Naturalization

Current Philippine laws provide for three ways in order for aliens to
become naturalized citizens of the country: by Judicial, Administrative and
Congressional means.
I.JUDICIAL MEANS
Commonwealth Act No. 473 as amended provides the first way of
acquiring Philippine citizenship through judicial naturalization. The said law
lays down the qualifications/ disqualifications of applicants and the
procedure in order to be judicially declared a Philippine citizen.
Under CA No. 473, applicants should possess the following
requirements: First, the applicant must be not less than twenty-one years of
age on the day of the hearing of the petition; second, he or she must have
resided in the Philippines for a continuous period of not less than ten years;
third, the applicant 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, the
applicant 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 or she must be able to
speak and write English or Spanish and any one of the principal Philippine
languages; and sixth, he or she must have enrolled his minor children of
school age, in any of the public schools or private schools recognized by
the government, 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 prior to the hearing of his
petition for naturalization as Philippine citizen.
Individuals who exhibit the following traits or characteristics are
prohibited from being naturalized under CA No. 473: a) those who are
opposed to organized government or affiliated with any association or
group of persons who uphold and teach doctrines opposing all organized
governments; b) those who defend or teach 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)
those suffering from mental alienation or incurable contagious diseases; f)
those 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 Philippines is at
war, during the period of such war; and h) citizens or subjects of a foreign
country whose laws do not grant Filipinos the right to become naturalized
citizens or subjects thereof.
Naturalization under CA No. 473 involves the intervention of a court
of law that will decide if the applicant should be granted naturalization. The
naturalization process begins with the applicant filing a declaration of intent
one year prior to the filing of a petition with the Office of the Solicitor
General exhibiting his or her intent to acquire Philippine citizenship.
Persons who were born in the Philippines and have received their primary
and secondary education in public schools or those recognized by the
Government and those who have resided continuously in the Philippines for
a period of thirty years or more before filing their application and enrolled
his or her children in elementary and high schools recognized by the
government and not limited to any race or country, and the widow and
minor children of an alien who has declared his intention to become a
citizen but dies before naturalization are exempt from the filing of such a
declaration. The applicant shall then file his or her petition which must be
signed in his or her own handwriting and accompanied by an affidavit of
two credible citizens of the Philippines personally known to the applicant
with the court of the province in which the same has resided at least one
year immediately preceding the filing of the petition. The petition shall be in
triplicate, accompanied by two photographs of the petitioner and must set
forth the following information: name and surname; present and former
places of residence; occupation; place and date of birth; civil status; the
name, age, birthplace and residence of the wife and of each of the children;
the approximate date of his or her arrival in the Philippines; the name of the
port of debarkation and the name of the ship from which the applicant
came. The petition shall also state the names and post-office addresses of
the applicant’s witnesses as the petitioner may desire to introduce at the
hearing of the case. The certificate of arrival and the declaration of intention
are required to be part of the petition. The petition shall then be published
for once a week for three consecutive weeks in the Official Gazette and in a
newspaper of general circulation in the province where the applicant
resides. Furthermore, copies of the petition and the notice of hearing shall
be posted in the Office of the Clerk of Court or in the building where the
office is located. After this, the court shall conduct a hearing regarding the
petition wherein the applicant may present witnesses and evidence proving
that he or she is qualified to become a naturalized citizen. After hearing, the
court having jurisdiction over the case shall promulgate a decision
regarding the application. During the entire duration of the proceedings, the
applicant shall be required to actually reside within the country. After the
lapse of two years, a hearing shall be conducted wherein the applicant
must prove that during his or her entire stay in the country, he or she has
not left the country, continuously engaged in a lawful calling or profession,
has not been convicted of any offense and not committed any prejudicial
act to the interest of the nation or contrary to any announced policy. If
successful, the applicant shall be issued a Certificate of Naturalization and
undergo oath taking.
II.ADMINISTRATIVE MEANS
Republic Act No. 9139 (R.A. 9139) provides for the second mode of
naturalization. The said law allows an administrative procedure for
naturalization without judicial intervention. In contrast to CA No. 473, R.A.
No. 9139 applies only to aliens who have been born within the country and
have never seen any other country and thought of themselves as being
Filipinos all their lives. The said Act lays down the qualifications and
disqualifications of applicants and the procedure for naturalization. Except
for the lower age requirement and the need of having been born in the
country, most of the qualifications and disqualifications set by the law are
similar to those enumerated in CA No. 473.
The process for administrative naturalization is set into motion when
an applicant files a petition with the Secretariat of the Special Committee
on Naturalization along with the processing fee of forty thousand pesos
(P40,000.00). The said petition should contain all of the required
information along with the following:
(a) Duplicate original or certified photocopies of petitioner’s birth certificate;
(b) Duplicate original or certified photocopies of petitioner’s alien certificate
of registration and native born certificate of residence;
(c) Duplicate original or certified photocopies of petitioner’s marriage
certified, if married, or the death certificate of his spouse, if widowed, or the
court decree annulling his marriage, if such was the fact;
(d) Duplicate original or certified photocopies of birth certificates, alien
certificate of registration or native born certificate of residence if any, of
petitioner’s minor children, wherever applicable;
(e) Affidavit of financial capacity by the petitioner, and sworn statements on
the good moral character of the petitioner by at least two (2) Filipino
citizens of good reputation in his/her place of residence stating that they
have personally known the petitioner for at least a period of ten (10) years
and that said petitioner has in their own opinion all the qualifications
necessary to become a citizen of the Philippines and is not in any way
disqualified under the provisions of this Act;
(f) A medical certificate that petitioner is not a user of prohibited drugs or
otherwise a drug dependent and that he/she is not afflicted with acquired
immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS);
(g) School diploma and transcript of records of the petitioner in the schools
he attended in the Philippines. Should the petitioner have minor children, a
certification that his children are enrolled in a school where Philippine
history, government and civics are taught and are part of the curriculum;
and
(h) If gainfully employed, the income tax return for the past three (3) years.
The pertinent portions of the petition shall then be published once a
week for three (3) consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation
and have copies of the petition posted in any public or conspicuous area.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), the Bureau of Immigration (BI),
the civil registrar of the petitioner’s place of residence and the National
Bureau of Investigation (NBI) shall be furnished with copies of the petition
and its supporting documents. These agencies shall have copies of the
petition posted in any public or conspicuous area in their buildings, offices
and premises, and shall, within thirty (30) days from the receipt of the
petition, submit to the Committee a report stating whether or not petitioner
has any derogatory record on file or any such relevant and material
information which might be adverse to petitioner’s application for
citizenship. Within 60 days from the receipt of the report, the committee
shall then make a decision regarding the petition. If successful, the
petitioner shall pay, within 30 days from approval, a fee of one hundred
thousand pesos (P100,000.00) and thereafter take the oath of allegiance
and be issued a certificate of naturalization. Within 5 days after the
petitioner has taken his or her oath, the Bureau of Immigration shall forward
a copy of the oath to the proper local civil registrar and cancel the
petitioner’s alien certificate of registration.
III.CONGRESSIONAL/LEGISLATIVE MEANS
The last mode for naturalization is through a direct act of Congress in
the form of a law specifically vesting Philippine citizenship to an alien.
Legislative naturalization is quite rare as it discretionary on the part of
Congress and reserved only for aliens who have made outstanding
contributions to the country.1 It is well accepted even in U.S. jurisprudence
that citizenship by naturalization is a privilege to be given, qualified, or
withheld as Congress may determine; an individual may claim it as a right
only upon compliance with the terms Congress imposes. This interpretation
makes of the naturalization power the only power granted (by the
Constitution) that is unrestrained by constitutional limitations on its
exercise.2
Immigration Executive Director Roy Almoro opined in a news article
that citizenship granted through an act of Congress is conferred only to
aliens who have made "significant" contributions to the government or to
the national patrimony. "They are granted to special foreigners who have
excelled and contributed knowledge and resources in enhancing the
welfare of the government.”3
Under the Committee on Justice Internal Rules of Procedure, under
Rule X, a bill granting Philippine citizenship to a specific person or
individual shall be considered as an application for naturalization. The
Committee then calendars for deliberation the bill only after submission of
all the documents that may be required by the Committee which shall
include the police clearance, NBI clearance, barangay clearance, etc. The
duty of the author and applicant/beneficiary/party in interest would be to
appear during the deliberation of the bill granting Philippine citizenship. It
may also require the applicant/beneficiary/party in interest to file a letter of
intent stating therein his desire and his reasons for applying for Philippine
citizenship. The Committee shall exercise diligence in determining the
validity and genuineness of the documents submitted and shall conduct a
formal examination on the applicant/beneficiary/party in interest, when
necessary.