Philippine citizenship may be lost or reacquired in the manner provided by law. (Sec. 3., Art. IV, 1987 Constitution)
Modes of Reacquiring Citizenship
Commonwealth Act No. 63 (C.A. No. 63),
enumerates the three modes by which Philippine citizenship may be reacquired by
a former citizen:
1. by naturalization,
2. by repatriation,
and
3. by direct act of
Congress.
Naturalization
Naturalization is a mode for both
acquisition and reacquisition of Philippine citizenship. As a mode of initially acquiring Philippine
citizenship, naturalization is governed by Commonwealth Act No. 473, as
amended. On the other hand, naturalization as a mode for reacquiring Philippine
citizenship is governed by Commonwealth Act No. 63. Under this law, a former
Filipino citizen who wishes to reacquire Philippine citizenship must possess
certain qualifications and none of the disqualifications mentioned in Section 4
of C.A. 473.
But this is now an abbreviated process, with
no need to wait for three years (one year for declaration of intent, and two
years for the judgment to become executory). An applicant must only possess
the following:
a.
at least 21 years of age;
b.
Resident for at least 6 months;
c.
Good moral character;
d.
No disqualification.
Qualifications
for naturalization
1.
The applicant must have lost his original Philippine citizenship by
naturalization in a foreign country or by express renunciation of his
citizenship.
2.
He must be at least twenty-one years of age and shall have resided in the
Philippines at least six months before he applies for naturalization.
3.
He must have conducted himself in a proper and irreproachable manner during the
entire period of his residence (of at least six months prior to the filing of
the application) in the Philippines, in his relations with the constituted
government as well as with the community in which he is living.
4.
He subscribes to an oath declaring his intention to renounce absolutely and
perpetually all faith and allegiance to the foreign authority, state or
sovereignty of which he was a citizen or subject
Disqualifications
for naturalization
Section 4 of Act 473 provides the following
disqualifications:
1.
He must not be opposed to organized government or affiliated with any
association or group of persons who uphold and teach doctrines opposing all
organized governments;
2.
He must not be defending or teaching the necessity or propriety of violence,
personal assault, or assassination for the success and predominance of their
ideas;
3.
He must not be polygamist or believer in the practice of polygamy;
4.
He must not have been convicted of any crime involving moral turpitude;
5.
He must not be suffering from mental alienation or incurable contagious
diseases;
6.
He must have, during the period of his residence in the Philippines (of not
less than six months before filing his application), mingled socially with the
Filipinos, or who have not evinced a sincere desire to learn and embrace the
customs, traditions and ideal s of the Filipinos;
7.
He must not be a citizen or subject of a nation with whom the Philippines is at
war, during the period of such war;
8.
He must not be citizen or subject of foreign country whose laws do not grant
Filipinos the right to become naturalized citizens or subjects thereof.
Repatriation
Repatriation, on the other hand,
may be had under various statutes by those who lost their citizenship due to:
(1) desertion of the armed forces; (2) service in the armed forces of the
allied forces in World War II; (3) service in the Armed Forces of the United
States at any other time; (4) marriage of a Filipino woman to an alien; and (5)
political and economic necessity.
As distinguished from the lengthy process of
naturalization, repatriation simply consists of the taking of an oath of
allegiance to the Republic of the Philippines and registering said
oath in the Local Civil Registry of the place where the person concerned
resides or last resided. (Bengson III v.
House Electoral Tribunal, 07 May 2001)
Repatriation is not a matter of right, but it
is a privilege granted by the State. This is mandated by the 1987 Constitution
under Section 3, Article IV, which provides that citizenship may be lost or
reacquired in the manner provided by law. The State has the power to prescribe
by law the qualifications, procedure, and requirements for repatriation. It has
the power to determine if an applicant for repatriation meets the requirements
of the law for it is an inherent power of the State to choose who will be its
citizens, and who can reacquire citizenship once it is lost. (see Tabasa
v. Court of Appeals, 29 August 2006)
Effect of
repatriation
Repatriation results in the recovery of
the original nationality. This means that a naturalized Filipino who lost
his citizenship will be restored to his prior status as a naturalized Filipino
citizen. On the other hand, if he was
originally a natural-born citizen before he lost his Philippine citizenship, he
will be restored to his former status as a natural-born Filipino. (Bengson v. HRET, 07 May 2001)
Repatriation
does not result in the recovery of original/former Philippine domicile
Ty’s reacquisition of his Philippine
citizenship under Republic Act No. 9225 had no automatic impact or effect on
his residence/domicile. He could still
retain his domicile in the USA, and he did not necessarily regain his domicile
in the Municipality of General Macarthur, Eastern Samar, Philippines. Ty merely had the option to again establish
his domicile in the Municipality of General Macarthur, Eastern Samar,
Philippines, said place becoming his new domicile of choice. The length of his residence therein shall be
determined from the time he made it his domicile of choice, and it shall not
retroact to the time of his birth. (Japzon v. Comelec, 19 January 2009)
Applicable
Repatriation Laws
1) Republic Act 9225, “Citizenship
Retention and Reacquisition Act”
Available to natural-born citizens of the
Philippines who have lost their Philippine citizenship by reason of their
naturalization as citizens of a foreign country
2) Republic Act 8171, “An Act
Providing for the Repatriation of Filipino Women Who Have Lost Their Philippine
Citizenship by Marriage to Aliens and of Natural-Born Filipinos”
Available to Filipino women who have lost
their Philippine citizenship by marriage to aliens and natural-born Filipinos
who have lost their Philippine citizenship, including their minor children, on
account of political or economic necessity.
3) Commonwealth Act 63
Available to persons declared by competent
authority to be a deserter of the Philippine army, navy or air corps in time of
war, unless subsequently granted a plenary pardon or amnesty.
Repatriation shall be effected by merely
taking the necessary oath of allegiance to the Republic of the Philippines and
registration in the proper civil registry.
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