GR L 17790; (March, 1964) (Digest)

G.R. No. L-17790; March 31, 1964
LORENZO LIM and JUANA ALVAREZ LIM, petitioners-appellees, vs. FRANCISCO DE LA ROSA, as Asst. Commissioner of Immigration, and JOVITO PALATTAO, as Alien Control Office, Zamboanga City, respondents-appellants.

FACTS

The spouses Lorenzo Lim and Juana Alvarez Lim filed a petition in the Court of First Instance of Manila to enjoin immigration officials from compelling them to register as aliens, claiming Philippine citizenship. Lorenzo Lim, also known as Lam Shun Hock, asserted he was the illegitimate son of Lam Hing (a Chinese citizen) and Mora Alsia (a Filipino citizen), born in Jolo, Sulu, in 1905. The respondents, represented by the Solicitor General, opposed the petition, relying on prior opinions (Nos. 378, s. 1955, and 77, s. 1956) from the Department of Justice which had ruled that Lim was not a Filipino citizen. The parties submitted an Agreed Statement of Facts, which included key documents supporting Lim’s claim: his election of Philippine citizenship in 1941 under Commonwealth Act No. 625, his registration as a voter in several elections, the issuance to him of a Filipino passport in 1957 based on a memorandum from the Department of Foreign Affairs Citizenship Committee, and a 1957 court order granting his petition for a change of name which stated he was a Filipino citizen.

ISSUE

The central issue is whether Lorenzo Lim is a citizen of the Philippines, thereby entitling him and his wife to an injunction against being compelled to register as aliens.

RULING

The Supreme Court affirmed the trial court’s judgment, ruling that Lorenzo Lim is a Filipino citizen. The legal logic rests on the application of citizenship laws governing illegitimate children. Since it was established that Lorenzo Lim’s parents, Lam Hing and Mora Alsia, were never legally married, he is considered illegitimate. Under the prevailing doctrine, an illegitimate child follows the citizenship of its mother. As his mother, Mora Alsia, was a Filipino citizen, Lorenzo Lim acquired Filipino citizenship from birth. The Court found this finding supported by substantial evidence presented without objection, including the various public documents and affidavits detailed in the Agreed Statement of Facts. The Court held that the prior opinions of the Department of Justice, which had denied Lim’s claim, were not conclusive. These administrative opinions were based on an earlier assessment that the evidence submitted was insufficient, but they did not bind the judiciary, especially in light of the more comprehensive evidence later presented in court. The passport issuance, court order on change of name, and consistent treatment as a citizen in official transactions all corroborated the finding of citizenship. Consequently, the immigration officials had no legal basis to require the Lim spouses to register as aliens, and the injunction was properly granted.