SC: Nueva Ecija Rep. Ria Vergara is Filipino citizen
Photo from the House of Representatives website
MANILA, Philippines — The Supreme Court (SC) has settled issues on the citizenship of Nueva Ecija 3rd district Rep. Rosanna “Ria” V. Vergara, affirming the 2019 decisions of the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal and declaring her a Filipino citizen.
In a decision promulgated October 5, the high court sustained the two resolutions of HRET that junked the quo warranto petition which sought to annul Vergara’s proclamation as elected legislator of the House due to alleged non-compliance to a requirement under Republic Act No. 9225 or the Citizenship Retention and Re-acquisition Act of 2003.
Vergara won in the 2016 elections and was reelected in 2019.
The SC dismissed for lack of merit the petition filed by Philip Piccio against the HRET decisions, noting that the HRET did not commit grave abuse of discretion in rendering its resolution on the quo warranto petition.
The high court also rejected Piccio’s allegation that Vergara did not validly reacquire her Philippine citizenship after submitting only photocopies of required documents with the Bureau of Immigration (BI).
Piccio claimed that since the BI only had photocopies of her RA 9225 application, she did not comply with the proper procedure required by law.
But the SC pointed out: “There is overwhelming competent evidence proving Vergara’s compliance with Republic Act 9225 (Citizenship Retention and Reacquisition Act) for the reacquisition of her Philippine citizenship.”
Regarding the absence of Vergara’s original RA 9225 documents before the BI, the high court said “the issue in the present case pertains to the existence and due execution of these documents and not their contents…. The best evidence rule requiring the production of the original documents does not apply.”
The SC further stressed the state’s policy to hold the official custodian of public records accountable for their loss.
Vergara welcomed the high court’s decision, saying it was “a vindication of her true and genuine service to the people of Nueva Ecija.”
“I am grateful to the Supreme Court for upholding the decision of the HRET and more importantly, the will of the people in the Third District of Nueva Ecija who elected me to be their Representative in the 17th and 18th Congress,” she said in a statement Tuesday.
“Despite all the talk in my district by my detractors that the Supreme Court would strike down the HRET decision, I never lost hope because I always have faith in the integrity and fairness of our magistrates and in the rule of law. God bless the Supreme Court,” she added.
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