Lucio Tan daughter disqualified from House bid

A Quezon City court has granted a petition to exclude the daughter of business tycoon Lucio Tan as a voter in Quezon City's first district, effectively disqualifying her bid for a Lower House seat. In a decision dated January 14, Metropolitan Trial Court (MTC) judge Augustus C. Diaz granted the petition of Quezon City Rep. Vincent "Bingbong" Crisologo to exclude Vivienne Khao Tan from the voter's list of Precinct 0853-A of Brgy. Sto. Domingo, Quezon City, on the basis that she is not a Filipino citizen. Tan had earlier migrated to the United States and became a naturalized American citizen on Jan. 19, 1993. She returned to the Philippines in 1996 and has resided here since, according to the seven-page court decision. Under Republic Act 9225, she could retain her Filipino citizenship if she takes an Oath of Allegiance. The MTC pointed out that last year, Tan first registered as a voter on October 26 and then on December 1 performed her Oath of Allegiance to affirm her Filipino citizenship. According to the court, this sequence of her actions proves that she was not a Filipino citizen at the time that she registered as a Philippine voter. “A Filipino citizen would not be required to perform an oath of allegiance to affirm his or her Filipino citizenship, because affirmation is no longer necessary because the citizenship has always been in his or her possession," the court said. Last January 17, the Comelec disqualified over 50 candidates in Maguindanao due to their failure to establish themselves as registered voters in their respective municipalities. [See: Comelec disqualified 55 bets in Maguindanao] – Johanna Camille Sisante/JV, GMANews.TV