GR L 12938; (July, 1961) (Digest)
G.R. No. L-12938; July 31, 1961
IN THE MATTER OF THE PETITION OF RAFAEL YAP alias YAP HON ENG TO BE ADMITTED A CITIZEN OF THE PHILIPPINES. RAFAEL YAP alias YAP HON ENG, petitioner-appellee, vs. REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES, oppositor-appellant.
FACTS
Petitioner Rafael Yap, born in Mati, Davao in 1927 and a citizen of the Republic of China, filed a petition for naturalization in the Court of First Instance of Davao on September 17, 1955. He presented evidence that he possessed all qualifications under Section 2 of Commonwealth Act No. 473 , the Revised Naturalization Law. He had never left the Philippines, completed his primary and fifth-grade intermediate education in Davao public schools, was married to a Filipina, had two children, and was a merchant with sufficient income. He also demonstrated knowledge of English and Visayan, good moral character, and belief in Philippine constitutional principles.
The Republic opposed the application. The trial court rendered judgment granting the petition, prompting the government’s appeal. The core dispute centered not on Yap’s qualifications but on his compliance with a specific procedural prerequisite under the naturalization law.
ISSUE
Whether the petitioner complied with the mandatory requirement of filing a declaration of intention to become a citizen, or was validly exempt from such requirement.
RULING
The Supreme Court reversed the lower court’s decision and dismissed the petition. The legal logic hinges on the mandatory nature of Sections 5 and 6 of Commonwealth Act No. 473 . The Court held that filing a declaration of intention one year prior to the petition is an absolute prerequisite, unless the applicant falls under a statutory exemption.
The Court found Yap failed to prove compliance. His evidence consisted only of a copy of a 1953 letter from his counsel to the Secretary of Justice, purportedly enclosing the declaration and a postal money order stub. There was no proof of receipt by the office or any follow-up verification. Mere sending was insufficient to establish fulfillment of the legal mandate.
Furthermore, the Court ruled Yap was not exempt. Under Section 6, exemption for persons born in the Philippines requires completion of both primary and secondary education in public or recognized non-exclusive schools. Yap only finished primary and fifth grade intermediate, not secondary education. The alternative exemption of thirty years of continuous residence was also inapplicable, as he was only 28 years old when he filed his petition. Since he neither complied with the declaration requirement nor qualified for an exemption, his application was fatally defective. The judgment was reversed and the petition dismissed.