G.R. No. L-24252 January 30, 1967
IN RE PETITION TO DECLARE ZITA NGO TO POSSESS ALL QUALIFICATIONS AND NONE OF THE DISQUALIFICATIONS FOR NATURALIZATION UNDER COMMONWEALTH ACT 473 FOR THE PURPOSE OF CANCELLING HER ALIEN REGISTRY WITH THE BUREAU OF IMMIGRATION. ZITA NGO BURCA, petitioner and appellee, vs. REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES, oppositor and appellant.

FACTS

Petitioner Zita Ngo Burca, an alien Chinese citizen, married Florencio Burca, a native-born Filipino citizen, on May 14, 1961. She filed a petition to be declared as possessing all qualifications and none of the disqualifications for naturalization under Commonwealth Act No. 473 (the Revised Naturalization Law) for the purpose of cancelling her alien registry. She alleged she was born in Gigaquit, Surigao, on March 30, 1933, to Chinese parents, and held a Native Born Certificate of Residence and an Alien Certificate of Registration. The Solicitor General opposed the petition, arguing there is no judicial proceeding for declaring citizenship and that the petition was fatally defective as an application for citizenship for failing to comply with Section 7 of the Naturalization Law, such as not stating former places of residence and lacking affidavits from two supporting witnesses. The trial court dismissed the opposition and declared Zita Ngo Burca a citizen of the Philippines after taking the necessary oath.

ISSUE

The primary issue is whether an alien woman married to a Filipino citizen automatically acquires Philippine citizenship by virtue of the marriage alone, and if not, what is the proper procedure for her to acquire such citizenship.

RULING

The Supreme Court reversed the trial court’s decision and dismissed the petition.
1. An alien woman married to a Filipino citizen does NOT automatically become a Filipino citizen by mere fact of marriage. Under Section 15 of the Revised Naturalization Law, she “shall be deemed a citizen of the Philippines” only if she “might herself be lawfully naturalized.” This means she must possess all qualifications under Section 2 and none of the disqualifications under Section 4 of the law.
2. The proper procedure for an alien wife of a Filipino to acquire citizenship is to file a petition for naturalization (a “petition for citizenship”) in the proper Court of First Instance, complying with all requirements of the Naturalization Law. The Court ruled that: (a) She must file a petition reciting she possesses all qualifications and none of the disqualifications; (b) The petition must be filed in the Court of First Instance where she has resided for at least one year preceding the filing; and (c) Any action by any other administrative office or official declaring her a citizen is null and void.
3. Treating the present petition as one for naturalization, it was fatally defective for non-compliance with Section 7 of the Naturalization Law. Specifically, the petition failed to state all former places of residence, and critically, no supporting witnesses were presented at the hearing. The law requires the petition to be supported by the affidavit of at least two credible witnesses, and the case was submitted solely on the testimony of the petitioner herself. This failure warranted dismissal.