A petition for the disqualification of Rogelio "Ruel" Pacquiao due to lack of residency was filed by rival Megie "Jamby" Ramos-Orig at the Comelec main office on 26 April 2016.
(NOTE: The one in the photo above is Megie "Jamby" Ramos-Orig, a candidate for congressman in the lone district of Sarangani Province running against Ruel Pacquiao. )
See the press release:
Disqualification case filed vs Pacquiao
A disqualification case was filed Tuesday against Sarangani Lone District candidate for House of Representatives Rogelio Pacquiao, brother of boxing champ Manny Pacquiao who is also a senatorial candidate this coming May 9 polls.
The Petition for Outright Disqualification with Motion to Suspend Proclamation was filed before the Commission on Election (Comelec) by Megie "Jamby" Ramos-Orig, a resident of the Municipality of Kiamba and who is also a candidate for the lone seat for House of Representatives in Sarangani Province.
Ramos-Orig in her petition represented by Atty. Bertenie Cataluna Causing, noted that Pacquiao has not met the required one-year residency to run for congressman in the district of Sarangani.
Causing argued that the Comelec has jurisdiction to entertain and give due course to their petition as laid down under the Commission's Rule 25 which "merely implements that Constitutional provision prohibiting persons to serve as a member of the House of Representatives if one year counted back from the day of election the candidate has not resided for at least one year in the district he or she seeks to be elected."
Causing added that it is also in the records of the Comelec, particularly General Santos City Comelec, that Rogelio D. Pacquiao filed his certificate of candidacy for barangay chairman of Barangay Apopong in General Santos City in 2013, and subsequently won and proclaimed by Comelec and swore into office by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) as chairman of Barangay Apopong.
"Until now, there is no proof that Rogelio D. Pacquao resigned from being the barangay chairman of Apopong one year earlier than the day of election, an act that he should do in order to show proof that he voluntarily disqualified himself to be the chairman of the same barangay by means of relinquishing his residency therein in favor of a new place of resident," the petitioners said in their motion.
However, a resignation letter of Pacquiao obtained by the petitioners showed that it was dated and filed on 30 October 2015, the earliest possible date that he can only be considered as having relinquished his residency from Barangay Appopong, General Santos City.
Causing said it must also be noted that during the time Pacquiao filed his COC as candidate for Congressman for the Lone District of Sarangani he is still a Barangay Captain of Barangay Apopong in General Santos City and his continued acts as Apopong Village Chairman would contradict the argument on domicile.
He added that another record of lack of proof of sufficient residency on the part of Pacquiao is the fact that the deed of absolute sale in his favor in buying of a residential property located at Lot 24, Block 2, Alpha Village, Barangay Poblacion, Alabel, Sarangani, has no records that it was notarized on the date at least one-year prior to the date of election of 9 May 2016.
"If a proof is furnished that the candidate failed to satisfy the requirement of residence of one year immediately preceding the day of election, he is automatically disqualified and the Comelec will declare outright his or candidacy to be considered as NULL and VOID," the petition asked the Commission.
Causing also moved that in case Pacquiao wins as a result of the counting and canvassing of votes, his proclamation be suspended "if only not to spoil all the official acts that may have been done if only there was no serious issue in the qualification of Pacquiao.
A copy of the petition is posted below:
Republic of the Philippines
Commission on Elections
Intramuros, Manila
MEGIE “JAMBY” RAMOS-ORIG, Petitioner,
-versus- Case No. ___________
For: Petition for Outright Disqualification with Motion to Suspend Proclamation
ROGELIO D. PACQUIAO,
Respondent.
x------------------------------------------------x
Petition for Disqualification
The petitioner, by the undersigned counsel, respectfully files this Petition for Disqualification seeking the disqualification of ROGELIO D. PACQUIAO from running as a candidate for the lone seat of House of Representative for the Lone District of Sarangani Province.
The Timeliness
(1) Under Section 3, Rule 25 of the COMELEC Rules of Procedure, it says that at any time before proclamation any petition for disqualification of a candidate may be filed by any citizen or registered voter, who should be one that is a voter in the district where the candidate sought to be disqualified is running for election.
(2) The instant petition is being filed when what was at hand was a campaign period.
(3) Hence, the instant petition is timely.
Jurisdiction of the Comelec
(4) The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has jurisdiction to entertain and give due course to this petition as laid down under Rule 25.
(5) Rule 25 merely implements that Constitutional provision prohibiting persons to serve as a member of the House of Representatives if one year counted back from the day of election the candidate has not resided for at least one year in the district he or she seeks to be elected.
(6) In the 1987 constitution of the Republic of the Philippines, Sec. 6, Article VI mandates:
“SECTION 6, No person shall be a member of the House of Representative unless he is a natural-born –citizen of the Philippines and, on the day of the election, is at least twenty five years of age, able to read and write, and except the party-list representatives, a registered voter in the district in which he shall be elected, and a resident thereof, for a period of not less than one year immediately preceding the day of the election” Underscore provided.
(7) Hence, together with the Constitutional provision that vests unto the Comelec the exclusive power to promulgate its own rules of procedure, there is now no question that the Comelec has jurisdiction to entertain and act on the instant Petition for Disqualification.
The Parties
(8) The petitioner is MEGIE “JAMBY” RAMOS-ORIG, who is a resident of the lone district of Sarangani Province and who is now officially a candidate for the lone seat for House of Representatives in Sarangani Province.
(9) The petitioner is more than qualified to run for election for the Province of Sarangani’s lone seat of membership in the House of Representatives.
(10) The petitioner is a resident of the Municipality of Kiamba and is a registered voter at Precinct 0012A in the Poblacion of Kiamba.
(11) For purposes of clarity, convenience and propriety, it is requested that all notices intended for the petitioner be addressed to this counsel at his address written below.
(12) The respondent is ROGELIO D. PACQUIAO, who also filed a certificate of candidacy for the same lone district’s seat for House of Representatives.
(13) ROGELIO D. PACQUIAO may be sent summons, subpoenas or notices at the address he represented as Lot 24, Block 2, Alpha Village, Brgy. Poblacion, Alabel, Sarangani Province.
(14) It is therefore requested that the summons or order requiring him to answer the instant petition for disqualification be addressed to the same address stated in the immediately preceding paragraph.
The Cause of Action
(15) Section 6 of Article VI of the Constitution states:
“SECTION 6, No person shall be a member of the House of Representative unless he is a natural-born –citizen of the Philippines and, on the day of the election, is at least twenty five years of age, able to read and write, and except the party-list representatives, a registered voter in the district in which he shall be elected, and a resident thereof, for a period of not less than one year immediately preceding the day of the election” Underscore provided.
(16) It is very elementary that the period of residence of one year in the district where the candidate seeks to be elected is a substantial and jurisdictional requirement for one person to perform the duties of a member of the House of Representatives.
(17) If a proof is furnished that the candidate failed to satisfy the requirement of residence of one year immediately preceding the day of election, he is automatically disqualified and the Comelec will declare outright his or candidacy to be considered as NULL and VOID.
(18) One of the pieces of evidence of the petitioner to prove that Rogelio D. Pacquiao lacks residency is the fact that the burden of proof of sufficiency in residency period rests on the shoulder of Rogelio D. Pacquiao.
(19) It is in the records of the Commission on Elections, particularly General Santos City Comelec, that Rogelio D. Pacquiao filed his certificate of candidacy for barangay chairman of Barangay Apopong in General Santos City in 2013.
(20) It is also a judicial notice for the Comelec to know that Rogelio D. Pacquiao won in the election for chairmanship of Barangay Apopong that he was subsequently proclaimed as winner by the Comelec and that he swore into office and had entered the office, which information also within the judicial notice of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).
(21) Until now, there is no proof that Rogelio D. Pacquao resigned from being the barangay chairman of Apopong one year earlier than the day of election, an act that he should do in order to show proof that he voluntarily disqualified himself to be the chairman of the same barangay by means of relinquishing his residency therein in favor of a new place of resident.
(22) To the contrary, there is a proof that Rogelio D. Pacquiao lacks residency of one year and this proof consists of his IRREVOCABLE RESIGNATION LETTER EFFECTIVE THE DATE OF THE RESIGNATION LETER.
(23) The resignation letter of Rogelio D. Pacquiao shows that it was dated and filed on 30 October 2015, the earliest possible date that he can only be considered as having relinquished his residency from Barangay Appopong, General Santos City.
(24) A copy of the resignation letter is attached hereto as ANNEX “A.”
(25) Another record of lack of proof of sufficient residency on the part of Rogelio is the fact that the deed of absolute sale in his favor in the buying of a residential property located at Lot 24, Block 2, Alpha Village, Barangay Poblacion, Alabel, Sarangani, has no records that it was notarized on the date at least one-year prior to the date of election of 9 May 2016.
(26) Mr. Pacquiao made it appear that he purchased the same property on 8 August 2014 in a Deed of Absolute Sale that was allegedly notarized by Atty. Tomas C. Falgui II.
(27) A copy of the alleged Deed of Absolute Sale is attached hereto as ANNEX “B” as certified to by the Registry of Deeds of Sarangani and showing that it was so notarized by Atty. Tomas C. Falgui II as Doc. No. 106, Page No. 22, Book No. CDVI, Series of 2014, dated 8 August 2014.
(28) What lost the supposed presumption of regularity in the alleged Deed of Absolute Sale is the fact that the Clerk of Court of the Regional Trial Court of General Santos City, Atty. Gerardine A. Jamora-Gayola, certified that Atty. Tomas C. Falgui II has not yet submitted his notarial documents from August 6, 2014 up to the present.
(29) A copy of the Certification of the Office of the Clerk of Court of the RTC of General Santos City where Atty. Tomas C. Falgui II was commissioned as a notary public is attached hereto as ANNEX “C.”
(30) Now, as it appears, what support the theory that the said Deed of Absolute sale as a falsification as to the date of execution are the facts that the resignation letter was done only on 30 October 2015, that the registration of the sale and the issuance of the Certificate Authorizing the Registration (CAR) were made only on September 10, 2015 at the Bureau of Internal Revenue.
(31) A copy of the registration of the sale is attached hereto a ANNEX “D”.
(32) A copy of the Certificate Authorizing the Registration is attached hereto as ANNEX “E.”
(33) September 10, 2015 is only a month before filing his Certificate of Candidacy (COC) on October 12, 2015.
(34) A genuine concern or acts for the purpose of changing residency must have be shown to have been down more than one year prior the day of election.
(35) In this case, all those documents evidencing transfer of residence must have been dated at the latest on 8 May 2016.
(36) The fact that all documents or instruments evidencing transfer of residence are dated only after 8 May 2015 means that the presumption is too heavy against Rogelio D. Pacquiao.
(37) It must also be noted that during the time he filed his COC as candidate for Congressman for the Lone District of Sarangani he is still a Barangay Captain of Barangay Apopong in General Santos City.
(38) His continued acts as Apopong Village Chairman would contradict the argument on domicile.
(39) So it is clear that Mr. Ruel Pacquiao has not met the required one-year residency to run for congressman in the district of Sarangani.
(40) It is stressed that Mr. Pacquiao filed his resignation as ABC President and Village Chairman also on October 30, 2015, showing that he is not entitled to be a resident of Sarangani Province only on November 1, 2015.
Motion to Suspend Proclamation
(41) It is also moved that in case RUEL D. PACQUIAO wins as a result of the counting and canvassing of votes his proclamation be suspended if only not to spoil all the official acts that may have been done if only there was no serious issue in the qualification of Ruel D. Pacquiao.
(42) The motion to suspend proclamation becomes more indispensable in case that all the disqualification cases filed to RUEL D. PACQUIAO will not be resolved on or before May 9, 2016 and RUEL D. PACQUIAO garners the majority vote in the said election he should not be proclaimed until the issue on his residency and all other cases against him is resolve.
The Prayer
WHEREFORE, it is respectfully prayed of the Honorable Commission that the instant petition be given due course and be GRANTED.
It is also prayed that the certificate of candidacy of RUEL D. PACQUIAO be cancelled outright having been filed as null and void and as without basis in law.
Other relief just and equitable is also prayed for. 25 April 2016, Manila.
Causing Sabarre Castro Pelagio
Unit 1, 2368 JB Roxas St. corner Leon Guinto St., Malate, Manila
Emails: totocausing@yahoo.com, berteni.causing@gmail.com; Telephone No.: +632-3105521
By:
BERTENI CATALUÑA CAUSING, CE
IBP No. 972694/ 04-12-2015 / Manila IV
PTR No. 4889732 / 04-12-2015 / Manila
Roll No. 60944
MCLE No. IV – 0007338 issued 10 August 2012
(Valid from 15 April 2013 until 14 April 2016)
MCLE No. V – 0013036 issued 13 January 2016
(Valid from 15 April 2016 until 14 April 2019)
Cc:
RUEL D. PACQUIAO
Lot 24, Block 2, Alpha Village,
Brgy. Poblacion, Alabel, Sarangani Province
x----------------------------------------------x
Republic of the Philippines )
City of Manila )SC
VERIFICATION & CERTIFICATION
I, MEGIE “JAMBY” RAMOS-ORIG, of legal age, a resident of Poblacion Kiamba, Kiamba, Sarangani Province, a registered voter at Precinct 0012A Poblacion Kiamba, after having been sworn to in accordance with law, do hereby depose and stated:
1. I caused the preparation of the foregoing Petition that I read the allegations therein and these are true and correct of my personal knowledge and based on authentic records; and
2. I certify that I have not filed in any other venue and jurisdiction any case of the same facts, the same law and the same reliefs prayed for and should I learn of any I will inform the Commission in five (5) days.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I hereby sign this Verification and Certification of Non-Forum Shopping on ______ April 2016 in the City of Manila.
MEGIE “JAMBY” RAMOS-ORIG
_______ ID No. _______
SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN TO BEFORE ME on ____ April 2016 in the City of Manila.
Doc. No.: ____;
Page No.: ____;
Book No.: ____;
Series of 2016.
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