G.R. No. L-12627; May 30, 1960
ALFONSO TIAN, petitioner-appellee, vs. REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES, oppositor-appellant.

FACTS

Alfonso Tian filed a petition for naturalization. He was born in Cebu City on April 15, 1929, and has continuously resided there since birth without having gone abroad. He is single, employed as a copra classifier and assistant warehouseman with a monthly salary of P120.00, and has filed income tax returns since 1954. He is registered with the Bureau of Immigration and reports annually as an alien. He completed his elementary education at the City Central School (a public school) after earlier attending the Little Flower of Jesus Academy, and finished high school at the University of Southern Philippines, where he is currently enrolled in college. He speaks and writes English and Visayan, but not Chinese. He believes in the principles underlying the Philippine Constitution, has never been charged or convicted of any crime, has paid all taxes, has no contagious disease, and associates with Filipinos. Although he did not explicitly state in direct examination that he does not believe in polygamy or that he desires to become a Filipino citizen, one of his witnesses testified that he is not a polygamist and that his desire for citizenship is evidenced by his voluntary enrollment in ROTC despite exemption. The trial court granted the petition but ordered that the decision would not be executory until after two years, subject to conditions. The government appealed.

ISSUE

Whether the trial court erred in granting Alfonso Tian’s petition for naturalization, specifically regarding: (1) his exemption from filing a declaration of intention due to his education in a government-recognized school, and (2) the competency of his witnesses to testify on his qualifications.

RULING

The Supreme Court affirmed the trial court’s decision.
1. On the exemption from filing a declaration of intention: The Court held that Tian qualified for exemption. Although his first five years of elementary education were at the Little Flower of Jesus Academy, he completed his elementary course and received an elementary certificate of graduation from the City Central School, a public school under the Bureau of Public Schools. This certificate confirmed that he had “completed the elementary curriculum prescribed for elementary schools of the Republic of the Philippines.” The Court inferred that his earlier education at the Academy must have been in accordance with the government-prescribed curriculum, as it led to his graduation from a public school.
2. On the competency of witnesses: The Court found the two witnesses—Juan Alburo (Dean of the College of Commerce) and Eriberto Jueco (High School Principal)—competent. Since Tian was born in the Philippines, the required period of residence for witnesses under Section 3 of the Revised Naturalization Law was five years, not ten years. The witnesses testified that they had known Tian well since 1948 (more than five years) through his studies at their university and frequent visits to his family, and they attested to his proper conduct and desire to become a Filipino citizen. The Court noted that even the Solicitor General considered the witnesses legally qualified.
The decision was affirmed without costs.