SET Case No. 001-23 (JULIE LICUP PEARSON, ROSARIO KALAW NICDAO, TERESITA LORA ESTRADA, ANTONIETA P. DELA CRUZ, MARIEVEB JOMAO-AS LORA, VERGILIA JOMAO-AS LORA, ESTER LORA CARBONILLA, and LANI TABEGNI BILLANES, Petitioners, vs. SENATOR RAFFY TESHIBA TULFO, Respondent)
Quo Warranto: This is a petition for quo warranto seeking the removal of Raffy Teshiba Tulfo as a sitting senator of the Republic of the Philippines on the ground that he is not a Filipino citizen but an American citizen.
Petitioners alleged that respondent acquired American citizenship when he married more than once. Petitioners anchored their contentions on certain entries in some United States divorce documents and a birth certificate of respondent’s alleged child which purportedly show that respondent Senator is an American citizen.
Status: In a unanimous Resolution promulgated on 05 September 2023, the Tribunal summarily dismissed the petition for quo warranto for being insufficient in substance. The Tribunal held that petitioners failed to discharge their burden of proving that respondent Senator is not a Filipino citizen.
On 08 February 2024, the Resolution became final and executory, and an Entry of Judgment was thereby issued.