v. Comelec gr. No 120295.

Justic e Panganiban

Issue: Was the repatriation valid and legal and reasonably cure his lack of citizenship as toqualify him to be proclaimed and to hold the Office

Held: Yes. According to law, citizenship may be reacquired by 1) direct act of Congress, 2)by naturalization or 3) by repatriation under P.D 725. The law does
not specifically state a particular date or time when the candidate must possess citizenship.

An official begins to govern or to discharge his functions only upon his proclamation and on the day the law mandates his term of office to begin. Since
Frivaldo re-assumed his citizenship on the very day the term of his office began, he was therefore already qualified to be proclaimed, to hold office and to
discharge the functions and responsibilities thereof as of said date.
The Local Government Code requires an elective official to be a registered voter. It does not require him to vote actually.
In other words, the law's purpose in this second requirement is to ensure that the prospective official is actually registered in the area he seeks to govern — and
not anywhere else. In fact, petitioner voted in all the previous elections. The prime issue
of citizenship should be reckoned from the date of proclamation, not necessarily the date of election or date of filing of the certificate of candidacy.
The repatriation of the petitioner retroacted upon the date of filing of his application.

Lecaroz v. Sandiganbayan- Justice Bellosilo

Jowill Red won as KB Chairman of Brgy. Matalaba Sta Cruz. Lenlie Lecaroz, son of Francisco Lecaroz the Municipal Mayor of Sta. Cruz and former
chairman of the KB did not run as candidate as he was no longer qualified for the position after having already passed the age limit fixed by law.

After sometime, Red received a telegram from Imee Marcos Manotoc confirming his appointment as member of Sanguniang Bayan of Sta. Cruz. The
telegram also advised him that he would receive copies of the said appointment papers. Red showed the telegram to Mayor Lecaroz and on the meeting of
Sangunian upon invitation of one of its members, Red attended the said meeting. However he was informed that he could not sit yet as member of the
municipal council until his appointment has been cleared by the Governor of Marinduque.
When Red received his appointment papers, he forwarded the same to Mayor Lecaroz although at the time it was already Cory Aquino who was the elected
president. Red however was still not allowed to sit as member of the municipal council in the Sanggunian.

Mayor Lecaroz on the otherhand prepared and approved 26 sets of payrolls to which the date covering January 1-15, 1986 was signed by Lenlie Lecaroz.
Re d filed a criminal complaint for 13 counts estafa through falsification of public document arising from the refusal of the two officials to let him assume the
position of KB sectoral representative. After preliminary investigation, Sandiganbayan rendered a decision charging the accused father and son guilty on all
counts of estafa through….
As to Red’s appointment, the sandiganbayan held that since the former was elected president of the KB and took his oath before assembly woman Reyes, his
assumption of the KB presidency upon the expiration of the term of accused was valid.

Issue: w/n red can validly assume a seat in the Sangunian as the KB Sectoral Representative.

Held: No.