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Imelda Romualdez-Marcos Vs. Commission On Elections (COMELEC)

IMELDA ROMUALDEZ-MARCOS, petitioner, vs. COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS and CIRILO ROY MONTEJO, respondents.

G.R. No. 119976 | 1995-09-18

DECISION 
 
KAPUNAN, J.: 
 
A constitutional provision should be construed as to give it effective operation and suppress the mischief at which it is aimed. 1 The 1987 Constitution mandates that an aspirant for election to the House of Representatives be "a registered voter in the district in which he shall be elected, and a resident thereof for a period of not less than one year immediately preceding the election." 2 The mischief which this provision - reproduced verbatim from the 1973 Constitution - seeks to prevent is the possibility of a "stranger or newcomer unacquainted with the conditions and needs of...