Comelec division cancels Edu Manzano's COC over citizenship

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections's Second Division has cancelled actor Edu Manzano's certificate of candidacy over questions regarding his citizenship.

The division said in its resolution that Manzano had "committed false material representation on his citizenship" by failing to provide direct proof of his oath of allegiance to the Philippines.

LOOK | Kinansela ng Comelec ang certificate of candidacy ni Edu Manzano bilang congressional candidate ng San Juan dahil sa isyu ng kanyang citizenship. | via @christiancosico pic.twitter.com/Fxz7mOM67g

— News5 AKSYON (@News5AKSYON) May 6, 2019

The division noted that Manzano was born to Filipino parents in San Francisco, California in September 1955, "making him both a citizen of the Philippines and of the United States of America."

It also noted that Manzano had served in the US military before returning to the Philippines in the 1990s.

The Comelec division said Manzano should have filed a copy of his oath of allegiance to the Philippines "with the local civil registry in the name of his residence or where he had last resided in the Philippines", a requirement set by Republic Act No. 2630, which allows Filipinos who have served in the US military to reacquire Philippine citizenship.

It said that "to further relax compliance with the two simple requirements of RA No. 2360 is too much of a stretch and amounts to a disrespect of the value of being a Filipino."

The Comelec division said that "without direct proof of his oath of allegiance being registered in the local civil registry in the place where he resides, [Manzano] cannot be considered to have reacquired his Philippine citizenship under our laws."

It said that Manzano—a candidate for vice mayor of Makati in 1998, for mayor of Makati in 2001, for vice president in 2010, and for senator in 2016—cannot be considered a Filipino citizen when he filed his COC to run for congressman of San Juan City.

The Supreme Court had allowed Manzano to run in 1998 in a petition that also questioned his citizenship.

The resolution disqualifying Manzano as a canddiate stemmed from a petition filed by Sophia Patricia Gil.

Manzano was running against Rep. Ronaldo Zamora in a two-way race for congressman of San Juan.