MANILA – Datu Pax Ali S. Mangudadatu has lost his bid to reclaim the Sultan Kudarat gubernatorial post after the Supreme Court En Banc denied with finality his motion for reconsideration, affirming its earlier ruling that upheld the cancellation of his certificate of candidacy.
The Supreme Court En Banc, during its session on August 26, 2026, denied with finality Datu Pax’s motion for reconsideration and affirmed its earlier ruling sustaining the Commission on Elections’ cancellation of his CoC for the 2022 gubernatorial elections.
The High Court’s decision has effectively settled Datu Pax’s challenge to the finding that he made a false material representation when he declared in his CoC that he had been a resident of Purok Garden, Tamnag, Lutayan, Sultan Kudarat for one year and eight months immediately preceding the May 9, 2022 elections.
At the heart of the case was not simply where Datu Pax had been physically staying, but whether he had legally established a new domicile in Sultan Kudarat and abandoned his domicile in Datu Abdullah Sangki, where he remained the incumbent municipal mayor when he filed his CoC.
The Court explained that, for election purposes, residence is synonymous with domicile, which requires more than physical presence in a particular locality; it requires the intention to remain there for an indefinite period, coupled with the intention to abandon the previous domicile.
Applying that standard, the Court’s majority found that Datu Pax had presented substantial evidence of his physical presence in Lutayan but failed to sufficiently establish the corresponding intent to abandon Datu Abdullah Sangki and make Sultan Kudarat his new domicile within the period required by law.
The justices particularly considered significant the fact that Datu Pax was still serving as mayor of Datu Abdullah Sangki when he filed his CoC on October 7, 2021, a position that carried a continuing legal residency requirement in the locality where he was elected.
The Court found that his continued exercise of the powers and duties of mayor was inconsistent with his assertion that he had already abandoned his domicile in Datu Abdullah Sangki and had established a new one in Sultan Kudarat at least one year before the 2022 elections.
While Datu Pax claimed that he had returned to his ancestral home in Lutayan as early as 2020, the Court treated his physical presence there as insufficient, by itself, to establish the legal change of domicile required for electoral eligibility.
The majority also took into account his eventual resignation as mayor on November 15, 2021, but found that this came after the filing of his CoC and after challenges to his eligibility had already been lodged before the Comelec.
Under the Court’s reasoning, Datu Pax could not rely on his subsequent resignation to cure the residency deficiency existing when he filed his CoC, because the one-year qualification must already have been satisfied within the period prescribed by the Local Government Code.
The Court further found that his declaration of residency was material because it directly concerned his eligibility to seek the governorship of Sultan Kudarat, making the representation subject to cancellation under Section 78 of the Omnibus Election Code if shown to be false.
The majority concluded that Datu Pax deliberately represented himself as qualified to run for governor despite failing to meet the statutory residency requirement, thereby justifying the Comelec’s cancellation of his CoC. Seven members of the Court had earlier voted to affirm the Comelec’s action on this issue.
The Court also rejected the argument that the numerous documents presented by Datu Pax – including certifications, identification documents, affidavits and other evidence showing his presence and community ties in Sultan Kudarat – were sufficient to establish compliance with the legal requirement.
The decisive consideration, according to the ruling, was that evidence of physical presence must be accompanied by proof of the requisite intent to abandon the former domicile and establish the new one; the two elements cannot be treated as interchangeable.
The ruling likewise emphasized the nature of a CoC as a sworn declaration of a candidate’s qualifications, making accuracy in representations concerning eligibility particularly important in protecting the integrity of the electoral process.
Datu Pax had argued that he had deep roots in Sultan Kudarat, had moved his personal belongings there and had been physically present in Lutayan while traveling to Datu Abdullah Sangki to perform his mayoral duties.
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