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Citizenship Reiewe
Citizenship Reiewe
Citizenship Reiewe
1) Those who are citizens of the Philippines at the time of the adoption of the 1987
Constitution
3) Those born before January 17, 1973 of Filipino mothers, who elect Philippine citizenship
upon reaching the age of majority.
3) Naturalization – the legal act of adopting an alien and clothing him with the privilege of a
native-born citizen.
Prior to the 1973 Constitution, if a Filipina married an alien, she lost her Filipino citizenship.
Hence, her child would have to elect Filipino citizenship upon reaching the age of majority.
Under the 1973 Constitution, however, children born of Filipino mothers were already considered
Filipinos. Therefore, the provision on election of citizenship under the 1987 Constitution only
applies to those persons who were born under the 1935 Constitution. In order for the children to
elect Filipino citizenship, the mothers must have been Filipinos at the time of their marriage. So,
if your mother was a Filipina who married an alien under the 1935 constitution and you were born
before January 17, 1973, you can elect Filipino citizenship upon reaching the age of majority.
The election must be made within a reasonable period after reaching the age of majority.
Effects of naturalization:
1) The legitimate minor children of the naturalized father become Filipinos as well.
2) The wife also becomes a Filipino citizen, provided that she does not have any
disqualification which would bar her from being naturalized.
Natural-born citizens:
1) Citizens of the Philippines from birth who do not need to perform any act to acquire or
perfect their Philippine citizenship.
2) Those who elect Philippine citizenship under Art. IV, Sec. 1(3) of 1987 Constitution.
Re-acquisition of citizenship
Natural-born Filipinos who are deemed to have lost their citizenship may re-acquire the same via
repatriation proceedings. This involves taking an oath of allegiance and filing the same with the
civil registry.