CONFLICTS RULES ON PERSONAL LAW

Personal law
It is the law which attaches to a person wherever he may go. It is the
law that generally governs the following:

1. Family rights and duties

2. Status
3. Condition
4. Legal capacity

CITIZENSHIP AND DOMICILE

A. Nationality Principle

The law of country where a person is a national governs his family rights
and duties, status, condition and legal capacity.

- As opposed to “domiciliary principle” which applies the law of the country

of domicile

B. Citizenship and Modes of Acquisition

Citizenship – status of being a citizen of a state who owes allegiance to

the state and is entitled to its protection and to the enjoyment of civil and
political rights therein

WHO ARE CITIZENS?

1. Natural persons

a) Those who are citizens of the Philippines at the time of adoption of

the 1987 Constitution
b) Those whose fathers or mothers are citizens of the Philippines
c) Those born before January 17, 1973, of Filipino mothers, who elect
Philippine citizenship upon reaching the age of majority
d) Those who are naturalized in accordance with the law

2. Juridical persons – 60% Filipino-owned

MODES OF ACQUIRING PHILIPPINE CITIZENSHIP:

1. By blood (jus sanguinis) – natural-born citizens

2. By naturalization – naturalized citizens

“The Philippine law on citizenship adheres to the principle of jus sanguinis.

Thereunder, a child follows the nationality or citizenship of the parents regardless
of the place of his/her birth, as opposed to the doctrine of jus soli which
determines nationality or citizenship on the basis of place of birth”

C. Election of Citizenship

PROCEDURE:

1. Express such intention in a statement to be signed and sworn to by

the party concerned before any officer authorized to administer oath
2. File the sworn statement, together with oath of allegiance to the
Philippine Constitution, with the nearest civil registry

**The election must be made within reasonable time (3 years) from reaching the
age of majority.

D. Dual Citizenship

Dual Citizenship – the status of a person who is a citizen of two or more

countries at the same time

WHO MAY POSSESS DUAL CITIZENSHIP?

1. Those born of Filipino fathers and/or mothers in foreign countries

which follow the principle of jus soli
2. Those born in the Philippines of Filipino mothers and alien fathers if
by the laws of their father’s country such children are citizens of that
country
3. Those who marry aliens if by the laws of the latter’s country the
former are considered citizens, unless by their act or omission they
are deemed to have renounced Philippine citizenship
4. Those who retained or reacquired their Philippine citizenship under
RA 9225 after having been naturalized in a foreign country
GENERAL RULE: Dual citizenship is retained.

EXCEPTION: The person expressly renounces his other citizenship by

filing a certificate of candidacy or by accepting an appointive position in
government.

“Manzano is a dual citizen, but his being such does not disqualify him from
running for public office. Under the LGC, what is prohibited is dual allegiance and
not dual citizenship. The two terms are different.

Dual allegiance refers to a situation in which a person simultaneously owes, by

some positive act, loyalty to two or more states. Dual citizenship arises when, as a
result of the concurrent application of the different laws of two or more states, a
person is simultaneously considered a national by the said states.”

E. Loss and Reacquisition of Philippine Citizenship

HOW PHILIPPINE CITIZENSHIP IS LOST?

1. By naturalization in a foreign country (prior to RA 9225)

2. By express renunciation of citizenship
3. By subscribing to an oath of allegiance to support the constitution or
laws of a foreign country
4. By accepting commission in the military, naval or air service of a
foreign country
5. By cancellation of the certificate of naturalization
6. By having been declared by competent authority a deserter of the
Philippine armed forces in time of war, unless subsequently a plenary
pardon or amnesty has been granted

“Express renunciation means a renunciation that is made known distinctly

and explicitly and not left to inference or implication. Petitioner, with full
knowledge, and legal capacity, after having renounced his Portuguese
citizenship upon naturalization as a Philippine citizen resumed or reacquired
his prior status as a Portuguese citizen, applied for a renewal of his
Portuguese passport. To the mind of the court the foregoing acts considered
together constitute an express renunciation of petitioner’s Philippine
citizenship acquired through naturalization.”
HOW PHILIPPINE CITIZENSHIP IS REACQUIRED?

1. By direct act of Congress

2. By naturalization – take the oath of allegiance to the Republic (RA
9225)
3. By administrative repatriation – take the oath of allegiance to the
Republic and register the same in the local civil registry of the place
where person resides or last resided; original citizenship is recovered

“Repatriation results in the recovery of the original nationality. This means

that a naturalized Filipino who lost his citizenship will be restored to his
prior status as a naturalized Filipino citizen. On the other hand, if he was
originally a natural-born citizen before he lost his Philippine citizenship, he
will be restored to his former status as a natural-born Filipino.”

F. Citizenship by Naturalization

THREE MODES OF NATURALIZATION:

1. Administrative naturalization - available only to aliens born and

residing in the Philippines
2. Judicial naturalization
3. Legislative naturalization

QUALIFICATIONS FOR ADMINISTRATIVE NATURALIZATION:

(RA 9139)

1. Must be born in the Philippines and residing therein since birth

2. Must not be less than 18 years old at the time of filing the petition
3. Must be of good moral character and believes in the underlying
principle of the Constitution and must have conducted himself in an
irreproachable manner during the entire period of residence
 4. Must have received his primary and secondary education in any
public school or private educational institution
5. Must have a known trade, business, profession or lawful occupation
6. Must be able to read, write and speak Filipino or any of the dialects of
the Philippines
7. Must have mingled with the Filipinos and evinced a sincere desire to
learn and embrace the customs, traditions and ideals of the Filipino
people

GROUNDS FOR CANCELLATION:

1. Made any false statement or misrepresentation or committed any

violation of law, rules or regulation in connection with the petition for
naturalization
2. Within 5 years next following the grant of Philippine citizenship,
established permanent residence in a foreign country - covers the
wife and children as well
3. Allowed himself to be used as a dummy in violation of any
constitutional or legal provision requiring Philippine citizenship -
covers the wife and children
4. Committed any act inimical to national security - covers the wife and
children
The Lex Domicilii Rule
Lex domicilii (Domiciliary principle) - the law of the place of domicile
governs

Domicile - place of habitual residence; a place to which, whenever absent

for business or for pleasure, one intends to return, and depends on facts
and circumstances in the sense that they disclose intent

ELEMENTS:

1. Physical presence
2. Animus manendi - intention of returning there permanently

**The law of the forum governs the standards of domicile. If domicile is put in
issue, the court will apply its own laws to determine the controversy.

Three Kinds of Domicile

1. Domicile of origin or by birth

2. Domicile of choice
3. Domicile by operation of law

Three Rules regarding Domicile

1. A man has a domicile somewhere

2. A domicile once established remains until a new one is acquired
3. A man can have but only one domicile at a time

HOW A NEW DOMICILE IS ACQUIRED?

1. Actual removal or actual change of domicile

2. Bona fide intention of abandoning the former place of residence and
establishing a new one
3. Acts which correspond with such purpose

**All the foregoing elements must be proved in order to rebut the presumption
of Continuity of Domicile.
Domicile and Residence

Residence - the actual relationship of an individual to a certain place;

physical presence of a person in a given area, community or country

Residence vs. Domicile

“Residence” is used to indicate a place of abode, whether permanent or

temporary; “domicile” denotes a fixed permanent residence to which, when
absent, one has the intention of returning. A man must have a residence in
one place and a domicile in another. Residence is not domicile, but
domicile is residence coupled with the intention to remain for an unlimited
time. A man can have but one domicile for the same purpose at any time,
but he may have numerous places of residence. His place of residence is
generally his place of domicile, but it is not by any means necessarily so
since no length of residence without intention of remaining will constitute
domicile. (Romualdez-Marcos vs. COMELEC, G.R. No. 119976, Sept. 18,
1995)

“An individual does not lose his domicile even if he has lived and maintained
residence in different places. Residence implies a factual relationship to a given
place for various purposes. The absence from legal residence or domicile to pursue
a profession, to study or to do other things of a temporary or semi-permanent
nature does not constitute loss of residence. Thus, the assertion that “she could
not have been a resident of Tacloban City since childhood up to the time she filed
her certificate of candidacy because she became a resident of many places” flies in
the face of settled jurisprudence in which this Court carefully made distinctions
between (actual) residence and domicile for election purposes.”
Nationality and Domicile of Corporations

 The nationality of a private corporation is determined by the character

or citizenship of its controlling stockholders.
 The domicile of a domestic corporation is its principal place of
business (contained in the AOI). For foreign corporations, their
domicile is in the country under whose laws they are incorporated.

2 TESTS TO DETERMINE FILIPINO CORPORATION:

1. Grandfather rule - governs the strict application of the ownership of a

corporation (generally 60% Filipino-owned)
2. Control test - a corporation that is at least 60% Filipino-owned is
considered a Filipino for purposes of determining the Filipino
ownership of a corporation whose nationality is put in issue

NOTES:

 The domicile of a corporation belongs to the state where it was

incorporated. In a strict technical sense, such domicile as a corporation may
have is single in its essence and a corporation can only have one domicile
which is the state of its creation. Nonetheless, a corporation formed in one
state may, for certain purposes, be regarded as a resident in another state
in which it has offices and transacts business.

 Foreign corporations duly licensed to do business in the Philippines are

considered “residents” of the Philippines, as the word is understood in Sec.
20 of the Insolvency Law, authorizing at least three resident creditors of the
Philippines to file a petition to declare a corporation insolvent.

 The Tax Code declares that the term “resident foreign corporation applies to
foreign corporation engaged in trade or business within the Philippines” as
distinguished from a “non-resident foreign corporation” which is not
engaged in trade or business within the Philippines.
 The Offshore Banking Law states that: “Branches, subsidiaries, affiliates,
extension offices or any other units of corporation or juridical person
organized under the laws of any foreign country operating in the Philippines
shall be considered residents of the Philippines.”

 The General Banking Act places “branches and agencies in the Philippines
of foreign banks” in the category as commercial banks, rural banks, stock
savings and loan association making no distinction between the former ad
the latter in so far as the terms “banking institutions” and “banks” are used
in said Act.
 PERSONAL STATUS AND CAPACITY

Specific matters falling under “Status”

1. Single, married or divorced

2. Minor, of age or senior citizen
3. Can pertain to the personal qualification of the individual like profession

All these personal circumstances pertain to one’s identity as he is known by

society. Status, simply put, pertains to one’s place in society. His name included.

STATUS

 Place of an individual in society

 Consists of personal qualities and relationships, more or less permanent,
with which the state and the community are concerned.
 Includes the civil status, paternity and filiation, minority, capacity to enter
into transactions, name, sex, and his profession in certain cases

CAPACITY

 It is only part of one’s status.

 It is the sum total of his rights and obligations.