B. Acquisition of Philippine Citizenship (CA 473, as amended by CA 535; RA 530 and 9139; AM 21-07-22-SC)

C. Natural Born and Naturalized Citizens

> C.A. No. 473, secs. 2-4

Section 2. Qualifications. – Subject to section four of this Act, any person having the following qualifications may become a citizen of the Philippines by naturalization:

First. He must be not less than twenty-one years of age on the day of the hearing of the petition;

Second. He must have resided in the Philippines for a continuous period of not less than ten years;

Third. He must be of good moral character and believes in the principles underlying the Philippine Constitution, and must have conducted himself in a proper and irreproachable manner during the entire period of his residence in the Philippines in his relation with the constituted government as well as with the community in which he is living.

Fourth. He must own real estate in the Philippines worth not less than five thousand pesos, Philippine currency, or must have some known lucrative trade, profession, or lawful occupation;

Fifth. He must be able to speak and write English or Spanish and any one of the principal Philippine languages; and

Sixth. He must have enrolled his minor children of school age, in any of the public schools or private schools recognized by the Office of Private Education1 of the Philippines, where the Philippine history, government and civics are taught or prescribed as part of the school curriculum, during the entire period of the residence in the Philippines required of him prior to the hearing of his petition for naturalization as Philippine citizen.

Section 3. Special qualifications. The ten years of continuous residence required under the second condition of the last preceding section shall be understood as reduced to five years for any petitioner having any of the following qualifications:

• Having honorably held office under the Government of the Philippines or under that of any of the provinces, cities, municipalities, or political subdivisions thereof;
• Having established a new industry or introduced a useful invention in the Philippines;
• Being married to a Filipino woman;

Having been engaged as a teacher in the Philippines in a public or recognized private school not established for the exclusive instruction of children of persons of a particular nationality or race, in any of the branches of education or industry for a period of not less than two years;

Having been born in the Philippines.

Section 4. Who are disqualified. - The following cannot be naturalized as Philippine citizens:

a. Persons opposed to organized government or affiliated with any association or group of persons who uphold and teach doctrines opposing all organized governments;

b. Persons defending or teaching the necessity or propriety of violence, personal assault, or assassination for the success and predominance of their ideas;

c. Polygamists or believers in the practice of polygamy;

d. Persons convicted of crimes involving moral turpitude;

e. Persons suffering from mental alienation or incurable contagious diseases;

f. Persons who, during the period of their residence in the Philippines, have not mingled socially with the Filipinos, or who have not evinced a sincere desire to learn and embrace the customs, traditions, and ideals of the Filipinos;

g. Citizens or subjects of nations with whom the United States 2and the Philippines are at war, during the period of such war;

h. Citizens or subjects of a foreign country other than the United States 3whose laws do not grant Filipinos the right to become naturalized citizens or subjects thereof.

> [C.A. No. 473, as amended](/86a570ce6c7f47e6b5416904703b704b?pvs=25)

Updated: A naturalization applicant must prove that a claimed lucrative calling yields an appreciable margin over expenses, and a grant remains subject to the two-year compliance process under R.A. No. 530 (Manish v. Republic, G.R. No. 211118, 17 December 2018; Republic v. Hung, G.R. No. 212785, 4 April 2018).

Three Modes of Naturalization

• Administrative Naturalization (R.A. No. 9139)
• Judicial Naturalization (C.A. No. 473)
• Legislative Naturalization in the form of a law enacted by Congress granting Philippine citizenship to an alien

Naturalized Citizens

Those who are naturalized in accordance with the law [Section 1(4), Article IV, 1987 Constitution].

Naturalization [CA 473]

Process by which a foreigner is adopted by the country and clothed with the privileges of a native-born citizen. The applicant must prove that he has all of the qualifications and none of the disqualifications for citizenship.

Qualifications [Section 2, C.A. 473]

• Not less than twenty-one years of age on the day of the hearing of the petition;
• Resided in the Philippines for a continuous period of 10 years or more;
• Of good moral character; believes in the principles underlying the Philippine Constitution; conducted himself in a proper and irreproachable manner during the entire period of his residence towards the government and community
• Must own real estate in the Philippines worth P5,000 or more OR must have lucrative trade, profession, or lawful occupation;
• Able to speak and write English or Spanish and any one of the principal Philippine languages; and
• Enrolled his minor children of school age in any of the recognized schools where Philippine history, government and civics are taught or prescribed as part of the school curriculum, during the entire period of the residence in the Philippines required of him.

Special Qualifications [Section 3, C.A. 473] – ANY will result to reduction of the 10-year period to 5 years

• Having honorably held office under the Government of the Philippines or under that of any of the provinces, cities, municipalities, or political subdivisions thereof;
• Established a new industry or introduced a useful invention in the Philippines;
• Married to a Filipino woman;
• Engaged as a teacher in the Philippines in a public or recognized private school not established for the exclusive instruction of children of persons of a particular nationality or race, in any of the branches of education or industry for a period of 2 years or more; or
• Born in the Philippines.

Disqualifications [Section 4, C.A. 473]

• Persons opposed to organized government or affiliated with groups who uphold and teach doctrines opposing all organized governments;
• Persons defending or teaching the necessity or propriety of violence, personal assault, or assassination for the success of their ideas;
• Polygamists or believers in polygamy;
• Persons convicted of crimes involving moral turpitude;
• Persons suffering from mental alienation or incurable contagious diseases;
• Persons who during the period of their stay, have not mingled socially with the Filipinos, or who have not evinced a sincere desire to learn and embrace the customs, traditions, and ideals of the Filipinos;
• Citizens or subjects of nations with whom the Philippines is at war; or
• Citizens or subjects of a foreign country other than the United States, whose laws do not grant Filipinos the right to become naturalized citizens or subject thereof.

Qualifications

• Not less than twenty-one years of age on the day of the hearing of the petition;
• Resided in the Philippines for a continuous period of 10 years or more;
• Of good moral character; believes in the principles underlying the Philippine Constitution; conducted himself in a proper and irreproachable manner during the entire period of his residence towards the government and community
• Must own real estate in the Philippines worth P5,000 or more OR must have lucrative trade, profession, or lawful occupation;
• Able to speak and write English or Spanish and any one of the principal Philippine languages; and
• Enrolled his minor children of school age in any of the recognized schools where Philippine history, government and civics are taught or prescribed as part of the school curriculum, during the entire period of the residence in the Philippines required of him. (C.A. 473, § 2)

Updated: A naturalization applicant relying on a lucrative trade, profession, or lawful occupation must prove adequate, sustainable income with an appreciable margin over expenses (Manish v. Republic, G.R. No. 211118, 17 December 2018).

Citizenship of Foundlings

Foundlings are citizens under international law. Article 24 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights provides for the right of every child to acquire a nationality. The Philippines is obligated under various conventions such as the ICCPR to grant nationality from birth and ensure that no child is stateless. (Poe-Llamanzares v. COMELEC, G.R. No. 221697, 2016).

This grant of nationality must be at the time of birth, and it cannot be accomplished by the application of our present naturalization laws, Commonwealth Act No. 473, as amended, and RA 9139: CA 473 requires an applicant to be at least 21 years old on the day of the hearing (Sec. 2, First), while RA 9139 requires an applicant to be at least 18 years old at the time of filing (Sec. 3). (Poe-Llamanzares v. COMELEC, G.R. No. 221697, 2016).

In a case decided by the Supreme Court, the Chief Justice pointed out that in 166 out of 189 countries surveyed (or 87.83%), foundlings are recognized as citizens. These circumstances, including the practice of jus sanguinis countries, show that it is a generally accepted principle of international law to presume foundlings as having been born of nationals of the country in which the foundling is found. (Poe-Llamanzares v. COMELEC, G.R. No. 221697, Mar. 8, 2016)

Petition for Judicial Naturalization under CA 473

The petitioner acknowledges he is an alien, and seeks judicial approval to acquire the privilege of becoming a Philippine citizen based on requirements required under CA 473 [Republic v. Batuigas, supra].

Qualifications

• The applicant must be born in the Philippines and residing therein since birth;
• The applicant must not be less than eighteen (18) years of age, at the time of filing of his/her petition;
• The applicant must be of good moral character and believes in the underlying principles of the Constitution, and must have conducted himself/herself in a proper and irreproachable manner during his/her entire period of residence in the Philippines in his relation with the duly constituted government as well as with the community in which he/she is living;
• The applicant must have received his/her primary and secondary education in any public school or private educational institution duly recognized by the Department of Education, Culture and Sports, where Philippine history, government and civics are taught and prescribed as part of the school curriculum and where enrollment is not limited to any race or nationality: Provided, That should he/she have minor children of school age, he/she must have enrolled them in similar schools;
• The applicant must have a known trade, business, profession or lawful occupation, from which he/she derives income sufficient for his/her support and if he/she is married and/or has dependents, also that of his/her family: Provided, however, That this shall not apply to applicants who are college degree holders but are unable to practice their profession because they are disqualified to do so by reason of their citizenship;
• The applicant must be able to read, write and speak Filipino or any of the dialects of the Philippines; and
• The applicant must have mingled with the Filipinos and evinced a sincere desire to learn and embrace the customs, traditions and ideals of the Filipino people (R.A No. 9139, § 3)

Disqualifications

• Those opposed to organized government or affiliated with any association of group of persons who uphold and teach doctrines opposing all organized governments;
• Those defending or teaching the necessity of or propriety of violence, personal assault or assassination for the success or predominance of their ideas;
• Polygamists or believers in the practice of polygamy;
• Those convicted of crimes involving moral turpitude;
• Those suffering from mental alienation or incurable contagious diseases;
• Those who, during the period of their residence in the Philippines, have not mingled socially with Filipinos, or who have not evinced a sincere desire to learn and embrace the customs, traditions and ideals of the Filipinos;
• Citizens or subjects with whom the Philippines is at war, during the period of such war; and
• Citizens or subjects of a foreign country whose laws do not grant Filipinos the right to be naturalized citizens or subjects thereof. (R.A. No. 9139, § 4)

c. Effects of Judicial Naturalization

Effects

• Under C.A. No. 473, § 15, minor children born in the Philippines become citizens upon the parent's naturalization. A foreign-born minor child dwelling in the Philippines at that time automatically becomes a citizen; one outside the Philippines is a citizen only during minority unless the child begins residing permanently in the Philippines while still a minor.
• The wife also becomes a Filipino citizen, provided that she does not have any disqualification which would bar her from being naturalized. (C.A. No. 473, § 15, San Tuang v. Galang, G.R. No. L-18775, Nov. 30, 1963)

Naturalization & Res Judicata

A naturalization proceeding not being a judicial adversary proceeding, the decision rendered therein is not res judicata as to any of the reasons or matters which would support a judgment cancelling the certificate of naturalization for illegal or fraudulent procurement (Republic v. Go Bon Lee, G.R. No. L- 11499, Apr. 29, 1966)

Pursuant to P.D. No. 836 and 923, naturalization extends to the alien wife and minor children of the person naturalized upon the wife's showing that she does not suffer from any of the disqualifications under Letter of Instructions No. 270, and that she and her minor children reside permanently in the Philippines at the time of her husband's naturalization. In other words, the only persons to undergo the proceeding before the Special Committee on Naturalization will only be the person naturalized and his wife. The minor children, in the words of Letter of Presidential Decree No. 836, follow the acquired Filipino citizenship of their mother. (Republic v. Lao, G.R. Nos. 205218 & 207075, Feb. 10, 2020)“

“