Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Arguelles 1-B
Case Name
16. Villahermosa vs. Commissioner of Immigration
Topic Citizenship
Ponente BENGZON, J
Doctrine
A change in citizenship is only valid when a child reaches the age of
majority, nevertheless any change in status can not affect the legal actions
done against a violation.
RELEVANT FACTS
● 18 years old Delfin Co, son of Chinese national Co Suy and Florentina Villahermosa left
the Philippines 6 years after his father died in 1940.
● In March 24, 1947, Delfin decided to come home to the PH due to financial challenges,
onboard S/S Cushman together with 69 Chinese nationals. They arrived secretly in Ilocos
Sur.
● Upon arrival he was apprehended by the Commission of Immigration, it was agreed in
the investigation that he should be deported.
● Florentina, after knowing, filed her oath of allegiance under Commonwealth Act No. 63
for the purpose of recovering her Philippine citizenship and of her son’s.
● She filed the writ of habeas corpus on behalf of Delfin, who is under detention.
Commonwealth Act No. 63 does not provide that her son acquires
Philippine citizenship. The son was a foreign national prior to his
detention, which does not fall under Paragraph 4, Section 1 of Article IV
of the 1935 Constitution.
The detainee is not a Filipino by the time of his apprehension and the
legality of his arrest for purposes of deportation is not affected by any
change of status, particularly citizenship.
RULING
AFFIRMED.
NOTES
·
Comparison with Tan Chong vs. Secretary of Labor
● Deals with issues on citizenship.
● Chong was born in the Philippines in 1915, brought by his Filipina mother and
Chinese father to China sometime in 1925.
● Got back to the PH in 1940 and was denied his admission by the Board of Special
Inquiry.
● He was granted the writ of habeas corpus because he was born in the Philippines
before the approval of the 1935 Constitution, of a Chinese father and a Filipino
mother. His travel to China did not affect his Philippine citizenship.