GR 26196; (July, 1970) (Digest)
G.R. No. L-26196 July 31, 1970
RE: PETITION FOR PHILIPPINE CITIZENSHIP GAN Y. GUAN, petitioner-appellee, vs. REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES, oppositor-appellant.
FACTS
Gan Y. Guan, a Chinese citizen born in Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija, on December 5, 1936, filed a petition for naturalization in the Court of First Instance of Nueva Ecija. He claimed exemption from filing a declaration of intention, citing his Philippine birth. He stated he received his primary education at Nueva Ecija Chinese School, elementary at Philippine Chinese High School, secondary at Philippine Statesman College, and a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from Mapua Institute of Technology. During the Japanese occupation, he and his family resided in Manila, but this Manila address was omitted from the published petition. The lower court granted his petition, finding him qualified. The Republic appealed, arguing the petition was jurisdictionally defective due to failure to file a declaration of intention and incomplete publication of residences.
ISSUE
Whether petitioner-appellee Gan Y. Guan is exempt from filing a declaration of intention under the Revised Naturalization Act, and whether the petition is valid despite incomplete publication of his places of residence.
RULING
The Supreme Court reversed the lower court’s decision and denied the petition for naturalization.
1. On exemption from filing a declaration of intention: The Court held that exemption under the Revised Naturalization Act requires the applicant to have been born in the Philippines and to have received primary and secondary education in public schools or private institutions recognized by the government and not limited to any race or nationality. Petitioner’s primary and elementary education were at Nueva Ecija Chinese School and Philippine Chinese High School. Their names suggest they are exclusive to Chinese students, and petitioner provided no evidence that they were not limited to any race or nationality. His bare assertion that Filipinos also attended these schools was inadequate proof. Thus, he did not qualify for exemption and his failure to file a declaration of intention was a fatal jurisdictional defect.
2. On incomplete publication of residences: The Court found that petitioner and his family lived in Manila during the three-year Japanese occupation, but this Manila address was omitted from the published petition. This omission, even if petitioner was a minor at the time, constitutes a fatal infirmity under prevailing jurisprudence.
Therefore, the petition was denied. No costs were awarded.