CITIZENSHIP

ARTICLE IV | Citizenship
Who Are Filipino Citizens?
(1) Those who are citizens of the Philippines at the time of the adoption
of this Constitution;

(2) Those whose fathers or mothers are citizens of the Philippines;

(3) Those born before January 17, 1973, of Filipino mothers, who elect
Philippine citizenship upon reaching the age of majority; and

(4) Those who are naturalized in accordance with law.

Who Are Natural Born Citizen?
SECTION 2. Natural-born citizens are those who are citizens of the
Philippines from birth without having to perform any act to acquire or
perfect their Philippine citizenship.

Those who elect Philippine citizenship in accordance with paragraph

(3), Section 1 hereof shall be deemed natural-born citizens.
Can Citizenship be Lost?
YES.
Commonwealth Act 63
Citizenship may be lost:
(1) by naturalization in a foreign country,
(2) by express renunciation of citizenship,
(3) by subscribing an oath of allegiance to support the constitution and laws
of a foreign country,
(4) by rendering service to, or accepting commission in the armed forces of a
foreign country
(5) by cancellation of his certificate of naturalization by the court,
(6) by having been declared by competent authority, a deserter in the PHL
armed forces in time of war.
Can Citizenship be Reacquired?
YES.

As Section 3 provides, “Philippine citizenship may be lost or

reacquired in the manner provided by law.”
Republic Act No. 9225 (Citizenship
Retention and Re-acquisition Act of 2003
Former natural-born Filipino citizens who acquired foreign citizenship
through naturalization are deemed to have not lost their Philippine
Citizenship under the conditions provided in the Act.

A former Filipino can reacquire Philippine citizenship by taking the oath

of allegiance to the Republic of the Philippines.
Can Foreigners Beocme Filipino Citizen?
YES.
Administrative Naturalization. Republic Act 9139
The applicant must be a foreigner who was born, who studied and has
resided in the Philippines since birth and must be at least 18 years old at
the time of filing the petition.

The application process is commenced by filing a verified petition with

the Office of the Special Committee on Naturalization (SCN) at the
Office of the Solicitor General.
The petition is then published once a week for three consecutive weeks in a
newspaper of general circulation. The petition will be furnished to pertinent
government agencies like the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), the
Bureau of Immigration (BI), the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) for
clearance and lack of derogatory record on the petitioner.

The SCN, who has the power to approve or deny the petition is composed
of the (1) Solicitor General as Chairman, (2) the Secretary of Foreign
Affairs or his duly authorized representative and (3) the National Security
Adviser as members.
Can Foreigners Become Filipino Citizen?
Judicial Naturalization| CA 473
The judicial naturalization may be filed by a foreigner applicant in the
Regional Trial Court where he has resided for at least one year before
the filing of his petition.
Qualifications for Judicial Naturalization

1. He must be at least 21 years of age at the date of hearing;

2. He must have resided in the Philippines for a continuous period of not less
than 10 years;

3. 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 relation with the constituted government as well as with the
community in which he is living;
Qualifications for Judicial Naturalization

4. He must own a real estate in the Philippines or must have some known
lucrative trade, profession, or lawful occupation;

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

6. He must have enrolled his minor children in schools where Philippine

history, government and civics are part of the curriculum
The 10 year requirement for continuous residence may be reduced to five (5)
years for any applicant or petitioner having any of the following qualifications:

1. Having honorably held office under the Government of the Philippines;

2. Having established a new industry or introduced a useful invention in the
Philippines;
3. Being married to a Filipino woman;
4. Having been engaged as a teacher in the Philippines in a public or recognized
private school for not less than two (2) years. Take note that the school must not
have been established for the exclusive instruction of children of persons of a
particular nationality or race;
5. Having been born in the Philippines.
Can Foreigners Become Filipino Citizen?
Legislative Naturalization|

Citizenship is given to foreigners who had made significant

contributions in the country through an act of Congress.
SECTION 4 Art. IV. Citizens of the Philippines who marry aliens
shall retain their citizenship, unless by their act or omission they are
deemed, under the law, to have renounced it.
SECTION 5. Dual allegiance of citizens is inimical to the national
interest and shall be dealt with by law.