Persons Cases Naturalization Digest PDF
Persons Cases Naturalization Digest PDF
CASES: Naturalization (DIGEST) On 25 January 1962, she contracted marriage with Moy Ya Lim Yao alias
Edilberto Aguinaldo Lim an alleged Filipino citizen.
Petition filed by Zita Ngo Burca, L-23252. January 30, 1967- NO DIGEST
Because of the contemplated action of the Commissioner of Immigration to
Moy Ya Lim Yao vs. Commissioner of Immigration confiscate her bond and order her arrest and immediate deportation, after
GR No. L-21289, October 4 1971, 41 SCRA 292 the expiration of her authorized stay, she brought an action for injunction.
FACTS: At the hearing which took place one and a half years after her arrival, it was
admitted that Lau Yuen Yeung could not write and speak either English or
Tagalog, except for a few words.
Lau Yuen Yeung applied for a passport visa to enter the Philippines as a non-
immigrant on 8 February 1961.
She could not name any Filipino neighbor, with a Filipino name except one,
Rosa. She did not know the names of her brothers-in-law, or sisters-in-law.
In the interrogation made in connection with her application for a temporary
visitor's visa to enter the Philippines, she stated that she was a Chinese
residing at Kowloon, Hongkong, and that she desired to take a pleasure trip As a result, the Court of First Instance of Manila denied the prayer for
to the Philippines to visit her great grand uncle, Lau Ching Ping. preliminary injunction. Moya Lim Yao and Lau Yuen Yeung appealed.
She was permitted to come into the Philippines on 13 March 1961 for a period ISSUE:
of one month.
Whether or not Lau Yuen Yeung ipso facto became a Filipino citizen upon her
On the date of her arrival, Asher Y. Cheng filed a bond in the amount of marriage to a Filipino citizen.
P1,000.00 to undertake, among others, that said Lau Yuen Yeung would
actually depart from the Philippines on or before the expiration of her
authorized period of stay in this country or within the period as in his HELD:
discretion the Commissioner of Immigration or his authorized representative
might properly allow.
Under Section 15 of Commonwealth Act 473, an alien woman marrying a
After repeated extensions, Lau Yuen Yeung was allowed to stay in the
Filipino, native born or naturalized, becomes ipso facto a Filipina provided she
Philippines up to 13 February 1962.
is not disqualified to be a citizen of the Philippines under Section 4 of the Everytime the citizenship of a person is material or indispensible in a judicial
same law. or administrative case.
Likewise, an alien woman married to an alien who is subsequently naturalized Whatever the corresponding court or administrative authority decides
here follows the Philippine citizenship of her husband the moment he takes therein as to such citizenship is generally not considered as res adjudicata,
his oath as Filipino citizen, provided that she does not suffer from any of the hence it has to be threshed out again and again as the occasion may demand.
disqualifications under said Section 4.
Lau Yuen Yeung, was declared to have become a Filipino citizen from and by
Whether the alien woman requires to undergo the naturalization virtue of her marriage to Moy Ya Lim Yao al as Edilberto Aguinaldo Lim, a
proceedings, Section 15 is a parallel provision to Section 16. Filipino citizen of 25 January 1962.
SECOND DIVISION,
This is plain common sense and there is absolutely no evidence that the PARAS
Legislature intended to treat them differently.
(J): 4 concur
Facts:
As the laws of our country, both substantive and procedural, stand today,
there is no such procedure (a substitute for naturalization proceeding to This is an appeal by the Government seeking the reversal of the Decision of
enable the alien wife of a Philippine citizen to have the matter of her own the then Court of First Instance of South Cotabato, General Santos City dated
citizenship settled and established so that she may not have to be called upon December 7, 1971 granting the petition for naturalization of Yung Uan Chu
to prove it everytime she has to perform an act or enter into a transaction or alias Lina Yung Yu Hui Tin.
business or exercise a right reserved only to Filipinos), but such is no proof After trial, a decision was rendered on December 7, 1971 finding petitioner
that the citizenship is not vested as of the date of marriage or the husband's Yung Uan Chu baptized as Lina Yung, known in school in her registered name
acquisition of citizenship, as the case may be, for the truth is that the situation as Lina Uan Chu and now as Mrs. Lina Y. Cupang, as possessed of all the
obtains even as to native-born Filipinos. qualifications and none of the disqualifications of a Filipino citizen and
therefore authorized to take her oath of allegiance to the Republic of the
Philippines and to register the same in the proper civil registrar.
The sole issue raised by appellant is whether or not the lower court erred in In re: Mallare (A.M. No. 533 April 29, 1968)
concluding that it has jurisdiction to declare petitioner a Filipino citizen based
In re: Mallare
on its conclusion that if administrative bodies are possessed with such power
(to determine the absence of disqualifications on the status of citizenship), A.M. No. 533 April 29, 1968
there is stronger reason for the court to have jurisdiction over the case."
Facts: The respondent, Florencio Mallare, was admitted to the practice of law
The Government thru the Solicitor General submitted that in the case of Moy on 5 March 1962. In his verified petition to take the bar examinations in 1961,
Yu Lim Yao vs. Commissioner of Immigration, this Court, while holding that an he alleged that he is a citizen of the Philippines and that “his father is Esteban
alien woman who marries a Filipino citizen ipso facto becomes a Filipino Mallare and his mother is Te Na, both Filipino citizens”. (Personal Record, No.
provided she is not disqualified to be a citizen of the Philippines under 17450, Bar Division) On 16 July 1962, the then Acting Commissioner of
Section 4, Commonwealth Act No. 473, reiterated the rule that "a judicial Immigration Martiniano P. Vivo denounced the respondent to this Court as a
declaration that the person is a Filipino citizen cannot be made in a petition Chinaman masquerading as a Filipino citizen and requested that the matter
for naturalization and that, in this jurisdiction there can be no independent be investigated thoroughly and if the respondent fails to show that he has
action for the judicial declaration of citizenship of an individual." legally become a Filipino, steps be taken for striking his name from the roll of
persons authorized to practice law. Acting upon the request, this Court, on 9
Issue:
August 1962, referred the matter to its Legal Officer-Investigator for
Whether a judicial declaration that a person is a Filipino citizen can be made investigation and report. An investigation was thus held wherein the relator
in a petition or complainant and the respondent appeared and adduced their respective
evidence. The position of the respondent-lawyer is that he is a Filipino citizen
for naturalization
based on the supposed citizenship of his father, Esteban Mallare, alleged to
Held: be a Filipino citizen by choice, because he was the illegitimate son of a
Chinese father and a Filipina mother, Ana Mallare and that the respondent’s
the sole and only purpose of the petitioner is to have the petitioner declared mother, Te Na, a Chinese, followed the citizenship of her husband upon their
a Filipino citizen will be grant, this court clearly stated: Under our laws, there marriage.
can be no action or proceeding for the judicial declaration of the citizenship
of an individual. Courts of justice exist for settlement of justiciable Issue: Whether or not Mallare is a Filipino citizen able to practice law in the
controversies, which imply a given right, legally demandable and enforceable, Philippines.
an act or omission violative of said right, and a remedy, granted or sanctioned
Held: No. The entire family, consisting of the father, mother and their four (4)
by law, for said breach of right. As an incident only of the adjudication of the
children (Raymundo was not yet born) were registered as aliens in 1942 in
rights of the parties to a controversy, the court may pass upon, and make a
the then Division of Alien Statistics, pursuant to the proclamation of the
pronouncement relative to their status. Otherwise, such a pronouncement is
Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Japanese Forces in the Philippines and
beyond judicial power. Thus, for instance, no action or proceeding may be
Executive Order No. 25 of the then Executive Commission. (See letter of Jan.
instituted for a declaration to the effect that plaintiff or petitioner is married,
18, 1963 from the Bureau of Immigration to the Legal Officer-Investigator,
or single, or a legitimate child, although a finding thereon may be made as
see also pp. 171 and 180-181, Vol. I, No. 4, Official Gazette, published during
necessary premise to justify a given relief available only to one enjoying said
Japanese occupation.) .
status.
In addition, the respondent himself was again registered as an alien in 1950,
his application thereto bearing his thumbprints and stating therein that he is
a Chinese; that he belongs to the yellow race and that he had used these Facts:
other names: “Tan Jua Gae”, “Enciong” and “Jua Gac” (Exh. “N”). He had been
For the second time around, believing that he is a Filipino ctizen, Ramon
a teacher in the Candon Chinese School (t.s.n., p. 17, Oct. 3, 1962). His
Labo, Jr filed his COC for mayor of Baguio City on March 23, 1992 for the May
explanation that it was his mother who registered him as an alien is flimsy;
11, 1992 elections. Petitioner Roberto Ortega on other hand, also filed his
and, as stated hereinbefore, he did not present his mother as a witness.
COC for the same office on March 25, 1992.
The evidence is thus clearly preponderant, if not overwhelming that the
On March 26, 1992, petitioner Ortega filed a disqualification proceeding
respondent’s father, Esteban Mallare or “Mallari”, also known as “Esteban
against Labo before the COMELEC on the ground that Labo is not a Filipino
Dy”, “Esteban Dy Mallare” and “Esteban Tan”, was and remained a Chinese
citizen.
until he died; consequently, the respondent’s mother, admittedly a Chinese,
retained her original citizenship and their offspring, respondent, Florencio On May 9, 1992, respondent Comelec issued the assailed resolution denying
Mallare, together with his brothers and sisters, are likewise Chinese Labo’s COC.
nationals, through and through.
On May 10, 1992, respondent Comelec issued an Order which reads: Acting
On the basis of the foregoing declaration by the Court of First Instance of on the “Urgent Ex-Parte Motion for Clarification”, filed by respondent (Labo)
Quezon Province, the respondent and his brothers and sisters filed Special on May 9, 1992, the Commission resolves that the decision promulgated on
Proceeding No. 3925, in the same court, but in a different branch, for the May 9, 1992 disqualifying respondent Ramon L. Labo, Jr., shall become final
“correction” of their birth records. The local fiscal, representing the Solicitor and executory only after five (5) days from promulgation pursuant to Rule 18,
General, appeared but did not oppose the petition; wherefore, after hearing, Section 13, Paragraph (b) of the Comelec Rules of Procedure.
the court granted the petition. Based on the same judicial declaration, the
then Commissioner of Immigration De la Rosa (not the complainant)
cancelled on June 8, 1960, the alien registration of the herein respondent and Accordingly, respondent (Labo) may still continue to be voted upon as
that of his brothers and sisters, and issued to them identification certificates candidate for City Mayor of Baguio City on May 11, 1992 subject to the final
recognizing them as Filipino citizens. Then Solicitor General Alafriz took the outcome of this case in the event the issue is elevated to the Supreme Court
same position. either on appeal or certiorari.
Civil Case No. 329-G and Special Proceeding No. 3925 are not modes of
acquiring Philippine citizenship; neither is the Chinese citizenship of the
respondent converted to Filipino because certain government agencies On May 13, 1992, respondent Comelec resolved, motu proprio to suspend
recognized him as such. He remains, by jus sanguinis, a Chinese until he is the proclamation of Labo in the event he wins in the elections for the City
naturalized. Mayor of Baguio.On May 15, 1992, petitioner Labo filed the instant petition
for review with prayer, among others, for the issuance of a temporary
CUA SUN KE V. REPUBLIC, GR NO. 29674 APRIL 8, 1988- NO DIGEST restraining order to set aside the May 9, 1992 resolution of respondent
Comelec; to render judgment declaring him as a Filipino citizen; and to direct
respondent Comelec to proceed with his proclamation in the event he wins
Labo vs. COMELEC in the contested elections.
Petitioner Ortega argues that respondent Comelec committed grave abuse of The resolution cancelling Labo’s certificate of candidacy on the ground that
discretion when it refused to implement its May 9, 1992 resolution he is not a Filipino citizen having acquired finality on May 14, 1992 constrains
notwithstanding the fact that said resolution disqualifying Labo has already the SC to rule against his proclamation as Mayor of Baguio City.
become final and executory.Petitioner Ortega submits that since this Court
Sec. 39 of the LGC provides that an elective local official must be a citizen of
did not issue a temporary restraining order as regards the May 9, 1992
the Philippines. Undoubtedly, petitioner Labo, not being a Filipino citizen,
resolution of respondent Comelec cancelling Labo’s certificate of candidacy,
lacks the fundamental qualification for the contested office. Philippine
said resolution has already become final and executory. Ortega further posits
citizenship is an indispensable requirement for holding an elective office. The
the view that as a result of such finality, the candidate receiving the next
fact that he was elected by the majority of the electorate is of no moment.
highest number of votes should be declared Mayor of Baguio City.
Second Issue:
Sec. 78 of the Omnibus Election Code provides: Petition to deny due course
or to cancel a certificate of candidacy — No. The disqualification of petitioner Labo does not necessarily entitle
petitioner Ortega as the candidate with the next highest number of votes to
(e) The decision, order, or ruling of the Commission shall, after five (5) days
proclamation as the Mayor of Baguio City.
from receipt of a copy thereof by the parties, be final and executory unless
stayed by the Supreme Court. While Ortega may have garnered the second highest number of votes for the
office of city mayor, the fact remains that he was not the choice of the
sovereign will. Petitioner Labo was overwhelmingly voted by the electorate
Issue: for the office of mayor in the belief that he was then qualified to serve the
people of Baguio City and his subsequent disqualification does not make
1. WON Petitioner Labo who had the highest number of votes is qualified
respondent Ortega the mayor-elect.
to assume as Mayor of Baguio City.
Petitioner Ortega lost in the election. He was repudiated by the electorate.
2. WON disqualification of petitioner Labo entitles the candidate (Ortega)
He was obviously not the choice of the people of Baguio City.
receiving the next highest number of votes to be proclaimed as the winning
candidate for mayor of Baguio City. Thus, while respondent Ortega (GR No. 105111) originally filed a
disqualification case with the Comelec (docketed as SPA-92-029) seeking to
deny due course to petitioner’s (Labo’s) candidacy, the same did not deter
Held: the people of Baguio City from voting for petitioner Labo, who, by then, was
allowed by the respondent Comelec to be voted upon, the resolution for his
First Issue: disqualification having yet to attain the degree of finality (Sec. 78. Omnibus
No. At the time petitioner Labo filed his petition on May 15, 1992, the May 9, Election Code).
1992 resolution of respondent Comelec cancelling his (Labo’s) certificate of
candidacy had already become final and executory a day earlier, or on May
14, 1992, said resolution having been received by petitioner Labo on the same The rule, therefore, is: the ineligibility of a candidate receiving majority votes
day it was promulgated, i.e., May 9, 1992 and in the interim no restraining does not entitle the eligible candidate receiving the next highest number of
order was issued by this Court. votes to be declared elected. A minority or defeated candidate cannot be
deemed elected to the office.
Norlainie Mitmug Limbona , Petitioner that her domicile by operation of law by virtue of marriage, is Rapusan,
Marawi City. Hence, failure to comply with the residence requirement,
vs
Petitioner is disqualified to run for the office of mayor in Pantar, Lanao del
Commission on Elections and Malik T. Alingan, Respondents. Norte.
Facts:
Petitioner claimed that she has been staying , sleeping and doing business in
her house for more than 20 months in Lower Kalangaan.
Issue: Whether or not petitioner satisfied the one year residency requirement
and qualify to run for the office mayor in Pantar, Lanao del Norte?
Ruling:
The court noted the findings of the COMELEC that petitioner’s domicile of
origin is Manguing, Lanao Del Norte, which is his also her place of birth; and