Civil and political rights - GR 206666.pdf

See - 206666.pdf





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In this jurisdiction, the right to seek public elective office is recognized by law as falling under the whole gamut of civil and political rights.



Section 5 of Republic Act No. 9225,34 otherwise known as the “Citizenship Retention and Reacquisition Act of 2003,” reads as follows:



Section 5. Civil and Political Rights and Liabilities. – Those who retain or reacquire Philippine citizenship under this Act shall enjoy full civil and political rights and be subject to all attendant liabilities and responsibilities under existing laws of the Philippines and the following

conditions:



(1) Those intending to exercise their right of suffrage must meet the requirements under Section 1, Article V of the Constitution, Republic Act No. 9189, otherwise known as “The Overseas Absentee

Voting Act of 2003” and other existing laws;



(2) Those seeking elective public office in the Philippines shall meet the qualifications for holding such public office as required by the Constitution and existing laws and, at the time of the filing of the

certificate of candidacy, make a personal and sworn renunciation of any and all foreign citizenship before any public officer authorized to administer an oath;



(3) Those appointed to any public office shall subscribe and swear an oath of allegiance to the Republic of the Philippines and its duly constituted authorities prior to their assumption of office: Provided, That they renounce their oath of allegiance to the country where they took that

oath;



(4) Those intending to practice their profession in the Philippines shall apply with the proper authority for a license or permit to engage in such practice; and



(5) That right to vote or be elected or appointed to any public office in the Philippines cannot be exercised by, or extended to, those who:



(a) are candidates for or are occupying any public office in the country of which they are naturalized citizens; and/or



(b) are in active service as commissioned or noncommissioned officers in the armed forces of the country which they are naturalized citizens. (Emphases supplied.)



No less than the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which the Philippines is a signatory, acknowledges the existence of said right. Article 25(b) of the Convention states:



Article 25

Every citizen shall have the right and the opportunity, without any of the distinctions mentioned in Article 2 and without unreasonable restrictions:



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(b) To vote and to be elected at genuine periodic elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret ballot, guaranteeing the free expression of the will of the electors[.] (Emphasis supplied.)



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