Disqualified Marinduque bet may face falsification raps

MANILA, Philippines - The American passport of Marinduque congressional candidate Regina Reyes cost her not only her candidacy but also a possible criminal investigation.

Reyes, daughter of Marinduque Gov. Carmencita Reyes and sister of former congressman Edmundo Reyes Jr., was disqualified by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) for failure to renounce her American citizenship as required of candidates with dual citizenships.

But in letters to the United States Department of Homeland Security (USDHS) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), it was found that her Philippine and American passports allegedly have inconsistent data.

In her local passport, Reyes’ date of birth is July 3, 1964. But in her American passport, it is July 3, 1959, or a discrepancy of five years.

Worse, records from the civil registry of Manila and the Philippine National Statistics Office show that she was born of Filipino parents in Manila on July 3, 1958.

The letters from concerned citizen Pepito Vergara from Quezon City dated last May 3, which were furnished to the Department of Justice, asked the USDHS and FBI to investigate her for possible crime, including falsification.

On March 27, 2013, the Comelec’s First Division cancelled Reyes’ certificate of candidacy for her being an American citizen and her lacking the one-year residency for candidates to an elective office.

Reyes appealed her disqualification, claiming she did not obtain her American citizenship through naturalization.

The Comelec ruled that Reyes is an American citizen as evidenced by her use of US passport No. 306278853 in her travels to the US from Oct. 14, 2005 to June 30, 2012.

It also said Reyes was admitted to the California State Bar in 1995, maintained a US address, married an American citizen but the marriage was subsequently dissolved, and acquired properties and established businesses in the US.

According to the Comelec, Reyes may re-acquire her Filipino citizenship and become eligible for public service if she would take the oath of allegiance to the Philippines before the consul-general of the Philippine Consulate in the US and “make a personal and sworn renunciation of her American citizenship before any public officer authorized to administer an oath.”