Frivaldo vs COMELEC

G.R. No. 120295 | June 28, 1996

J. Panganiban

Facts:

Juan G. Frivaldo was disqualified of his proclamation of Governorship of Sorsogon by reason of

not yet being a Filipino Citizen. Petitioner alleges that his repatriation under P.D. 725 had been granted
on time and that there was no more legal impediment to the proclamation of Frivaldo as Governor.

Respondent and fellow candidate Lee tells us that P.D. No. 725 had "been effectively repealed,"
asserting that "then President Corazon Aquino exercising legislative powers under the Transitory
Provisions of the 1987 Constitution, forbade the grant of citizenship by Presidential Decree or Executive
Issuances as the same poses a serious and contentious issue of policy which the present government, in
the exercise of prudence and sound discretion, should best leave to the judgment of the first Congress
under the 1987 Constitution,"

Issue:

Did Frivaldo’s citizenship by repatriation qualify his right to be proclaimed as Governor?

Held:

Yes, P.D. No. 725 was enacted to cure the defect in the existing naturalization law, specifically C.
A. No. 63 wherein natural-born Filipinos who lost their citizenship by naturalization and other causes
faced the difficulty of undergoing the rigid procedures of C.A. 63 for reacquisition of Filipino citizenship
by naturalization. Concededly, Frivaldo only sought American citizenship to escape the clutches of the
dictatorship. And at the first opportunity, he returned to this land, and sought to serve his people once
more.