Unconstitutional law

Even as the Absentee Voting Bill has already been enacted into law, doubts are still expressed regarding its constitutionality particularly that portion granting voting rights to Filipinos who have become permanent residents in, or immigrants of, another country. Since these Filipinos are no longer residents of the country, the argument has been advanced that granting them voting rights runs counter to Article V Section 1 of the Constitution which provides that " suffrage may be exercised by all citizens...who shall have resided in the Philippines for at least one year and in the place wherein they propose to vote for at least six months immediately preceding the election".

The Constitution like any typical law is always the favorite subject of interpretations as if ambiguity is already one of its inherent features. And so it is with this particular article of the charter regarding suffrage.

Suffrage is both a privilege and an obligation to vote in the election of officers chosen by the people and in the determination of questions submitted to the people. The wordings of the leading phrase of Section 1 Article V of the Constitution says that "suffrage may be exercised by all citizens of the Philippines not otherwise disqualified by law". This phrase leaves no room for doubt that all citizens whether living here or dwelling abroad may exercise suffrage. And of the citizens living abroad, the Constitution does not also make a distinction between immigrants or permanent residents and those who are only temporarily away.

No such distinction is made by the fundamental law because the essence of citizenship is the allegiance to the sovereign state. And this allegiance is not lost or given up by the mere act of temporarily leaving the country or immigrating elsewhere and staying there permanently. Unless that allegiance is expressly renounced by becoming a citizen of another state, the presumption is that he remains loyal to his country and considers it as his true, fixed and permanent home to which he has the intention to return. Hence Filipinos abroad whether immigrants, permanent residents or not may exercise suffrage because the primary key that opens the door to suffrage is citizenship not residency. These group of citizens are categorized as absentees for whom the residency requirement is not applicable precisely because they are not here.

Indeed, when it comes to residency requirement our charter has different provisions for the citizens living here and for Filipinos dwelling abroad or the absentees. The provision in Section 1 Article V requiring residence in the Philippines for at least one year and in the place wherein they propose to vote for at least six months obviously applies only to Filipinos living here. The framers must have known that such requirement would definitely disenfranchise Filipino absentees who cannot be expected to comply with it precisely because they are living abroad. Hence they incorporated Section 2 Article V of the Constitution mandating Congress to provide "a system for absentee voting by qualified Filipinos abroad". It is pursuant to this mandate that the Absentee Voting Law was enacted allowing qualified Filipinos abroad, including immigrants and permanent residents to exercise the right to vote. This law does not contravene section 1 which covers only Filipinos living here. It is in accordance with section 2 which covers Filipinos abroad.

Qualified Filipinos abroad of course means only those who are at least eighteen years of age and "not otherwise disqualified by law". The "law" referred to here is the Omnibus Election Code (BP 881 as amended) which disqualifies any person sentenced by final judgment of having committed a crime punishable by imprisonment of not less than one year or involving disloyalty to the government or against national security. They cannot exercise suffrage until the expiration of five years after the service of sentence or granted plenary pardon or amnesty or restored to full civil and political rights in accordance with law. These are the absentees covered by the Absentee Voting Law.

Among the elementary rules in interpreting laws is that seemingly conflicting provisions of law and the constitution should be reconciled to give effect to the whole legislative enactment and that every law is presumed to be valid and constitutional unless clearly shown to contravene the fundamental charter. With these basic rules as tools, it is beyond doubt that the provision in the Absentee Voting Law granting voting rights to Filipino immigrants permanently residing abroad does not violate the Constitution.

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