Kinds of Naturalization (a) (a) Judi Judici cial al natu natura rali liza zati tion on refers to naturalization by means of court judgment pursua pursuant nt to the “Revi “Revised sed Natura Naturaliz lizati ation on Act. (b) !egis !egisla lativ tive e natur naturali alizat zation ion refers to naturalization by means of a direct act of "ongress# "ongress# that is# by the enactment of a la$ by the "ongr "ongress ess decla declarin ring g there therein in that that a for foreign eigner er is conf confer errred citi citize zens nshi hip p and and admitted into the political community% and (c) Admin dminis istr trat ativ ive e natu natura rali liza zati tion on is naturali naturalizatio zation n by means means of administ administrati rative ve proceed proceedings ings before before the &pecial &pecial "ommittee "ommittee on Naturalization pursuant to the “Administrative Naturalization !a$ of '.
PRIMER on JUDICIAL NATURALIA NATURALIATI!N TI!N "#at is Co$$on%&alt# Act No' * "A No. *+ or the Revised Naturalization !a$ is a la$ la$ sign signed ed to prov provid ide e for for the the ac,u ac,uis isit itio ion n of -hilip -hi lippin pine e citiz citizens enship hip throug through h Natur Naturali alizat zation ion by ,uali ,ualied ed alien alien indivi individua duals. ls. /t provi provides des that that after after hearing the petition for citizenship and receipt of eviden evidence ce sho$in sho$ing g that that the petiti petitione onerr has all the ,uali ,ualicat cation ions s and and none none of the dis dis,ua ,uali licat cation ions s re,uired by la$# the competent court may order the issuance of the proper naturalization certicate and the regis registra tratio tion n there thereof of in the prope properr civil civil registry.
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4.
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*. On the other hand, Republic Republic Act (R.A. (R.A.)) No. 9139 provides that aliens born and residing in the Philippin Philippines es ma be granted granted Philippi Philippine ne citi!ensh citi!enship ip b administrative proceeding proceeding b "ling a petition #or citi!enship $ith the %pecial &ommittee, $hich, in vie$ vie$ o# the the #act #acts s be#o be#ore re it, it, ma ma appr approv ove e the the petition and issue a certi"cate o# naturali!ation. naturali!ation. /n both both cases# cases# the petiti petitione onerr shall shall ta0e ta0e an oath oath of allegiance allegiance to the -hilippines as a sovereign nation. Jurisdiction 'clusive or Original R1" of the provi province nce in $hich $hich the petiti petitione onerr has has reside resided d at least least one year immediately immediately preceding preceding the ling of the petition +uali,cations 2. At least least '2 years years old old on the the date date of the the ling ling of his petition '. /f born born in a for foreign eign coun countr try# y# he must must have have been legally admitted admitted into the -hilippi -hilippines nes either as an immigrant or nonimmigrant +. 3ave 3ave continu continuous ously ly reside reside in the -hilipp -hilippine ines s for 2 years# $hich period shall be reduced to 4 year years s if $ith $ith any any of the the foll follo$ o$in ing g ,ualications is present5
C.
G.
a. 3avi 3aving ng honor honorab ably ly held held o6ce o6ce under under the 7overnment of the -hilippines b. 3avi 3aving ng esta establ blis ishe hed d a ne$ ne$ indu indust stry ry or intr introd oduc uced ed a usef useful ul inve invent ntio ion n in the the -hilippines% c. 8arr 8arried ied to a 9ilipin ilipino o $oma $oman% n% d. :ngage :ngaged d as a teache teacherr in the -hili -hilippi ppines nes in a public or recognized private school not establ tablis ishe hed d for for the the e;clus clusiv ive e instr instruct uction ion of childr children en of person persons s of a particular nationality or race# in any of the branches of education or industry for a period of not less than t$o years% e. 3avin 3aving g been been born born in the -hil -hilipp ippine ines. s. : ?A/@: A/@: ?/13 ?/13 R:&-:" R:&-:"1 1 1< >A >A&/ &/& & <9 13:/ 13:/R R DBA!/9 DBA!/9/"A /"A1/< 1/:"<8: B&:9B! "/1/E:N& <9 13: ": ?A/@: 8ust 8ust have have enr enroll olled his his mino minorr chil childr dren en of school age# in any of the public schools or private schools recognized during the entire period of the residence residence 8ust 8ust have have ming mingle led d soci social ally ly $ith $ith 9ilip ilipin inos os and evinced a sincere desire to learn and embrace the customs# traditions and ideals of 9ilipino people.
"#o ar& dis-uali,&d (.&c ) 2. -ersons ersons opposed opposed to organiz organized ed govern governmen mentt or a6liated $ith any association or group of person persons s $ho uphold uphold and teach teach doctri doctrines nes opposing all organized governments% '. -erson -ersons s defending defending or teachin teaching g the neces necessity sity or propriety of violence# personal assault# or assassination for the success and predominance predominance of their ideas% +. -olyg olygam amis ists ts or believ believer ers s in the the prac practi tice ce of polygamy%
. -ersons convicted of crimes involving moral turpitude% 4. -ersons suHering from mental alienation or incurable contagious diseases%
?ithin ve (4) years from the detection or discovery of a violation of the provisions of this Act.
Proc&dur& Ali&ns born of /ili0ino $ot#&rs b&for& &1&cti2it3 of t#& n&% Constitution "onsidered ,ualied $ithout need of any further ,ualications provided he does not suHer from the dis,ualications above enumerated. E1&ct of Naturalization on t#& "if& and C#ildr&n I eemed citizen of the -hilippines I A foreignIborn minor child d$elling in the -hilippines $hen hisher parent is naturalized shall automatically become a -hilippine citizen I A foreignIborn minor child not in the -hilippines at the time the parent is naturalized shall be deemed a -hilippine citizen only during his minority unless he begins to reside permanently in the -hilippines $hen still a minor I A child born outside of the -hilippines after the naturalization of his parent# shall be considered a -hilippine citizen# unless one year after reaching the age of majority# he fails to register himself as a -hilippine citizen R&cord 4oo5s 1he cler0 of the court shall 0eep t$o boo0s5 (2) A record of the petition and declarations of intention in chronological order (') A record of naturalization certicates P&nalti&s for 2iolation of t#is Act 9ine of not more than -4#
A' /il& a D&claration of Int&ntion %it# t#& !.6 at l&ast on& 3&ar 0rior to t#& ,lin7 of t#& 0&tition :"!ARA1/
I
I
C' 8&arin7 of t#& P&tition 1he hearing shall be public $hich shall not be held $ithin G days from the date of the last publication of the notice &olicitor 7eneral or his delegate or the provincial scal concerned shall appear on behalf of the Republic of the -hilippines No petition shall be heard $ithin thirty days preceding AN= election D' A00&al to t#& .u0r&$& Court 8ay be made at the instance of any of the parties E' Issuanc& of Naturalization
t#&
C&rti,cat&
of
>efore the naturalization certicate is issued# the petitioner shall# in open court# ta0e oath (&ec. 2') -hen issued After the lapse of thirty (+) days $here no appeal has been led
'. /f the person naturalized shall# $ithin 4 years ne;t follo$ing the issuance of said naturalization certicate# returns to his native country or to some foreign country established his permanent residence there Prima #acie evidence a. &taying for more than one year in his native country b. &taying for more than t$o years in any other foreign country 3. -etition $as made on an invalid declaration of intention 4. /f it is sho$n that the minor children of the person naturalized failed to graduate from a public or private high school as recognized by the 7overnment 9' /f the naturalized citizen has allo$ed himself to be used as a dummy in violation of the "onstitutional or legal provisions re,uiring -hilippine citizenship as a re,uisite.
JURI.PRUDENCE 'dison %o vs. Republic o# the Philippines 7.R. No. 2*K+ /n naturalization proceedings# it is the burden of the applicant to prove not only his o$n good moral character but also the good moral character of hisher $itnesses# $ho must be credible persons. ?ithin the purvie$ of the naturalization la$# a credible person is not only an individual $ho has not been previously convicted of a crime% $ho is not a police character and has no police record% $ho has not perjured in the past% or $hose a6davit or testimony is not incredible. ?hat must be credible is not the declaration made but the person maing it . 1his implies that such person must have a good standing in the community% that he is 0no$n to be honest and upright% that he is reputed to be trust$orthy and reliable% and that his $ord may be ta0en on its face value# as a good $arranty of the applicantLs $orthiness. 5o 6a 7im 6ao 0mmigration 7R No. !I'2'CG
vs.
8he
&ommissioner
o#
:99:"1& (of Naturalization) M 1he naturalization of an alien visitor as a -hilippine citizen logically produces the eHect of conferring upon him ipso facto all the rights of citizenship including that of being entitled to permanently stay in the -hilippines outside the orbit of authority of the "ommissioner of /mmigration visIaIvis aliens# if only because by its very nature and e;press provisions# the /mmigration !a$ is a la$ only for aliens and is inapplicable to citizens of the -hilippines.
-ut this policy nds no application is cases $here citizenship is conferred by operation of la$. /n such cases# the courts have no choice to accept or reject. /f the individual claiming citizenship by operations of la$ proves in legal proceedings that he satises the statutory re,uirements# they cannot do other$ise than to declare that he is a citizens of the -hilippines. /n o vs Republic o# the Philippines, the "ourt said that the inclusion of present and former places of residence in the petition is a jurisdictional re,uirement# $ithout $hich the petition suHers from a fatal and congenital defect $hich cannot be cured by evidence on the omitted matter at the trial. Ong v. Republic o# the Philippines enumerates the re,uirements of character $itnesses# namely5 2. 1hat they are citizens of the -hilippines% '. 1hat they are credible persons% +. 1hat they personally 0no$ the petitioner% . 1hat they personally 0no$ him to be a resident of the -hilippines for the period of time re,uired by la$% 4. 1hat they personally 0no$ him to be a person of good repute% K. 1hat they personally 0no$ him to be morally irreproachable% *. 1hat he has# in their opinion# all the ,ualications necessary to become a citizen of the -hilippines% and C. 1hat he is not in any $ay dis,ualied under the provisions of the Naturalization !a$. /n vouching for the good moral character of the applicant for citizenship# a $itness# for purposes of naturalization# must be a credible person or one $ho has not been previously convicted of a crime% $ho is not a police character and has no police record% $ho has not perjured in the past% or $hose a6davit or testimony is not incredible. ?hat must be credible is not the declaration made# but the person ma0ing it.
/n 7im &hing 8ian v. Republic# the "ourt e;plained that the la$ re,uires that a vouching $itness should have actually 0no$n an applicant for $hom he testied for the re,uisite period prescribed therein to give him the necessary competence to act as such. A long line of cases reveals that the "ourt did not hesitate in reversing grants of citizenship upon a sho$ing that the applicant had no lucrative income and $ould# most li0ely# become a public charge. A summary of some of these notable cases is in order5 2. 0n the 5atter o# the Petition #or Admission to Philippine &iti!enship o# 'ngracio &han also no$n as Nicasio 7im. '. 0n the 5atter o# the Petition o# Antonio Po to be admitted a &iti!en o# the Philippines. +. 0n the 5atter o# the Petition o# 8anpa Ong Alias Pedro 8an to be admitted a &iti!en o# the Philippines. . :eng io v. Republic. 4. % Ang ;oc vs. Republic. K. 0n the 5atter o# the Petition to be admitted a &iti!en o# the Philippines b Pantaleon %ia alias A#redo %ia.
/n < v. Republic ho$ever# the "ourt laid do$n the public policy underlying the lucrative income re,uirement as follo$s5 O1Phe "ourt must be satised that there is reasonable assurance not only that the applicant $ill not be a social burden or liability but that he is a potential asset to the country he see0s to adopt for himself and ,uite literally# for his children and his childrenQs children. Additionally# in &hua v. Republic# the "ourt said that5 1he economic ,ualication for naturalization may be seen to embody the objective of ensuring that the petitioner $ould not become a public charge or an economic burden upon society. 1he re,uirement relates# in other $ords# not simply to the time of e;ecution of the petition for naturalization but also to the probable future of the applicant for naturalization.
