GR 21035; (January, 1981) (Digest)
G.R. No. L-21035 January 22, 1981
IN THE MATTER OF THE PETITION FOR NATURALIZATION OF TAN TEK CHIAN ALIAS JOSE TAN. TAN TEK CHIAN ALIAS JOSE TAN, petitioner-appellant, vs. REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES, oppositor-appellee.
FACTS
Tan Tek Chian, alias Jose Tan, filed a petition for naturalization. The lower court initially granted his petition in a decision dated June 9, 1955. Subsequently, he complied with the additional requirements under Republic Act No. 530 and took his oath of allegiance, leading to the issuance of his certificate of naturalization on July 20, 1957.
The Republic of the Philippines opposed the petition and later moved to cancel the certificate of citizenship. The lower court, presided over by Judge Guillermo S. Santos, found a fatal jurisdictional defect: the petitioner had failed to satisfy the statutory requirement of publishing the notice of his petition in three consecutive issues of the Official Gazette. This defect was governed by the doctrine established in Ong Son Cui v. Republic, promulgated on May 29, 1957, which mandated strict, literal compliance with the publication rule.
ISSUE
Whether the certificate of naturalization issued to Tan Tek Chian on July 20, 1957, is valid despite the jurisdictional defect of non-compliance with the publication requirement, considering the date of issuance relative to the promulgation of the Ong Son Cui doctrine.
RULING
The Supreme Court affirmed the lower court’s order annulling the decision granting naturalization and cancelling the certificate of citizenship. The Court applied the settled doctrine from Gan Tsitung v. Republic, which clarified the application of the Ong Son Cui ruling. The legal logic hinges on the determinative date being the issuance of the certificate of naturalization, not the date of the initial decision granting the petition.
In Gan Tsitung, the Court held that the strict Ong Son Cui doctrine applies to certificates of naturalization issued after May 29, 1957. No vested right to naturalization exists until the final certificate is issued following compliance with all post-decision requirements, including the oath. Since Tan Tek Chian’s certificate was issued on July 20, 1957—which is after the May 29, 1957 promulgation of Ong Son Cui—the jurisdictional defect in publication rendered the entire proceeding void. The Court emphasized that the status of a naturalized citizen attaches only upon the issuance of the certificate. Therefore, the lower court correctly nullified the naturalization.