GR L 19575; (February, 1965) (Digest)
G.R. No. L-19575 February 26, 1965
IN THE MATTER OF THE PETITION OF HARRY ONG PING SENG TO BE ADMITTED A CITIZEN OF THE PHILIPPINES. HARRY ONG PING SENG, petitioner-appellee, vs. REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES, oppositor-appellant.
FACTS
The petitioner-appellee, Harry Ong Ping Seng, filed a petition for naturalization in the Court of First Instance of Manila, which was granted. The Republic of the Philippines, as oppositor-appellant, appealed the decision. The Solicitor General argued that the lower court erred in granting the petition on several grounds.
ISSUE
Whether the lower court erred in granting Harry Ong Ping Seng’s petition for naturalization.
RULING
The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the lower court and dismissed the petition for naturalization. The Court found multiple grounds for denial:
1. Lack of Good Moral Character: The appellee declared a gross income of only P8,800 for 1960 in his residence certificate statement, while his income tax return for the same year showed P13,172.85, indicating a discrepancy that reflected poorly on his moral character.
2. Failure to Mingle and Embrace Filipino Customs: The appellee’s three children were enrolled in the Hope Christian High School, a school run by Chinese citizens with a student body mainly of Chinese nationals, which indicated a lack of sincere desire to mingle socially with Filipinos and embrace their customs, traditions, and ideals.
3. Insufficient Knowledge of Tagalog: The test conducted in the lower court did not satisfactorily establish that the appellee had sufficient knowledge of the Tagalog dialect, which he claimed to speak and write.
4. Invalid Petition due to Incomplete Residence Information: The petition stated his present address and one former address but omitted other former residences in Manila (No. 285 Blumentritt, No. 631 Mayhaligue, and No. 589 Gandara). This omission violated Section 7 of the Revised Naturalization Law ( Commonwealth Act No. 473 , as amended), which requires a petitioner to list all former places of residence, warranting denial of the petition.