G.R. No. L-20897; May 30, 1967
IN THE MATTER OF PETITION FOR NATURALIZATION OF TY ENG HUA. TY ENG HUA, petitioner-appellee, vs. REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES, oppositor-appellant.

FACTS

Petitioner Ty Eng Hua, a subject of Nationalist China, filed a petition for naturalization to be admitted as a citizen of the Philippines. The Court of First Instance of Camarines Sur rendered a judgment finding that petitioner possessed all the qualifications and none of the disqualifications under the Revised Naturalization Law and declared him eligible for naturalization. The Republic of the Philippines appealed the decision.

ISSUE

Whether or not petitioner Ty Eng Hua possesses a lucrative income as required by the Revised Naturalization Law for naturalization.

RULING

The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the lower court and denied the petition for naturalization. The Court held that the petitioner did not have a lucrative income. The income for naturalization purposes is reckoned at the time of the filing of the application, which was March 28, 1961. The petition itself stated an income of P3,600.00 from his trade as a merchant, while his 1960 income tax return showed a net income of P4,739.32. The Court ruled that neither amount constituted a lucrative income for a person with a wife and four minor children to support. Even assuming his testimony that he could get around P6,000.00 in 1961 was considered, this still did not meet the standard required by law. Costs were imposed against the petitioner.