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On 3 April 2009 Arnado again took his Oath of Allegiance to the Republic and executed
an Affidavit of Renunciation of his foreign citizenship, which states:
I, Rommel Cagoco Arnado, do solemnly swear that I absolutely and
perpetually renounce all allegiance and fidelity to the UNITED STATES OF
AMERICA of which I am a citizen, and I divest myself of full employment of
all civil and political rights and privileges of the United States of America.
I solemnly swear that all the foregoing statement is true and correct to the
best of my knowledge and belief.[7]
On 30 November 2009, Arnado filed his Certificate of Candidacy for Mayor of
Kauswagan, Lanao del Norte, which contains, among others, the following statements:
I am a natural born Filipino citizen / naturalized Filipino citizen.
I am not a permanent resident of, or immigrant to, a foreign country.
I am eligible for the office I seek to be elected to.
I will support and defend the Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines
and will maintain true faith and allegiance thereto. I will obey the laws, legal
orders and decrees promulgated by the duly constituted authorities.
I impose this obligation upon myself voluntarily without mental reservation
or purpose of evasion.[8]
On 28 April 2010, respondent Linog C. Balua (Balua), another mayoralty candidate,
filed a petition to disqualify Arnado and/or to cancel his certificate of candidacy for
municipal mayor of Kauswagan, Lanao del Norte in connection with the 10 May 2010
local and national elections.[9]
Respondent Balua contended that Arnado is not a
resident of Kauswagan, Lanao del Norte and that he is a foreigner, attaching thereto a
certification issued by the Bureau of Immigration dated 23 April 2010 indicating the
nationality of Arnado as “USA-American.”[10]
To further bolster his claim of Arnado’s US citizenship, Balua presented in his
Memorandum a computer-generated travel record[11] dated 03 December 2009
indicating that Arnado has been using his US Passport No. 057782700 in entering and
departing the Philippines. The said record shows that Arnado left the country on 14
April 2009 and returned on 25 June 2009, and again departed on 29 July 2009, arriving
back in the Philippines on 24 November 2009.
Balua likewise presented a certification from the Bureau of Immigration dated 23 April
2010, certifying that the name “Arnado, Rommel Cagoco” appears in the available
Computer Database/Passenger manifest/IBM listing on file as of 21 April 2010, with the
following pertinent travel records:
DATE OF Arrival
NATIONALITY
elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocsfriendly/1/55820
:
:
01/12/2010
USA-AMERICAN
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