My law firm handles quite a number of immigration cases. Lots of times, we get queries about citizenship. Filipinos who have another citizenship usually ask how to go about having Philippine citizenship once again. They tell us that someone advised them to reacquire Philippine citizenship; while others were of the view that they should undergo naturalization. Some clients use these terms loosely and interchangeably, not really knowing their legal ramification.
So, in a case where a person has one Filipino parent, and the other foreigner, what route does he take? Reacquisition or naturalization? Or he need not do anything at all? The case filed by Mariz Lindsey Tan Villegas Gana-Carait with the Supreme Court questioning the orders of the Commission on Elections, is indeed instructive.
“The Supreme Court has held that Filipinos born to one Filipino parent and one foreign parent are considered dual citizens by birth and not by naturalization, regardless of subsequent acts performed to confirm the foreign citizenship.”
Here, petitioner Gana-Carait filed her certificate of candidacy for public office for the 2019 elections. Two petitions were filed against her. One was for disqualification; the other, for cancellation of her certificate of candidacy.
The Commission on Elections dismissed the disqualification case, but granted the cancellation of the certificate of candidacy. It opined that she was a dual citizen by naturalization because of positive acts by her mother, i.e., securing a Consular Report of Birth Abroad of a Citizen of the United States of America and a US passport for the petitioner.
Accordingly, the Comelec ruled that petitioner must first reacquire Philippine citizenship under Republic Act 9225, by taking an oath of allegiance to the Republic of the Philippines and also renouncing her American citizenship. After the reconsideration she sought was denied, petitioner took the matter to the Supreme Court.
It is thus clear that a person who has dual citizenship by birth, meaning with parents one of whom is Filipino, possesses all the rights of a Filipino.
“In ruling to set aside Comelec’s cancellation of Gana-Carait’s CoC, the Court held that Gana-Carait, who was born to a Filipino father and an American mother, is a dual citizen by birth, and not by naturalization. The Court also found that the subsequent positive acts made by Gana-Carait’s mother to request confirmation for the United States Consular Service of Gana-Carait’s US citizenship is not considered a naturalization process but a mere presentation of documentary evidence to establish the fact that Gana-Carait is an American citizen by birth… The Court held that since Gana-Carait is a dual citizen by birth, and not by naturalization, she is not covered by the provisions of the Citizenship Retention and Reacquisition Act requiring candidates who are dual citizens by naturalization to take an oath of allegiance to the Republic of the Philippines and to renounce their foreign citizenships in order to become eligible for elective office. As a dual citizen by birth, Gana-Carait is thus considered a Filipino qualified to run for public office. Hence, she could not be said to have made a false representation in her CoC.”
It is thus clear that a person who has dual citizenship by birth, meaning with parents one of whom is Filipino, possesses all the rights of a Filipino. He need not perform any positive act showing allegiance to the Republic because, simply put, he is a bona fide Filipino. In fact, this is enshrined in our Constitution. For as long as one parent is Filipino, the child automatically is Filipino, irrespective of the citizenship of his other parent.
The facts and citation are taken from the publication of the Supreme Court Public Information Office. The full text of the case will still have to be released.