Delos Reyes V Solidum G.R. No. 42798 BOYONEN Elective Officials Chapter 1 Qualifications and Election

BOYONEN, SONNY FE G.
JD I
De Los Reyes v. Solidum

G.R. No. 42798. August 31, 1935
Facts:
Respondent Moises T. Solidum was born in the municipality of Ibajay,

Capiz, was married there and was living in the house of Jose Tirol, has invariably
paid his personal cedula tax in said municipality, has registered as a voter therein,
and has voted in all the elections held in said municipality for elective offices. He
was appointed election inspector for Ibajay in 1912. He was elected president of
said municipality of Ibajay from 1925 to 1928; municipal president for the second
time of Ibajay from 1928 to 1931; and in the general elections of 1934, municipal
president for the third time of the same municipality from 1934 to 1937.
The respondent constructed a house of-mixed materials in the municipality

of Navas, Capiz and since 1931 has been living there with his wife and children.
He paid his business license in said municipality; that his children were born in
said municipality and studied in its schools, their record showing that the
respondent is their father or guardian and that his address is the municipality of
Navas; that in his homestead application he gave Navas as his post-office address,
and that in his petition to cancel said application, he stated that he resided in said
municipality. Having his business in Navas, the respondent while municipal
president of Ibajay, used to go to Navas and return to Ibajay every day, a distance
of only nine (9) kilometers. The construction of a house of mixed materials in
Navas was due to his being a purchaser of copra for Jose Tirol. He needed a place
to store the copra which he purchased and someone to attend to it. The copra was
deposited in the lower part of the house, and his wife and children lived upstairs to
look after it.
Case Statement:
The Court of First Instance of Capiz, held that the respondent is eligible to the
office of municipal president of Ibajay, Capiz.
Hence, this appeal by the petitioner Guillermo de los Reyes. In support of his
appeal, appellant alleged the following errors committed by the trial court to wit:
"1. The lower court erred in not declaring that the respondent, Moises T. Solidum,
had not at the time of the general elections of June 5, 1934, the requisite
qualification of one year residence in the municipality of Ibajay, Province of
Capiz, in which he offered and announced himself a candidate for the office of
municipal president.
"2. The lower court erred' in not declaring that the respondent, Moises T. Solidum,
is ineligible to the office of municipal president of the municipality of Ibajay,
Province of Capiz to which he has been proclaimed elected."virtua1aw
Issue:
Whether or not at the time of the general elections on June 5, 1934, Moises T.
Solidum had the requisite one-year residence in the municipality of Ibajay, Capiz,
wherein he offered and announced himself as a candidate for municipal president.
Ruling:
Yes.
In Yra v. Abaño (52 Phil., 380), this court held that "the question of residence for
the purposes of the Election Law is largely one of intention."
In Tanseco v. Arteche (57 Phil., 227, 235), it was likewise held that
"The question of domicile is admittedly a question largely of intention, but this
intention must be sought in contemporaneous words and acts."
Considering all the circumstances of the case, we cannot and do not believe that
the respondent Moises T. Solidum has ever abandoned his actual residence in
Ibajay or his intention to continue residing therein, as the voters of said
municipality did not believe so when they continuously and consistently voted for
him either as councilor or as municipal president from 1922 until 1934. It is not
necessary that a person should have a house in order to establish his residence and
domicile in a municipality. It is enough that he should live in said municipality,
whether alone or with his family in his own dwelling, or in a rented house, or in
that of a friend or relative, in order to acquire a residence and domicile in said
municipality, provided that his stay is accompanied by an intention to reside
therein permanently.
For the foregoing considerations, we are of the opinion and so hold: (1) That the
respondent, born in the municipality of Ibajay, baptized, grown up, married, paid
his cedula tax, registered as a voter, exercised the right of suffrage, and elected
once as councilor and three times as municipal president of said municipality, is
legally a resident thereof notwithstanding the fact that he constructed a house in
another municipality for purposes of business, had his family lived there and
educated his children in the schools of said municipality; and (2) that the fact that
the respondent stated in his petition to cancel his homestead application and in
various motions filed with the Court of First Instance of Capiz, that his residence is
the municipality of Navas, does not destroy his residence in Ibajay or his intention
to reside therein permanently.
The Supreme Court held, that the respondent at the time of the general elections on
June 5, 1934, had the requisite one-year residence in the municipality of Ibajay,
Capiz, wherein he offered and announced himself as a candidate for municipal
president.
Principle:
Residence Requirement. It is not necessary that a person should have a
house in order to establish his residence and domicile in a municipality. It is
enough that he should live in said municipality, whether alone or with his family in
his own dwelling, or in a rented house, or in that of a friend or relative, in order to
acquire a residence and domicile in said municipality, provided that his stay is
accompanied by an intention to reside therein permanently.

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BOYONEN, SONNY FE G.

De Los Reyes v. Solidum

Respondent Moises T. Solidum was born in the municipality of Ibajay,

The respondent constructed a house of-mixed materials in the municipality

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