G.R. No. L-29208. January 28, 1971.
IN RE: PETITION FOR PHILIPPINE CITIZENSHIP, KAW SENG, petitioner-appellee, vs. REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES, respondent-appellant.

FACTS

Petitioner-appellee Kaw Seng filed a petition for naturalization in the Court of First Instance of Iloilo. He did not file the requisite declaration of intention, claiming exemption under Section 6 of Commonwealth Act No. 473, as amended. He asserted continuous residence in the Philippines for over thirty years since 1916. The lower court granted his petition.
The Republic appealed, contesting the grant of citizenship. The government established that Kaw Seng had undertaken multiple trips abroad: an 8-9 month stay in China in 1921, a 10-month stay in 1927, an 8-month stay in 1932, and a 4-month stay in 1946. Furthermore, it was admitted that his children were enrolled at the Iloilo Chinese Commercial High School, a private institution not recognized as being “not limited to any race or nationality” under the law.

ISSUE

Whether Kaw Seng was exempt from filing a declaration of intention and was qualified for naturalization, considering his absences from the Philippines and the school enrollment of his children.

RULING

The Supreme Court reversed the lower court’s decision and dismissed the petition. The legal logic centers on the strict interpretation of the requirements for exemption from filing a declaration of intention under Section 6 of the Naturalization Law. The exemption applies only to those who have “resided continuously in the Philippines for a period of thirty years or more.” The Court, citing the precedent in Sy See v. Republic, held that “continuous residence” is interrupted by voluntary absences for substantial periods. Kaw Seng’s multiple absences, totaling several years, particularly the lengthy stays in 1921, 1927, and 1932, definitively broke the continuity of his required thirty-year residency. These were not brief or incidental trips but extended sojourns.
Additionally, the law requires an applicant exempt under this provision to have given his children primary and secondary education in public schools or private schools recognized by the Government and “not limited to any race or nationality.” Enrolling his children in a Chinese school demonstrated a failure to embrace Filipino customs and ideals, negating a sincere desire for assimilation. Since Kaw Seng failed both the continuous residency requirement and the educational requirement for his children, he could not avail himself of the exemption. Consequently, his failure to file the mandatory declaration of intention was fatal to his petition for naturalization.