G.R. No. L-30669 July 31, 1970
IN THE MATTER OF THE PETITION OF BETTY PO (Betty Po Lim-marital name) to be admitted a citizen of the Philippines, petitioner-appellee, vs. REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES, oppositor-appellant.

FACTS

Betty Po, a native-born Chinese woman married to Lim Son Hue, a registered Chinese subject, filed a petition for naturalization as a Filipino citizen under Commonwealth Act No. 473 , as amended, on July 31, 1965. The Court of First Instance of Iloilo granted the petition on August 30, 1966, and later, on September 13, 1968, issued an order allowing her to take the oath of allegiance. The Republic of the Philippines appealed, opposing the naturalization. It was established that Betty Po married Lim Son Hue on December 25, 1960, and they had two children born in 1962 and 1963. By virtue of her marriage and under Chinese law, she acquired Chinese citizenship.

ISSUE

Whether a Chinese woman may be lawfully naturalized as a citizen of the Philippines separately from her husband, who is also a Chinese citizen.

RULING

No. The Supreme Court reversed the lower court’s order. The Court held that Betty Po, being a Chinese citizen by birth and by marriage under Chinese law, could not become a Filipino citizen during coverture. Under Philippine law ( Commonwealth Act No. 63 ), a Filipino woman who marries an alien acquires her husband’s citizenship if the laws of his country so provide. By analogy, a female alien married to an alien must, under Philippine law, have the same citizenship as her husband as long as the marriage subsists. Granting naturalization to Betty Po while married to a Chinese citizen would result in dual citizenship, which is not contemplated by Philippine laws. Therefore, her petition for naturalization was denied.