GR L 9601; (April, 1957) (Digest)
G.R. No. L-9601; April 22, 1957
In the Matter of the Petition of PABLO CHANG BRIONES LORENZO to be admitted a citizen of the Philippines. PABLO CHANG BRIONES LORENZO, petitioner-appellee, vs. REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES, oppositor-appellant.
FACTS
Pablo Chang Briones Lorenzo filed a petition for naturalization in the Court of First Instance of Cebu. The evidence presented showed that he was born on May 27, 1928, in Cebu City to Chinese parents and had never left the Philippines. He is single, a stockholder and manager of C. Yeanting Soap and Candle Factory, earning an average annual compensation of P2,500, and owns P23,000 worth of shares in a rubber company. He completed his primary and secondary education at the University of Southern Philippines and a commerce course at the University of San Carlos, speaks and writes English and Cebu-Visayan, believes in the principles of the Philippine Constitution, and is of good moral character. The trial court found him qualified for citizenship and not disqualified under the Revised Naturalization Law. The Republic appealed, contending the record was unclear regarding his birth in the Philippines.
ISSUE
Whether the evidence sufficiently proves that petitioner Pablo Chang Briones Lorenzo was born in the Philippines, a requisite for his naturalization.
RULING
The Supreme Court affirmed the trial court’s decision, holding that the evidence sufficiently proves the petitioner was born in the Philippines. The proof included his own declaration, affidavits from Dr. H. Jurado and Sergio Yapbee, testimony from former Congressman Tomas Alonso who knew him since childhood, and a certified copy of a baptismal entry from the Cathedral of Cebu dated June 9, 1929, for a child named Pablo C. Briones Lorenzo born on May 27, 1928. The Court rejected the Government’s argument based on the absence of his name in the City Health Officer’s birth register, noting that not all births were recorded there, especially those occurring before the establishment of the Civil Registry by Act No. 3753 on February 26, 1931, nearly three years after the petitioner’s birth.