G.R. No. L-27126 May 29, 1970
IN THE MATTER OF THE PETITION OF LOU C. LIM (Lim Chat) TO BE ADMITTED AS A CITIZEN OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. LOU C. LIM (LIM CHAT), petitioner-appellee, vs. REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES, oppositor-appellant.

FACTS

Petitioner Lou C. Lim filed a petition for naturalization on September 26, 1960, using a form prescribed under the former Naturalization Act (Act No. 2927), which had been superseded by Commonwealth Act No. 473 (the present Naturalization Law) since June 17, 1939. Consequently, his petition failed to allege essential qualifications required by the current law: his good moral character, his belief in the principles underlying the Philippine Constitution, and that his two elder school-age children (Helen and Ben) were enrolled in prescribed schools. It also omitted the mandatory requirement of filing a declaration of intention. After the initial notice, the Office of the Solicitor General was not notified of subsequent hearings, the decision granting the petition, the petitioner’s oath-taking, or the later order declaring his wife a citizen. Upon discovering these proceedings, the Republic filed a motion for cancellation, which the lower court denied.

ISSUE

Whether the lower court’s naturalization proceedings and the resulting grant of citizenship to Lou C. Lim and his wife are valid and should be upheld.

RULING

No. The Supreme Court reversed the lower court’s order and declared the proceedings void. The petition was fatally defective on its face for relying on a repealed law, failing to meet the substantive qualifications and allegations required by the current Naturalization Act, and omitting the mandatory declaration of intention. Furthermore, the failure to notify the Solicitor General of the hearings and subsequent proceedings after the initial notice was a jurisdictional defect. The Court ordered the cancellation of the certificates of naturalization and the reinstatement of the alien certificates of registration for petitioner, his wife, and their children.