MANILA – The Supreme Court (SC) has nullified a Commission on Elections (Comelec) resolution that disqualified Susan Areno Yap-Sulit from the 2025 mayoral race in Tarlac City, ruling that she met the residency requirement and affirming her proclamation as mayor.

In a 17-page decision promulgated on June 3, 2026 and made public on Friday, the SC En Banc granted Yap-Sulit’s petition and declared that the poll body failed to establish with substantial evidence that she was ineligible to run.

“Petitioner Susan Areno Yap-Sulit is declared eligible to be elected Mayor of Tarlac City. Her proclamation as such is hereby upheld,” the decision read.

The ruling, penned by Associate Justice Antonio T. Kho Jr., also made permanent the status quo ante order issued in November 2025, which restored Yap-Sulit to office while the case was pending.

The disqualification case stemmed from a petition filed by Amado S. De Leon and Jay-Ar Capulong Navarro, who claimed Yap-Sulit failed to satisfy the one-year residency requirement before the May 12, 2025 elections.

In October 2025, the Comelec en banc reversed its Second Division’s earlier ruling and declared Yap-Sulit ineligible to hold public office.

However, the SC found that the Comelec’s decision was not supported by substantial evidence, saying Yap-Sulit sufficiently proved that she had abandoned her residence in San Jose in favor of Tarlac City.

The High Court also cited Yap-Sulit’s years of public service in the province, noting that she had served three consecutive terms as governor.

“She is hardly a stranger to the locality. Even if the period of her residency in Tarlac City is disputed here, her political exposure to and experience in the city shows that she is neither a stranger nor a newcomer who is ‘unacquainted with the conditions and needs of a community,’” the SC said.

“At the very least, her election as the city mayor does not defeat the very purpose for the residency requirement,” it added.

The Court likewise emphasized the importance of respecting the electorate’s choice.

“Here, the Court respects and indeed upholds the will of the electorate, not despite a candidate’s eligibility, but because, from the evidence presented, there is no such ineligibility,” it said.

In a statement, Yap-Sulit welcomed the ruling, describing it as a victory for the people of Tarlac City.

“The journey has been long and difficult, but we never lost faith in our institutions and in the justice of our cause. From the beginning, we maintained that I met the legal qualifications to serve and that the people of Tarlac City had freely expressed their choice,” she said.

“Today, the Supreme Court has affirmed that mandate. I am deeply grateful to the justices for their careful and impartial review of the evidence and the law,” she added.