This article talks about the qualifications to run as Mayor in the Philippines.
Qualifications under the Local Government Code
Republic Act No. 7160, otherwise known as the Local Government Code, governs the qualifications of local officials. Section 39 of the Local Government Code specifies the qualifications for mayors as follows:
“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 sangguniang 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.
(b) Candidates for the position of governor, vice-governor, or member of the sangguniang panlalawigan, or mayor, vice-mayor or member of the sangguniang panlungsod of highly urbanized cities must be at least twenty-three (23) years of age on election day.
(c) Candidates for the position of mayor or vice-mayor of independent component cities, component cities, or municipalities must be at least twenty-one (21) years of age on election day. x x x”
As such, here are the basic qualifications to run as Mayor in the Philippines:
1. citizen of the Philippines
2. registered voter in the constituency of his locality
3. a resident thereof for at least 1 year immediately preceding the day of the election
4. able to read and write Filipino or any other local language or dialect
5. at least 23 years of age (for mayors of highly urbanized cities) or at least 21 years of age (for municipal mayors or mayors of component cities) on election day
It must be noted that a mayor is only required to be a Filipino citizen and NOT a natural born citizen such as in the case of President, Vice-President, Senators, Congressmen. Thus, naturalized Filipino citizens can run for mayor.
However, a dual citizen who has not renounced his foreign citizenship is ineligible to run for mayor. In the case of Agustin vs. COMELEC, G.R. No. 207105, 10 November 2015, the Supreme Court ruled that a candidate for mayor who has renounced his foreign citizenship but still continued to use his foreign passport is deemed to have repudiated his oath of renunciation, to wit:
“Nonetheless, we uphold the declaration by the COMELEC En Banc that the petitioner was ineligible to run and be voted for as Mayor of the Municipality of Marcos, Ilocos Norte. It is not disputed that on October 6, 2012,36 after having renounced his USA citizenship and having already filed his CoC, he travelled abroad using his USA passport, thereby representing himself as a citizen of the USA. He continued using his USA passport in his subsequent travels abroad37 despite having been already issued his Philippine passport on August 23, 2012.38 He thereby effectively repudiated his oath of renunciation on October 6, 2012, the first time he used his USA passport after renouncing his USA citizenship on October 2, 2012. Consequently, he could be considered an exclusively Filipino citizen only for the four days from October 2, 2012, until October 6, 2012.
The petitioner’s continued exercise of his rights as a citizen of the USA through using his USA passport after the renunciation of his USA citizenship reverted him to his earlier status as a dual citizen. Such reversion disqualified him from being elected to public office in the Philippines pursuant to Section 40(d) of the Local Government Code, viz.:
Section 40. Disqualifications. – The following persons arc disqualified from running for any elective local position:
x x x x
(d) Those with dual citizenship;
x x x x
A candidate is ineligible if he is disqualified to be elected to office, and he is disqualified if he lacks any of the qualifications for elective office.40 Even if it made no finding that the petitioner had deliberately attempted to mislead or to misinform as to warrant the cancellation of his CoC, the COMELEC could still declare him disqualified for not meeting the requisite eligibility under the Local Government Code.”
As to the residence requirement, this pertains to a person’s domicile. domicile denotes a fixed permanent residence to which, whenever absent for business, pleasure, or some other reasons, one intends to return (Domino vs. COMELEC, G.R. No. 134015, 19 July 199). In the case of In the Matter of Petition for Disqualification of Tess Dumpit-Michelena, G.R. No. 163619, 17 November 2005, the Supreme Court ruled that in order to successfully effect a change of domicile, there must be a concurrence of the following requirements: 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. The court further added that without clear and positive proof of the concurrence of these three requirements, the domicile of origin continues. The registration of a voter in a place other than his residence of origin is not sufficient to consider him to have abandoned or lost his residence [Pundaodaya vs. COMELEC, G.R. No. 179313].
These are the qualifications to run as Mayor in the Philippines.
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