Guingona will appear in behalf of the International Coalition of Overseas Filipino Voting Rights (ICOFV), a non-governmental organization that sought the help of the vice president in answering a taxpayer’s suit filed by Romulo Makalintal, who is questioning the constitutionality of the absentee voting law.
Makalintal, in particular, seeks to exclude Filipino immigrants from the coverage of the law.
"It will be the first time that an incumbent vice president will engage in oral arguments before the SC," lawyer Jaime Guerrero, Guingona’s chief of staff, said.
He disclosed that the vice president accepted the task out of his "genuine concern for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs)", a dedication he said Guingona picked up when he was foreign affairs secretary.
"The vice president is aware that over 2.4 million Filipinos abroad will be disenfranchised if Filipino immigrants and permanent residents will be excluded from the coverage of the absentee voting law," Guerrero explained. "That certainly will defeat the purpose of the law."
According to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), there are 1,894,288 Filipino immigrants in the United States, 277,744 in Canada, 202,110 in Australia, 59,626 in Japan, 32,497 in Germany and 45,713 in the United Kingdom.
Joining Guingona’s legal team will be former Senator Wigberto Tañada and former University of the Philippines College of Law dean Merlin Magalona, a consultant at the Office of the Vice President.
But the main counsel who will argue the case in behalf of the government will be Solicitor General Alfredo Benipayo, who will represent the Office of the President, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), the respondents named in Makalintal’s suit.
On Feb. 13, President Arroyo signed the Overseas Absentee Voting Act of 2003 (Republic Act 9189) granting seven million overseas Filipinos the opportunity to vote for candidates running for the electoral posts of president, vice president, senator and party list representative.
However, Makalintal assailed the provision which allowed Filipino immigrants or permanent residents in other countries to vote in Philippine elections "on condition that they execute an affidavit that they will return to the Philippines within three years upon registration and have not applied for citizenship in another country."
"The Constitution requires prior residency, not later. And certainly not one anchored on a mere promise of residency," Makalintal’s counsel, Sixto Brillantes, Jr. pointed out.
"What happens if the said immigrant or permanent resident is allowed to vote and he does not return to the Philippines as he has promised in the affidavit?" he asked.
He said the failure of permanent residents or immigrants to return to the Philippines after they have voted "could even be a ground to contest the proclamation of the winning candidates and cause further confusion and doubt on the integrity of the election."
He cautioned the government that such provision can also bring confusion in the electoral process.
"It even constitutes an amendment of the said Constitutional requirement and Congress has no power to amend the Constitution without constituting itself into a constituent assembly. Hence, the said affidavit cannot be used as a substitute for the residency requirement provided for under the Constitution," he said.
Makalintal said that Section 1, Article V of the Constitution clearly that states that a one-year residence in the Philippines is required for those who would like to vote.
Thus, in his suit, Makalintal urged the SC to stop the Comelec from starting the registration of Filipino immigrants or permanent residents in other countries and the DBM from disbursing funds for absentee voting.