Woman lawmaker asks Supreme Court to affirm her election

By Benjamin B. Pulta

07/19/2008

A woman solon fighting off a disqualification suit from losing candidates in the last elections is urging the high court to rule that since the Commission on Elections (Comelec) ruling declaring her proclamation has already become final and executory, the Supreme Court (SC) should now affirm her election as representative of the First District of Negros Oriental.

In a 40-page memorandum, Rep. Jocelyn Limkaichong, through her lawyer Pete Quadra, urged the 15-man SC to affirm the Comelec’s ruling proclaiming her as the duly elected representative of the First District of Negros Oriental on May 14, 2007 elections.

“The resolutions sustaining the proclamation of petitioner Limkaichong being already final and executory, (oppositors) could no longer question the validity of the same,” the woman lawmaker said in seeking the dismissal of the petition filed by her rival candidates assailing her victory in the last year’s congressional race.

Limkaichong, ran under the banner of the administration Lakas-CMD Party, won by a majority of 7,746 votes over her next rival Olivia Paras, and fewer than 4,000 votes over the third placer, former Rep. Jerome Paras. Olivia is the wife of former Rep. Jacinto “Jing” Paras, while Jerome is a brother of Jacinto.

On May 25, 2007, the Provincial Board of Canvassers of Negros Oriental proclaimed Limkaichong, citing as basis Comelec Resolution 8062 providing that there shall be no suspension of the proclamation of winning candidates with pending disqualification cases.

After she filed her certificate of candidacy for the position of representative of the province’s First District, two petitions for disqualification were filed against Limkaichong with the Comelec.

The first was filed by Napoleon Camero and the second by Renald Villando on the ground that she is allegedly not a natural-born Filipino.

Limkaichong refuted the allegation, insisting that she is a natural-born Filipino because her father was already a naturalized Filipino citizen after her father took his oath of allegiance as Filipino citizen on Oct. 21, 1959 and was issued a certificate of naturalization on the same date.

While the disqualification case was pending, the Comelec en banc on May 18, 2007 promulgated Resolution 8062, providing that there shall be “no suspension of proclamation of winning candidates with pending disqualification cases... without prejudice to the continuation of the hearing and resolution of the involved cases.”

Despite the Comelec resolution, Villando and Olivia Paras questioned the proclamation of Limkaichong.

Nonetheless, Limkaichong said her election as member of the House of Representatives has been sustained by the Comelec when it denied the petition of her rivals seeking to annul her proclamation.

“On June 29, 2007, the Comelec First Division (also) denied the petition to annul the proclamation on the ground the proclamation is in accordance with Comelec Resolution 8062 and that the proclamation divested the Comelec of further jurisdiction over the petitions for disqualification,” the woman solon pointed out.

She added the motion for reconsideration filed by her rival candidate was even junked by the Comelec First Division, citing Comelec Resolution 8062.

Besides, she said on Aug. 16, 2007, the Comelec en banc unanimously ruled with all six commissioners voting that it no longer has jurisdiction over the petitions for disqualification against her, and “that all issues pertaining to her proclamation are now vested with the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal.”

At the same time, Limkaichong reiterated her appeal for the high court to nullify the resolution issued by the Comelec’s Second Division disqualifying her as a congressional candidate for the province’s first district in the May 14, 2007 election on the ground that she is not a natural-born Filipino citizen.

She insisted that she is a natural-born Filipino citizen since at the time of her birth on Nov. 9, 1959, her father, Julio Sy, was already a naturalized Filipino citizen.

The Comelec’s Second Division ruled on May 17, 2007 to disqualify Limkaichong, saying her father failed to acquire Filipino citizenship through naturalization proceedings before a court.

Limkaichong told the court her father filed his petition for naturalization on July 28, 1955 when he was still single, at the age of 22, with the Court of First Instance of Negros Oriental, Branch II. On May 27, 1956, Julio Sy married Anecia Uy Guangco-Dy, a natural-born Filipino citizen.

After the hearing of July 10, 1959, the Court of First Instance on Sept. 21, 1959 issued the order declaring Julio Ong Sy a naturalized Filipino citizen. On Oct. 21, 1959, Julio Ong Sy took his oath of allegiance and was issued the Certificate of Naturalization.

“This is the best proof that the accusation against Limkaichong that she is allegedly a Chinese national has no factual nor legal basis.”

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