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Frivaldo vs. COMELEC (G.R. No. 87193 June 23, 1989) - Case Digest

Juan Frivaldo was elected as governor of Sorsogon in 1988 but his election was challenged due to him becoming a naturalized American citizen in 1983. Frivaldo argued he was forced to become an American citizen and participating in the Philippine elections caused him to lose his American citizenship. However, the Supreme Court ruled Frivaldo could not validly serve as governor because he had not regained his Filipino citizenship and was still considered a citizen of the United States under Philippine law. Even though he was elected by the people of Sorsogon, the qualifications for elective office cannot be erased and he must owe sole loyalty to the Philippines in order to hold public office.

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404 views1 page

Frivaldo vs. COMELEC (G.R. No. 87193 June 23, 1989) - Case Digest

Juan Frivaldo was elected as governor of Sorsogon in 1988 but his election was challenged due to him becoming a naturalized American citizen in 1983. Frivaldo argued he was forced to become an American citizen and participating in the Philippine elections caused him to lose his American citizenship. However, the Supreme Court ruled Frivaldo could not validly serve as governor because he had not regained his Filipino citizenship and was still considered a citizen of the United States under Philippine law. Even though he was elected by the people of Sorsogon, the qualifications for elective office cannot be erased and he must owe sole loyalty to the Philippines in order to hold public office.

Uploaded by

Amir Nazri Kaibing
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Juan Frivaldo vs Commission

on Elections
November 26, 2012

174 SCRA 245 – Law on Public Officers – Citizenship of a Public Officer


In 1988, Juan Frivaldo won as governor of Sorsogon. Salvador Estuye, President
of the League of Municipalities of Sorsogon, filed with the COMELEC a petition
for annulment of Frivaldo’s election and proclamation because apparently,
Frivaldo, in 1983, was naturalized as an American. In his defense, Frivaldo said
that he was forced to be naturalized because the then President Marcos was
after him; but that participating in the Philippine elections, he has effectively
lost his American citizenship pursuant to American laws. He also assailed the
petition as he claimed that it is in the nature of a quo warranto which is already
filed out of time, the same not being filed ten days after his proclamation.
ISSUE: Whether or not Frivaldo can validly serve as a governor.
HELD: No. He has not regained Filipino citizenship. As far as Philippine law is
concerned, he is not a Filipino. He lost his citizenship when he declared
allegiance to the United States. Even if he did lose his US citizenship, that did
not restore his being a Filipino because he did not undergo naturalization or
repatriation proceedings. Neither did his participation in the 1988 elections
restore his Philippine citizenship. At best, he is a stateless person. He cannot
serve as governor when he owes allegiance to a foreign state. The fact that he
was elected by the people of Sorsogon does not excuse this patent violation of
the salutary rule limiting public office and employment only to the citizens of
this country. The qualifications prescribed for elective office cannot be erased by
the electorate alone. The will of the people as expressed through the ballot
cannot cure the vice of ineligibility, especially if they mistakenly believed, as in
this case, that the candidate was qualified. Obviously, this rule requires strict
application when the deficiency is lack of citizenship. If a person seeks to serve
in the Republic of the Philippines, he must owe his total loyalty to this country
only, abjuring and renouncing all fealty and fidelity to any other state.

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