BENGZON III V HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ELECTORAL TRIBUNAL

FACTS

Teodoro Cruz is a natural born citizen of the Philippines. He was born in Tarlac on April
27, 1960. On November 5, 1985 he enlisted in the US Marine Corps without the consent of the
Republic of the Philippines. He took an oath of allegiance to the US and as a consequence he
lost his Filipino Citizenship because under the Commonwealth Act no. 63 a Filipino may lose his
citizenship by rendering service to or accepting commission in the armed forces of a foreign
country. Any doubts as to his citizenship at the time was settled by his naturalization as a US
citizen on June 5, 1990.
On May 17, 1994 he reacquired his citizenship through repatriation under RA 2630. He
was elected as the Representative of the Second District of Pangasinan in 1998 and his
opponent was Bengzon. Bengzon filed a case Quo Warranto Ad Cautelam with HRET claiming
Cruz, not being a natural-born citizen by the contention that Aricle IV, Sec 2 of the Consti defines
natural-born citizens as citizens from birth without having to perform any act to acquire or perfect
such citizenship was not eligible to be member of the House.

ISSUES

Whether or not Cruz, a natural born Filipino who became an American citizen, can still
be considered a natural-born Filipino upon his reacquisition of Philippine citizenship via
Repatriation, so that the question of WON he is eligible to be a member of the House might be
addressed.

HELD

Yes. Cruz is a natural born citizen of the Philippines. The 1987 Constitution only
provides for 2 classes of citizens: (1) Natural born and (2) Naturalized. Filipino citizens who have
lost their citizenship may reacquire it by naturalization, repatriation or by direct act of Congress.
Naturalization is a mode for acquisition and reacquisition of Philippine citizenship while
repatriation is available for those who have lost their citizenship due to desertion of the armed
forces, service in the armed forces of the allied forces in WWII, service in the armed forces of the
US at any other time, marriage of a Filipino woman to an alien, and political and economic
necessity. Process involves taking an oath of allegiance to the RP and registering it in the Local
Civil Registrar of the place where the person concerned resides or last resided.
Repatriation would result in the recovery of the original nationality. He will be restored to
his former status as a natural born citizen. Cruz recovered his original status as a natural-born
citizen because of his repatriation. As distinguished from the lengthy process of naturalization,
repatriation simply consists of taking an oath of allegiance to the RP and registering said oath
with the Local Civil Registry
The 1987 Constitution does not provide a separate category for persons who after losing
Philippine citizenship, subsequently reacquires it because they are either natural born or
naturalized depending on the reason for the loss of their citizenship and the mode prescribed by
the applicable law for reacquisition. Cruz was not required by law to go through naturalization
proceedings in order to reacquire his citizenship, he is perforce a natural-born Filipino.