G.R. No. 262938 , December 5, 2023
Walter Manuel F. Prescott, Petitioner, vs. Bureau of Immigration, as represented by Hon. Rogelio D. Gevero, Jr., and the Department of Justice, Respondents.

FACTS

The Bureau of Immigration issued a warrant of deportation against petitioner Walter Manuel F. Prescott. This followed the Department of Justice’s revocation of Prescott’s reacquired Philippine citizenship under Republic Act No. 9225 , based on a recommendation from the Bureau. Prescott challenged the deportation order before the Court of Appeals, which sustained it. He subsequently elevated the case to the Supreme Court via a Petition for Review on Certiorari.
The ponencia granted Prescott’s petition, declaring the proceedings before the Bureau of Immigration and the Secretary of Justice’s resolution void for lack of due process. It further ruled that the Bureau lacked jurisdiction to deport Prescott as he was a natural-born citizen, not an alien. Justice Leonen, in his Concurring Opinion, agreed with the result but offered a different foundational rationale for Prescott’s citizenship status.

ISSUE

The core legal issue is whether Walter Manuel F. Prescott is a natural-born Filipino citizen, thereby rendering the Bureau of Immigration’s deportation order void for lack of jurisdiction over him.

RULING

Justice Leonen concurs in granting the petition but clarifies the legal basis. He posits that the crux of the case is not an informal election of citizenship through lifelong actions, as suggested by the ponencia. Instead, Prescott is unequivocally a natural-born Filipino citizen by virtue of jus sanguinis, or right of blood, because his mother was a Filipino citizen at the time of his birth. The opinion delves into the philosophical and legal dimensions of citizenship, defining it as the “right to have rights” and a mechanism denoting membership in a state, which in turn grants political rights like suffrage. Historically, the Philippines has adhered to the jus sanguinis principle, attributing citizenship based on parentage rather than birthplace (jus soli). This principle has been consistently upheld in Philippine jurisprudence, including in landmark cases like Tecson v. COMELEC. Therefore, Prescott’s citizenship is inherent and derived directly from his Filipino mother, requiring no further act of election on his part under the applicable laws at his birth. Consequently, the Bureau of Immigration, which possesses authority only over aliens, had no jurisdiction to initiate deportation proceedings against a Filipino citizen. The deportation order is thus invalid.