G.R. No. L-3323; July 18, 1951
In the matter of the petition for naturalization of JACK J. BERMONT; JACK J. BERMONT, petitioner-appellee, vs. THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES, oppositor-appellant.

FACTS

Jack J. Bermont, petitioner-appellee, filed a petition for naturalization in the Court of First Instance of Manila, which was granted. The Republic of the Philippines appealed. The trial court found that petitioner was born in Nikolavesk, Amur, Siberia, on March 1, 1912. During the Russian revolution when he was six, his White Russian parents fled Russia with him, settling in Japan for over ten years. In 1930, they moved to Shanghai where he studied. His father died in Shanghai in 1948; his mother was living in Japan. Petitioner came to the Philippines in January 1935 intending to go to Australia but decided to stay, residing continuously since then. He never took an oath of allegiance to the Soviet Government and considered himself stateless. He mingled with Filipinos, married a Filipina, and had children. He worked for various companies and was a stockholder and director of the United States-Philippine Reconstruction Corporation earning P1,600 monthly. He could speak and write English and had a working knowledge of Tagalog, Spanish, and Cuyonon. He believed in the principles underlying the Philippine Constitution, opposed communistic government, was of good repute, morally irreproachable, not opposed to organized government, and not affiliated with any subversive organization. During the last war, he was an active member of guerrilla forces in Palawan under Major Pablo Muyco and later attached to the Allied Intelligence Bureau, earning medals of honor and unit citations. He had no criminal convictions or contagious diseases. He swore to uphold and defend the Philippine Constitution and laws and take up arms in defense if necessary.

ISSUE

Whether the lower court erred in finding petitioner to be a stateless person and not a Russian citizen and in not finding that he failed to establish that in his country Filipinos are permitted to acquire Russian citizenship.

RULING

The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the lower court, granting the petition for naturalization. The Court, citing the precedent in Kremes Kookooritchken vs. Republic of the Philippines, overruled the Solicitor General’s contention. The Court held that the petitioner, like Kremes Kookooritchken, is a White Russian refugee who has permanently abandoned his birthplace, adopted the Philippines as his home, and identified with its people. His alien certificate of registration described him as a stateless Russian. His uncontradicted testimony and the historical context of stateless refugees fleeing dictatorships supported his claim of being stateless. The Court found that petitioner presented an even stronger case than Kookooritchken by demonstrating loyalty to the Philippines through his wartime guerrilla activities and integration into Filipino society. Thus, he was entitled to Philippine citizenship.