Citizenship is personal and more or less permanent membership in a political

community. It denotes possession within that particular political community of

full civil and political rights subject to special disqualifications such as minority.
This status confers upon the individual certain prerogatives which may be denied
the alien. Thus, the citizen enjoys certain exclusive rights, such as the rights to
vote, to run for public office, to exploit natural resources, to operate public utilities,
to administer educational institutions, and to manage the mass media. Reciprocally,
it imposes the duty of allegiance to the political community.
The primary law governing Philippine citizenship is the Constitution as it provides in
Art. IV Sec. 1(2), the following are considered citizens of the Philippines:
(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 attaining the age of majority.
(4)

Those who are naturalized in accordance with law.

The Philippines follows the jus sanguinis rule where the child follows the citizenship
of his mother or father regardless of the place of birth. Furthermore, our
Constitution expressly provides that Philippine citizenship may be lost and
reacquired in the manner provided by law. Thus, our Congress can provide for
specific grounds that could result in loss of one's Philippine citizenship such as those
provided under Commonwealth Act No. 63.
Before the enactment of Commonwealth Act No. 63, as amended, there was no law
providing for causes which may result in the forfeiture of Philippine citizenship, but
international law recognizes expatriation, naturalization in a foreign country,
military service rendered in and for another country, and marriage of a female
citizen to a foreignerto cite some instancesas causes which may give rise to the
loss of citizenship.
In the case of Casan Macode Maquiling vs COMELEC 696 SCRA 420, the supreme
court outlined a mode of renunciation, thus of loss of citizenship provided under CA
No. 63. The Supreme Court stated that " While the act of using a foreign passport is
not one of the acts enumerated in Commonwealth Act No. 63 constituting
renunciation and loss of Philippine citizenship, it is nevertheless an act which
repudiates the very oath of renunciation required for a former Filipino citizen who is
also a citizen of another country to be qualified to run for a local elective position."
Commonwealth Act No. 613, was the foremost law governing immigration of Filipino
citizens and aliens. The powers of the commissioner of Immigration provided for the
implementation and regulation of immigration laws of the country including the
examination of the right of aliens to enter or remain in the Philippines. For this

purpose, the Board of Commissioners shall have the power to review cases for
admission of aliens in the country. Thus the supreme court in the case of Lao Gi vs.
Court of Appeals, 180 SCRA 756 [1989], stated that "it is beyond cavil that the
Bureau of Immigration has the exclusive authority and jurisdiction to try and hear
cases against an alleged alien, and in the process, determine also their citizenship.
Although, In one case, Board of Immigration Commissioners vs Beato Go Collano, it
was held that the in the case of an alien, decisions of the Board of Immigration
Commissioners, like that of any other administrative body, do not constitute res
judicata so as to bar a re-examination of the alien's right to enter or stay.

The provisions of CA No. 613 provide for aliens which may be considered as non
immigrants in the Philippines.
Sec. 9. Aliens departing from any place outside the Philippines, who are otherwise
admissible and who qualify within one of the following categories, may be admitted
as nonimmigrants:
(a) A temporary visitor coming for business or for pleasure or for reasons of health;
(b)A person in transit to a destination outside the Philippines;
(c)A seaman serving as such on a vessel arriving at a port of the Philippines and
seeking to enter temporarily and solely in the pursuit of his calling as a seaman;
(d)Alien businessman. - An alien entitled to enter the Philippines under and in
pursuance of the provisions of a treaty of commerce and navigation:
(1) solely to carry on substantial trade principally between the Philippines and the
foreign state of which he is a national; or (2) solely to develop and direct the
operations of an
enterprise in which, in accordance with the Constitution and the laws of
the Philippines he has invested or of an enterprise in which he is actively in the
process of investing, a substantial amount of capital; and his wife, and his
unmarried children under twenty-one years of age, if accompanying or following to
join him, subject to the condition that citizens of the Philippines are accorded
like privileges in the foreign state of which such alien is a national;
(e) An accredited official of a foreign government recognized by the
Government of the Philippines, his family, attendants, servants, and employees;
Commonwealth Act No. 613 even further provided the first provisions on immigrants
and even dual citizenship in our country. Hence, section 13 and 14 provide:
IMMIGRANTS
Sec. 13. Under the conditions set forth in this Act, there may be admitted into the
Philippines immigrants, termed "quota immigrants" not in excess of fifty (50) of any
one nationality or without nationality for any one calendar year, except that the
following immigrants, termed "non-quota immigrants," may be admitted without
regard to such numerical limitations.

The
corresponding
Philippine
Consular
representative
abroad
shall
investigate and certify the eligibility of a quota immigrant previous to his admission
into the Philippines. Qualified and desirable aliens who are in the Philippines under
temporary stay may be admitted within the quota, subject to the provisions of the
last paragraph of Section 9 of this Act.
(a) The wife or the husband or the unmarried child under twenty-one. years of age
of a Philippine citizen, if accompanying or following to join such citizen;
(b) A child of alien parents born during the temporary visit abroad of the mother,
the mother having been previously lawfully admitted into the Philippines for
permanent residence, if the child is accompanying or coming to join a parent and
applies for admission within five years from the date of its birth;
(c) A child born subsequent to the issuance of the immigration visa of the
accompanying parent, the visa not having expired;
(d) A woman who was a citizen of the Philippines and who lost her citizenship
because of her marriage to an alien or by reason of the loss of Philippine citizenship
by her husband, and her unmarried child under twenty- one years of age, if
accompanying or following to join her;
(e) A person previously lawfully admitted into the Philippines for permanent
residence, who is returning from a temporary visit abroad to an unrelinquished
residence in the Philippines;
(f) A natural-born citizen of the Philippines, who has been naturalized in a foreign
country, and is returning to the Philippines for permanent
Sec. 14. Persons with dual nationality - The nationality of an immigrant whose
admission is subject to the numerical limitations imposed by Section Thirteen of this
Act shall be that of the country of which the immigrant is a citizen or subject, selfgoverning dominions being treated as separate countries. The nationality of an
immigrant possessing dual nationality may be that of either of the two countries
regarding him as a citizen or subject if he applies for a visa in a third country, but if
he applies for such visa within one of the two countries regarding him as a national,
his nationality shall be that of the country in which he shall file his application.
Furthermore, the law provides for grounds for deportation through recommendation
by the Board of Commissioners. Deportation of an undesirable alien may be
effected in two ways: (1) by order of the President, after due investigation, pursuant
to Section 69 of the Revised Administrative Code; and (2) by the Commissioner of
Immigration, upon recommendation by the Board of Commissioners, under Section
37 of Commonwealth Act No. 613. In the case of Qua Chee Gan vs. Deportation
Board, 9 SCRA 27(1963) it was also further provided that an economic sabotageis
a ground for deportation under the provisions of Republic Act No. 503 amending
Section 37 of the Philippine Immigration Act of 1940.
GUIDELINES ON DEPARTURE FORMALITIES FOR INTERNATIONAL-BOUND
PASSENGERS IN ALL AIRPORTS AND SEAPORTS IN THE COUNTRY

III. IMMIGRANT OR PERMANENT RESIDENT VISA

1. Filipino emigrants/residence visa or permit holders / permanent
resident card holders
Travelers falling under this visa category shall present the following documents for
primary inspection:
a) Passport
b) Permanent residence visa / immigrant visa / permanent residence card
c) CFO Emigrant registration sticker
d) Airline/Sea Craft ticket
2. Filipino spouses and other partners of foreign nationals
Travelers falling under this visa category shall present the following documents for
primary inspection:
a) Passport
b) Permanent residence permit or visa / immigrant visa / permanent residence card
c) Guidance and Counseling Certificate
d) CFO Emigrant registration sticker
e) Airline/Sea Craft Ticket
3. Filipino J1 visa holders or Exchange Visitor Program Participants
Departing for the USA
Travelers falling under this visa category shall present the following documents for
primary inspection:
a) Valid passport
b) Valid J1 visa for USA
RA 9139 Administrative Naturalization Law of 2000
In So vs. Republic, 513 SCRA 267(2007) the Supreme Court cited the ways of
naturalization of an alien in the Philippines. Thus it was held that;
"Naturalization signifies the act of formally adopting a foreigner into the political
body of a nation by clothing him or her with the privileges of a citizen. Under current
and existing laws, there are three ways by which an alien may become a citizen by
naturalization: (a) administrative naturalization pursuant to R.A. No. 9139; (b)
judicial naturalization pursuant to C.A. No. 473, as amended; and (c) legislative
naturalization in the form of a law enacted by Congress bestowing Philippine
citizenship to an alien. "
Furthermore in said case, the supreme court clarified the difference between CA No.
473 and RA 9139 with respect to the qualifications and disqualifications of an
applicant for naturalization judicially and administratively. Thus it was held.
"Petitioners contention that the qualifications an applicant for naturalization should
possess are those provided for in R.A. No. 9139 and not those set forth in C.A. No.

473 is barren of merit. The qualifications and disqualifications of an applicant for

naturalization by judicial act are set forth in Sections 2 and 4 of C.A. No. 473. On the
other hand, Sections 3 and 4 of R.A. No. 9139 provide for the qualifications and
disqualifications of an applicant for naturalization by administrative act. Indeed, R.A.
No. 9139 was enacted as a remedial measure intended to make the process of
acquiring Philippine citizenship less tedious, less technical and more encouraging. It
likewise addresses the concerns of degree holders who, by reason of lack of
citizenship requirement, cannot practice their profession, thus promoting brain
gain for the Philippines. These however, do not justify petitioners contention that
the qualifications set forth in said law apply even to applications for naturalization
by judicial act."
"C.A. No. 473 and R.A. No. 9139 are separate and distinct lawsthe former covers
all aliens regardless of class while the latter covers native-born aliens who lived
here in the Philippines all their lives, who never saw any other country and all along
thought that they were Filipinos; who have demonstrated love and loyalty to the
Philippines and affinity to the customs and traditions. To reiterate, the intention of
the legislature in enacting R.A. No. 9139 was to make the process of acquiring
Philippine citizenship less tedious, less technical and more encouraging which is
administrative rather than judicial in nature. Thus, although the legislature believes
that there is a need to liberalize the naturalization law of the Philippines, there is
nothing from which it can be inferred that C.A. No. 473 was intended to be amended
or repealed by R.A. No. 9139. What the legislature had in mind was merely to
prescribe another mode of acquiring Philippine citizenship which may be availed of
by native born aliens. The only implication is that, a native born alien has the choice
to apply for judicial or administrative naturalization, subject to the prescribed
qualifications and disqualifications."
The law outlines the qualifications as well as disqualifications for naturalization in
the Philippines.
SEC. 3. Qualifications. Subject to the provisions of the succeeding section, any
person desiring to avail of the benefits of this Act must meet the following
qualifications:
(a) The applicant must be born in the Philippines and residing therein since birth;
(b) The applicant must not be less than eighteen (18) years of age, at the time of
filing of his/her petition;
(c) The applicant must be of good moral character and believes in the underlying
principles of the Constitution, and must have conducted himself/herself in a proper
and irreproachable manner during his/her entire period of residence in the
Philippines in his relation with the duly constituted government as well as with the
community in which he/she is living;
(d) The applicant must have received his/her primary and secondary education in
any public school or private educational institution duly recognized by the
Department of Education, Culture and Sports, where Philippine history, government
and civics are taught and prescribed as part of the school curriculum and where
enrollment is not limited to any race or nationality: Provided, That should he/she
have minor children of school age, he/she must have enrolled them in similar
schools;

(e) The applicant must have a known trade, business, profession or lawful
occupation, from which he/she derives income sufficient for his/her support and if
he/she is married and/or has dependents, also that of his/her family: Provided,
however, That this shall not apply to applicants who are college degree holders but
are unable to practice their profession because they are disqualified to do so by
reason of their citizenship;
(f) The applicant must be able to read, write and speak Filipino or any of the dialects
of the Philippines; and
(g) The applicant must have mingled with the Filipinos and evinced a sincere desire
to learn and embrace the customs, traditions and ideals of the Filipino people.
SEC. 4. Disqualifications. The following are not qualified to be naturalized as
Filipino citizens under this Act:
(a) Those opposed to organized government or affiliated with any association or
group of persons who uphold and teach doctrines opposing all organized
governments;
(b) Those defending or teaching the necessity of or propriety of violence, personal
assault or assassination for the success or predominance of their ideas;
(c) Polygamists or believers in the practice of polygamy;
(d) Those convicted of crimes involving moral turpitude;
(e) Those suffering from mental alienation or incurable contagious diseases;
(f) Those who, during the period of their residence in the Philippines, have not
mingled socially with Filipinos, or who have not evinced a sincere desire to learn and
embrace the customs, traditions and ideals of the Filipinos;
(g) Citizens or subjects with whom the Philippines is at war, during the period of
such war; and
(h) Citizens or subjects of a foreign country whose laws do not grant Filipinos the
right to be naturalized citizens or subjects thereof.