Disqualification case filed vs Zamboanga City House bet
A disqualification case was filed before the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Tuesday, April 15, 2025, against Zamboanga City congressional candidate Kaiser Adan Olaso for alleged misrepresentation of his citizenship. File photo.
MANILA, Philippines — A disqualification case was filed before the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Tuesday against Zamboanga City congressional candidate Kaiser Adan Olaso for alleged misrepresentation of his citizenship.
The petition was filed by Elfren Inclan, a Zamboanga City resident and a local government unit employee under the barangay affairs.
“The instant petition seeks to question the candidacy of KAISER ADAN T. OLASO for Member, House of Representatives for the 1st District of Zamboanga City in the forthcoming 12 May 2025 National and Local Elections on the grounds that he is not a Filipino citizen as falsely declared in his Certificate of Candidacy [COC],” the petition read.
READ: Comelec asked to reconsider DQ petition vs Makati congressional aspirant
Inclan claimed that Olaso is a Cambodian national, born to his Cambodian mother Ms. Lorraine Por Taing. Olaso is the brother of incumbent Zamboanga City 1st District Representative Khymer Adan Olaso.
The petitioner, in his separate statement, emphasized Article 6, Section 6 of the 1987 Constitution which states that “[n]o person shall be a Member of the House of Representatives unless he is a natural-born citizen of the Philippines…”
When asked about the reason for the filing, his legal counsel said that they found out that there was a misrepresentation on the citizenship of the candidate.
They likened it to the case of dismissed Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo (real name: Guo Hua Ping) who ran and won the mayoral race in the 2022 elections despite declaring alleged false information of her citizenship in her COC.
READ: Alice Guo faces misrepresentation raps filed by Comelec
When asked if someone backed up his filing, Inclan answered in the negative.
“This is voluntarily. Nakita ko lang. Lahat naman tayo, may rights as a Filipino citizen. Tunay na Filipino citizen and not something else,” Inclan told reporters in an interview.
(This is voluntarily. I just saw (the discrepancy). We all have rights as a Filipino citizen. A real Filipino citizen and not something else.)
Further, when asked how Inclan found out about Kaisen’s citizenship, his counsel said that they discovered it through his birth certificate.
Huang added that it’s a “public record” where “anyone can get information” from.
‘Political harassment’
The Zamboanga City congressional candidate told INQUIRER.net that there is no misrepresentation of his citizenship as a natural-born citizen.
He added that he is a Filipino by blood, emphasizing that his parents were Filipinos when he was born.
“This is a clear political harassment by my political rivals,” he said in a message.
Section 1, Article IV of the 1987 Constitution states the following are considered as citizens of the Philippines: (1) those who are citizens of the Philippines at the time of adoption of this Constitution; (2) those whose fathers or mothers are citizens of the Philippines; (3) those born before January 17, 1973, of Filipino mothers, who elect Philippine citizenship upon reaching the age of majority; and (4) those who are naturalized in accordance with law. Section 2 of the same article also noted that “[n]atural-born citizens are those who are citizens of the Philippines from birth without having to perform any act or perfect their Philippine citizenship.”
