Comelec DQs Tarlac City Mayor Yap-Sulit over residency requirement

Tarlac City Mayor Susan Areno Yap-Sulit.

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) en banc has declared Tarlac City Mayor Susan Areno Yap-Sulit ineligible for the position she assumed after the May 2025 elections, effectively annulling her proclamation.

The Commission’s main finding centered on Yap-Sulit’s failure to establish domicile in Barangay Tibag, Tarlac City, as required by law.

Yap-Sulit has served as governor of Tarlac and the province’s Second District representative.

In a unanimous decision promulgated on Wednesday, October 22, the ruling granted the motion for reconsideration filed by petitioners Amado S. De Leon and Jay-Ar Capulong Navarro, who argued that Yap-Sulit failed to meet the mandatory one-year residency requirement under Section 39(a) of the Local Government Code.

The decision reverses an earlier ruling by the Comelec Second Division, which had dismissed the petition for disqualification on procedural grounds and for lack of substantial evidence.

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The en banc emphasized the principle of liberal interpretation of procedural rules in the interest of substantial justice, citing jurisprudence that the Comelec must not be “straitjacketed by procedural rules.”

“Because the issue concerned the respondent’s qualification and eligibility to hold public office—a matter imbued with public interest—the relaxation of its rules was justified to ensure a resolution on the merits,” the resolution stated.

Failure to establish domicile

The en banc concluded that the petitioners had successfully established, through substantial evidence, that Yap-Sulit did not meet the mandatory residency period. The ruling detailed the three concurrent elements required for acquiring a new domicile: actual residence, an intention to remain there for an indefinite period, and an intention to abandon the old domicile.

Giving greater evidentiary weight to the testimonies of the petitioners’ witnesses, which included barangay officials and health workers, the en banc noted that the property claimed as the candidate’s residence appeared to be merely a warehouse and not a place of actual residence intended for an indefinite stay.

Image from Comelec Facebook page.

The decision held that Yap-Sulit failed to sufficiently rebut this evidence.

Procedural issues overturned

The Second Division had cited a procedural defect and ruled that the failure to meet the residency requirement was not the proper ground for a petition for disqualification, arguing that the petition was also filed out of time.

However, the en banc found that the petitioners had substantially complied with the procedural requirement for the verification and certification of non-forum shopping, dismissing the minimal discrepancy cited by the lower division.

Succession rules apply

The annulment of her proclamation creates a permanent vacancy in the city’s highest office.

Under Section 44 of the Local Government Code, if a permanent vacancy occurs in the office of the mayor, the vice mayor automatically assumes the position for the unexpired term.

The Inquirer has reached out to Yap-Sulit’s camp for comment, but has not received a response as of posting time. /