The Naturalization Law

March 26, 1920

ACT NO. 2927

THE NATURALIZATION LAW

SECTION 1. Who may become Philippine Citizens. — Philippine citizenship may be acquired by: (a) natives of the Philippines who are not citizens thereof under the Jones Law; (b) natives of the other Insular possessions of the United States; (c) citizens of the United States, or foreigners who under the laws of the United States may become citizens who under the laws of the United States may become citizens of said country if residing therein. HTcADC

SECTION 2. Who are Disqualified. — The following can not be naturalized as Philippine citizens: (a) Persons opposed to organized government or affiliated with any association or group of persons who uphold and teach doctrines opposing all organized government; (b) persons defending or teaching the necessity of propriety of violence, personal assault or assassination for the success and predominance of their ideas; (c) polygamists or believers in the practice of polygamy; (d) persons convicted of crimes involving moral turpitude; (e) persons suffering from mental alienation or incurable contagious diseases; (f) citizens or subjects of nations with whom the United States and the Philippines are at war, during the period of such war.

SECTION 3. Qualifications. — The persons comprised in subsection (a) of section one of this Act, in order to be able to acquire Philippine citizenship, must be not less than twenty-one years of age on the day of the hearing of their petition.

The persons comprised in subsections (b) and (c) of said section one shall, in addition to being not less than twenty-one years of age on the day of the hearing of the petition, have all and each of the following qualifications:

First. Residence in the Philippine Islands for a continuous period of not less than five years, except as provided in the next following section;

Second. To have conducted themselves in a proper and irreproachable manner during the entire period of their residence in the Philippine Islands, in their relations with the constituted government as well as with the community in which they are living;

Third. To hold in the Philippine Islands real estate worth not less than one thousand pesos, Philippine currency, or have some known trade or profession; and

Fourth. To speak and write English, Spanish or some native tongue.

In case the petitioner is a foreign subject, he shall, besides, declare in writing and under oath his intention of renouncing absolutely and perpetually all faith and allegiance to the foreign authority, state or sovereignty of which he was a native, citizen or subject.

SECTION. 4. Special Qualifications. — The five years of continuous residence required under the first condition of the last preceding section shall be understood as being reduced to two years for any petitioner having any of the following qualifications: First, having honorably held office under the Government of the Philippine Islands or under that of any of said Islands; second, having established a new industry or introduced a useful invention in the Philippines; third, being a railroad contractor, constructor or director in any part of the Philippines; fourth, being married to a Filipino woman; fifth, having been engaged as a teacher in the Philippines of any of the branches of education or industry for a period of not less than two years.

SECTION 5. Petition for Citizenship. — Any person desiring to inquire Philippine citizenship shall file with the competent Court a petition setting forth his name and surname; his present and former places of residence; his occupation; the place and date of his birth; whether single or married; and, if married and the father of children, the name, age, birthplace and residence of the wife and of each of the children; if he is not a native of the Philippines, the approximate date of his arrival in the Islands, the name of the port of debarkation, and, if he remembers it, the name of the ship on which he came; a declaration that he has the qualifications required by this Act, specifying the same, and that he is not disqualified for naturalization under the provisions of this Act. If the petitioner is a native of the Philippine Islands and has been naturalized in a foreign country, he shall state the date of his return to the Philippines. The petition must be supported by the affidavit of at least two persons, stating that they are citizens of the Philippine Islands and personally know the petitioner to be a resident of the Islands and a person of good repute and morally irreproachable, and that said petitioner has in their opinion all the qualifications necessary to become a citizen of the Philippine Islands. The petition shall also set forth the names and post-office address of such witnesses as the petitioner may desire to introduce at the hearing of the case.

SECTION 6. Competent Court. — The Court of First Instance of the province or district in which the petitioner resides shall have exclusive original jurisdiction, and the Supreme Court of the Philippine Islands appellate jurisdiction, as to the hearing of petitions for naturalization.

SECTION 7. Notification and Appearance. — Immediately upon the filing of a petition, it shall be the duty of the clerk of the Court to publish the same at petitioner's expense, once a week for three consecutive weeks, in the Official Gazette, and to have copies of said petition and a general notice of the hearing posted in a public and conspicuous place in his office or in the building where said office is located, setting forth in such notice the name, birthplace and residence of the petitioner, the date and place of his arrival in the Philippine Islands, the names of the witnesses whom the petitioner proposes to introduce in support of his petition, and the date of the final hearing on the petitioner, which hearing shall be held after sixty days from the date of the last publication of the notice in the Official Gazette. The clerk shall, as soon as possible, forward copies of the petition, the sentence, the naturalization certificate, and other pertinent data to the Department of the Interior: Provided, however,That as regards the notice and publication in the Official Gazette,and the period within which the petition must be heard, this section shall not be applicable to the persons comprised in subsection (a) of section one.

SECTION 8. Hearing of the Petition. — No petition, except that of the persons mentioned in subsection (a) of section one, which may be heard immediately, shall be heard within the thirty days preceding any election. The hearing shall be public, and the Attorney-General, either himself or through his delegate or the provincial fiscal concerned, shall appear on behalf of the Government of the Philippine Islands at all the proceedings and at the hearing. If, after the hearing, the Court believes, in view of the evidence taken, that the petitioner has all the qualifications required by this Act and has complied with all requisites herein established, it shall order the proper naturalization certificate to be issued. DETACa

SECTION 9. Appeal. — The final sentence may, at the request of either of the parties, be carried to the Supreme Court for revision in the form provided in section one hundred and forty-three and following sections of the Code of Civil Procedure.

SECTION 10. Issuance of the Certificate of Naturalization. — If, after the lapse of thirty days from and after the date on which the parties were notified of the decision of the Court, no appeal has been filed, or if, upon appeal, the decision of the Court has been confirmed by the Supreme Court, the clerk of the Court which heard the petition shall issue to the petitioner a naturalization certificate which shall, among other things, state the following: The file number of the petition, the number of the naturalization certificate, the signature of the person naturalized, affixed in the presence of the clerk of the court, the personal circumstances of the person naturalized, the date on which his petition was filed, the date of the decision granting the petition, and the name of the judge who rendered the decision.

Before the naturalization certificate is issued, the petitioner shall, in open court, take the following oath:

I, _____________________, solemnly swear that I renounce all faith and allegiance to the prince, authority, state or sovereignty (giving name) whose subject I am; that I recognize and accept the supreme authority of the United States of America in the Philippine Islands and will maintain true faith and allegiance thereto; that I will obey the laws of the Philippine Islands and the legal orders and decrees promulgated by the authorities duly constituted in the same; that I solemnly swear that I will faithfully defend the Government of the Philippine Islands, and that I impose upon myself this obligation voluntarily, without mental reservation or purpose of evasion. So help me God.

SECTION 11. Record Books. — The clerk of the Court shall keep two books: one in which the petitions shall be recorded in chronological order, noting all proceedings thereon from the filing of the petition to the final issuance of the naturalization certificate; and another, which shall be a record of naturalization certificates and each page of which shall have a duplicate which shall be duly attested by the clerk of the Court and delivered to the petitioner.

SECTION 12. Fees. — The clerk of the Court of First Instance shall charge as fees for recording a petition for naturalization and for the proceedings in connection therewith, including the issuance of the certificate, the sum of sixteen pesos.

The Clerk of the Supreme Court shall collect for each appeal and for the services rendered by him in connection therewith, the sum of twenty-four pesos.

SECTION 13. Right of Widow and Children of Petitioners Who have Died. — In case a petitioner should die before the final decision has been rendered, his widow and minor children may continue the proceedings. The decision rendered in the case shall, so far as the widow and minor children are concerned, produce the same legal effect as if it had been rendered during the life of the petitioner. aDSIHc

SECTION 14. Cancellation of Naturalization Certificate Issued. — Upon motion made in the proper proceedings by the Attorney-General or his representative, or by the proper provincial fiscal, the competent judge may cancel the naturalization certificate issued; (a) if it is shown that said naturalization certificate was obtained fraudulently; (b) if the person naturalized shall, within the five years next following the issuance of said naturalization certificate, return to his native country or to some foreign country and establish his permanent, residence there: Provided, That the fact of the person naturalized remaining for more than one year in his native country or the country of his former nationality, or two years in any other foreign country, shall be considered as prima facie evidence of his intention of taking up his permanent residence in the same; (c) if the person naturalized is convicted of any violation of this Act, as provided in section fifteen hereof. A certified copy of the decree cancelling the naturalization certificate shall be forwarded by the clerk of the Court to the Department of the Interior.

SECTION 15. Penalties for Violations of this Act. — Any person who shall fraudulently make, falsify, forge, change, alter, or cause or aid any person to do the same, or who shall purposely aid and assist in falsely making, forging, falsifying, changing or altering a naturalization certificate for the purpose of making use thereof, or in order that the same may be used by another person or persons, and any person who shall purposely aid and assist another in obtaining a naturalization certificate in violation of the provisions of this Act, shall be punished by a fine of not more than five thousand pesos or by imprisonment for not more than five years, or both.

SECTION 16. Prescription. — No person shall be prosecuted, charged or punished for an offence implying a violation of the provisions of this Act, unless the information or complaint is filed within five years after the commission of said offence.

SECTION 17. Regulations and Blanks. — The Secretary of Justice shall issue the necessary regulations for the proper enforcement of this Act. Naturalization certificate blanks and other blanks required for carrying out the provisions of this Act shall be prepared and furnished by the Attorney-General, subject to the approval of the Secretary of Justice. ETHIDa

SECTION 18. Date When This Act shall Take Effect. — This Act shall take effect on its approval.

Approved, March 26, 1920.