G.R. No. L-2611; July 31, 1951
ALEJANDRO KEYSER TAN, petitioner-appellee, vs. REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES, oppositor-appellant.

FACTS

Alejandro Keyser Tan filed a petition for naturalization in the Court of First Instance of Manila on July 2, 1947. The court granted his petition. The Republic of the Philippines, through the Solicitor General, appealed the decision, assigning several errors. The appellee claimed exemption from the requirement of filing a declaration of intention one year prior to his petition, arguing he was born in the Philippines on September 28, 1917, had resided continuously in the country for more than thirty years, and had finished the sixth grade in an Anglo-Chinese school recognized by the government.

ISSUE

The primary issue is whether the petitioner-appellee, Alejandro Keyser Tan, is exempt from the prerequisite of filing a declaration of intention to become a citizen under Section 6 of Commonwealth Act No. 535 (the Revised Naturalization Law).

RULING

The Supreme Court reversed the lower court’s decision and denied the petition for naturalization. The Court held that the petitioner did not qualify for either exemption under Section 6 of the Revised Naturalization Law. First, he did not fall under the exemption for persons who received primary and secondary education in recognized schools not limited to any race or nationality, as finishing only the sixth grade did not constitute completion of primary and secondary education, and there was no evidence his school was not limited by race or nationality. Second, he did not qualify for the exemption based on thirty years of continuous residence prior to filing his petition, as he was born on September 28, 1917, and filed his petition on July 2, 1947, meaning he had not resided in the Philippines for thirty years prior to filing. Having resolved this issue, the Court deemed it unnecessary to address the appellant’s other assignments of error.