G.R. No.

120295 June 28, 1996

JUAN G. FRIVALDO, petitioner,
vs.
COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS, and RAUL R. LEE, respondents.
Facts:
Frivaldo, who unquestionably obtained the highest number of votes in three successive elections but who was twice
declared by this Court to be disqualified to hold such office due to his alien citizenship, and who now claims to have
re-assumed his lost Philippine citizenship thru repatriation, was challenged by his rival Raul Lee in this petition on
who should be the rightful governor of Sorsogon. Juan Frivaldo was a natural-born Filipino who renounces his Filipino
citizenship and acquired an American Citizenship during the reign of Marcos. In the 1988 and 1992 elections, he
successfully won the governorship but was subsequently disqualified for not being a Filipino.
Issue:
WON Juan Frivaldo is a Filipino and be qualified to serve as governor of Sorsogon?
Held:
Yes.
The Local Government Code of 1991 19 expressly requires Philippine citizenship as a qualification for elective local
officials, including that of provincial governor, thus:
Sec. 39. Qualifications. -- (a) An elective local official must be a citizen of the Philippines; a
registered voter in the barangay, municipality, city, or province or, in the case of a member of the
sangguniang panlalawigan, sangguniang panlungsod, or sangguniang bayan, the district where he
intends to be elected; a resident therein for at least one (1) year immediately preceding the day of
the election; and able to read and write Filipino or any other local language or dialect.
Under Philippine law, 21 citizenship may be reacquired by direct act of Congress, by naturalization or by repatriation.
Frivaldo was not successful in reacquiring his Filipino citizenship by the first 2 methods because of political
machinations of his political rivals, and jurisdictional, substantial, and procedural defects respectively. However, he is
now a Filipino by virtue of the repatriation act. His repatriation retroacted to the date of the filing of his application on
August 17, 1994. Laws are generally not retroacted, but there are exceptions such as laws that are curative or
remedial in nature and when it create new rights. Since the repatriation act was curative or remedial in nature, its
applicability is retroactive. Thus, Frivaldo reacquires his Filipino citizenship on the date of his application. Also, SC
ruled that the citizenship requirement in the Local Government Code is to be possessed by an elective official at the
latest as of the time he is proclaimed and at the start of the term of office to which he has been elected. So, it does
not matter if candidate is not a Filipino for as long as when he sits in office, he should be a Filipino because the
L.G.Code speaks of an elective official.
NOTE: Mr. Justice Davide disagrees with the Court's holding that, given the unique factual circumstances of Frivaldo,
repatriation may be given retroactive effect. He argues that such retroactivity "dilutes" our holding in the first
Frivaldo case. But the first (and even the second Frivaldo) decision did not directly involve repatriation as a mode of
acquiring citizenship. If we may repeat, there is no question that Frivaldo was not a Filipino for purposes of
determining his qualifications in the 1988 and 1992 elections. That is settled. But his supervening repatriation has
changed his political status -- not in 1988 or 1992, but only in the 1995 elections.
SC also noted that its learned colleague also disputes its holding that Frivaldo was stateless prior to his repatriation,
saying that "informal renunciation or abandonment is not a ground to lose American citizenship". Since our courts are
charged only with the duty of determining who are Philippine nationals, we cannot rule on the legal question of who
are or who are not Americans. It is basic in international law that a State determines ONLY those who are its
own citizens -- not who are the citizens of other countries. 65 The issue here is: the Comelec made a finding of
fact that Frivaldo was stateless and such finding has not been shown by Lee to be arbitrary or whimsical.
Thus, following settled case law, such finding is binding and final.