G.R. No. L-2530; June 22, 1950
Lim Ket Kai, petitioner-appellant, vs. The Republic of the Philippines, oppositor-appellee.

FACTS

Petitioner-appellant Lim Ket Kai, a Chinese citizen, filed a petition for naturalization in the Court of First Instance of Misamis Oriental. He had resided in the Philippines for about 30 years, was married, had nine children, and was a merchant and property owner. The Republic of the Philippines, through the assistant provincial fiscal, opposed the petition, alleging, among other grounds, that Lim Ket Kai did not possess all qualifications required by law, specifically his ability to speak and write English or Spanish as mandated by the Revised Naturalization Law. The trial court dismissed the petition, finding that Lim Ket Kai failed to prove he could speak and write English or Spanish.

ISSUE

Whether Lim Ket Kai possessed the qualification under the Revised Naturalization Law requiring an applicant to be able to speak and write English or Spanish.

RULING

No. The Supreme Court affirmed the trial court’s dismissal of the petition. The Court found that Lim Ket Kai not only failed to prove his ability to speak and write English or Spanish as required by Commonwealth Act No. 473 , Section 2(5), but the evidence positively showed he lacked this qualification. His petition did not allege compliance with this requirement, and during the hearing, he admitted he could not write English and could only speak Visayan. An investigation by the National Bureau of Investigation also confirmed this deficiency. Consequently, his failure to meet this statutory requirement justified the denial of his naturalization petition.

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