Comelec: Minnie can run despite dual citizenship

CEBU, Philippines – The Commission on Elections sees no serious legal impediment should Mayor Tomas Osmeña’s elder sister, Minnie, run for public office despite her having dual citizenship.

Edwin Cadungog, Cebu City South District election officer, said a person of dual citizenship or a citizen of another country aside from being a Filipino is still eligible to run for any elective position in the Philippines.

Although he said he does not have personal knowledge whether or not Minnie is a dual citizen, Cadungog said even if she is this does not bar her from running.

According to Cadungog, if Minnie intends to run for an elective position in the coming election she has to renounce her other citizenship. The process, Cadungog said, will only take a very short time at the Bureau of Immigration.

He said if it is under ordinary processing it would take at most one week or even shorter if it is under express lane.

When asked if it would not affect the one-year actual residency requirement of a candidate under the law, Cadungog believe that it won’t.

He explained that under the Republic Act 8189, otherwise known as the Continuing Registration and Automation Act, the residency of a person will not be extinguished if he or she transfers for reasons of work, business or profession.

In the case of Minnie, Cadungog said everybody knows that her family is from Cebu and she is a natural-born Filipino citizen.

Minnie’s name was floated as possible candidate either for mayor of Cebu City or for representative of the city’s south district. Mayor Osmeña admitted last Monday that councilors Rodrigo Abellanosa and Gerardo Carillo who are both vying for the endorsement of the Bando Osmeña-Pundok Kauswagan to be the official candidate for representative of the south district, cannot take on sports patron Jonathan Guardo in the polls.

The mayor said he is considering running for the position or fielding Minnie, or his wife Margot.

Minnie’s name was also floated to be the mayoralty candidate of BO-PK in lieu of Vice Mayor Michael Rama because of the latter’s problem with the barangay captains.

Most of the barangay captains in Cebu City do not like Rama to be the party’s candidate for mayor. Even if he was already endorsed by the mayor as their candidate, 56 barangay captains signed a manifesto endorsing Margot instead.