G.R. No. L-11637; October 31, 1958
In the matter of the petition of William Ong to be admitted a citizen of the Philippines. WILLIAM ONG, petitioner-appellant, vs. REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES, oppositor-appellee.

FACTS

Petitioner William Ong, born in China on June 4, 1920, arrived in the Philippines on August 3, 1933, and had resided continuously therein for about 22 years. He was a merchant with an annual income of P12,000, married to a Chinese woman, and had seven children born in Manila, three of whom were enrolled in school. He presented evidence of his good moral character, ability to speak and write English and Tagalog, lack of criminal record, and allegiance to Philippine principles. The Manila Court of First Instance, while finding these facts established, denied his petition for naturalization on the sole ground that he had not satisfactorily shown he was lawfully admitted for permanent residence. Petitioner had presented Exhibit D-3, a December 11, 1945 certificate from the Secretary of Labor and Acting Commissioner of Immigration, Marcelo Adduru, stating he was lawfully admitted as the son of a resident Chinese merchant and was issued Landing Certificate of Residence (LCR) No. 101998-112910. He also presented Exhibit D, an Immigrant Certificate of Residence dated January 18, 1950, from the Acting Immigration Commissioner, certifying he was lawfully admitted as an immigrant. The trial court refused to credit Exhibit D-3, reasoning there was no need for its issuance and that, since a witness testified the original LCR was lost during the Japanese occupation, Adduru could not have seen it. After the denial, petitioner submitted a motion for reconsideration with a September 14, 1956 statement from Immigration Commissioner Emilio L. Galang, confirming that the original LCR was existent at the time of Adduru’s certification and that the details in that certification must have been obtained from the LCR itself. The Solicitor General, in light of this last certificate, did not oppose the petition. The trial court nevertheless refused to reconsider.

ISSUE

Whether the petitioner, William Ong, satisfactorily established that he was lawfully admitted into the Philippines for permanent residence, a requisite for naturalization.

RULING

Yes. The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the trial court and granted William Ong’s application for naturalization. The Court held that the trial court took an unduly strict view. While there may have been doubts about Exhibit D-3, other official documents conclusively established petitioner’s lawful admission. Exhibit D (the 1950 Immigrant Certificate of Residence) was based on Alien Certificate of Registration No. 7913-V (Exhibit G), which contained an annotation of the same LCR number mentioned in Adduru’s certificate, providing official corroboration. Furthermore, Exhibit E (a May 8, 1956 certificate from the Immigration office) and Exhibit U (his 1941 Alien Certificate of Registration) were additional documentary evidence of his right to reside permanently. The Court emphasized that the Immigration Commissioner is in the best position to know an alien’s lawful status, and here, the immigration authorities, through multiple certificates spanning years, consistently certified that according to their records, Ong was lawfully residing in the country. Given that he had been in the Philippines for 22 years, married, raised a family, conducted business, and his residence was never questioned by immigration authorities, his petition should not be denied merely because he could not produce the original landing certificate. The case was deemed practically identical to Tong vs. Republic, G.R. No. L-9728, where a similar denial was reversed.