Governor-elect Abraham Kahlil Mitra appealed to the Supreme Court (SC) to negate the decision of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) disqualifying him as candidate for the gubernatorial race on the May 2010 polls.
Former senate president Jovito Salonga, Mitra’s collaborating counsel, said in a five-page petition that the candidate’s transfer of residency should not be based on the physical appearance of his abode.
The Comelec said in its ruling that Mitra’s declared residence in Aborlan, being a barely-furnished farmhouse, was not fit for a congressman. Salonga argued that it was not a sufficient legal basis for the congressman’s disqualification.
”The determination of whether a person has changed his residence is primarily a question of his intention and not of the suitability of the living conditions,” Salonga said.
He pointed that “what is required is a candidate’s intimacy with the place where he is seeking election or his possession of a detailed knowledge or deep understanding of the locality and its people.”
“There is no doubt that he is aware and acquainted with its needs as a community and there is no reason to consider him a “stranger” or a “newcomer” in Aborlan or, for that matter, the whole Province of Palawan,” Salonga furthered.
Mitra had served as congressman of Palawan ’s second district, which includes the municipality of Aborlan Puerto Princesa City
Salonga argued that the residency requirement was still complied since Aborlan is a part of the province and the district where Mitra served. He also stressed that “Mitra has been a full-blooded Palaweño for all his life.”
Mitra was proclaimed governor of Palawan on May 14.
Despite the Comelec ruling, he was allowed to have his votes counted in the automated elections due to a status quo ante order issued by the Supreme Court on May 7.
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