Filipino citizenship is never lost

THIS talk of Filipino citizenship of Eugenio “Gabby” Lopez III, former chair and chief executive of ABS-CBN which is being used against him and the network in the current closure by the Duterte administration, brings me back to my high school days studying what was then the new 1973 Philippine Constitution in social studies and civics class.

In the discussion on Filipino citizenship we learned that our constitution follows the principle of Jus Sanguinis – meaning natural-born citizens of a country are determined by “blood”, or simply the citizenship of the parents. More specifically, in the case of Filipinos, those whose fathers OR mothers are Filipino citizens. In our high school study this existed in both the 1935 and 1973 constitutions, and in the post EDSA revolt’s 1987 constitution the provision on Filipino citizenship remains the same.

This, in contrast to the principle of Jus Solis which uses the place of birth as determinant for natural-born citizenship. This is the case for the constitution of the United States of America where those born there are automatically US citizens.

I recall quite a number of friends and relatives finding themselves a citizen of both the Philippines and the US because their Filipino parents (either through legal or extra-legal – even illegal? – means) found themselves in the US at the time of their birth.

Many of them who started travelling at an early age found themselves granted both Philippine and US passports by virtue of their birth certificate. There was no dual citizenship recognition in either country yet, but the rule was when they reach the age of majority – 18 years old – they were supposed to elect one citizenship and lose the other entirely. But it wasn’t as if the act of electing citizenship or choosing between the two is monitored and publicly enforced automatically. Most just keep silent about it and conveniently use both passports silently.

Of course, there are times when a public act of electing your citizenship has to be done. One example of which was when actor Edu Manzano, in his Makati City candidacy, publicly tore his US passport to emphasize he had chosen Filipino citizenship and was therefore qualified to run. However, I don’t know if he actually did anything else to elect his citizenship like a legally administered oath before immigration authorities or a judge.

Nowadays having both Philippine and US passports is no longer an issue with the Dual Citizenship Law. In the Senate Public Services Committee hearing on the ABS-CBN franchise last February 2020, the issue of Gabby Lopez’s citizenship was brought up. The question was if Lopez was an American citizen in the 18 years he partly owned and managed the station, it would have been illegal under the 1987 Constitution’s ban on foreign media ownership.

ABS-CBN’s position in the hearing was that Lopez is a natural-born Filipino citizen by virtue of both his parents were Filipino citizens when he was born in 1952.

Senator Franklin Drilon, principal author of the Dual Citizenship law, had this to say: “we wrote the Dual Citizenship Act, and the purpose was to revert to Filipino citizenship all those who lost their Filipino citizenship by virtue of a 1932 law. And, therefore, in effect, you are reverting to your Filipino citizenship from birth once you reacquire Filipino citizenship.”

Drilon added that the application of the Dual Citizenship law is retroactive. “Yes, retroactive,” Drilon said in response to query by committee chair Sen. Grace Poe. “The purpose of the law is to repeal a previous law which caused the loss of Philippine citizenship when you acquire foreign citizenship. We repealed that law. So in effect, you never are presumed to have lost your citizenship under that public act of the 1930s. That’s our purpose and that was the intention of the law.”

The law allowed many Filipinos who elected or acquired US citizenship and lost all their rights as Filipino citizens to reacquire their Filipinos citizenship and rights. On simple and practical terms, while many Filipino US citizens used to come visit under a 20-day limit on their US passports, they now come home as Filipinos with Philippine passports with no stay limits.

Of course, they still have to stay silent on this matter, for while the Philippines now recognizes both citizenships and passports, the US still does not. As far as that country is concerned, they only have their US citizenship and not dual.

Apparently, with the purpose of the Dual Citizenship law and its retroactive nature repealing the 1932 law which stripped one of Filipino citizenship after electing another, all acts that any natural-born Filipino had done to lose their citizenship are erased and citizenship status is confirmed.

So, as simplistic as it may seem, it does not change the fact that Gabby Lopez is a natural born citizen, as he was when he was born to Filipino citizen parents in 1952 under the 1935 constitution, and that is upheld by the Dual Citizenship Law, Republic Act No. 9225 of August 29, 2003, entitled “AN ACT MAKING THE CITIZENSHIP OF PHILIPPINE CITIZENS WHO ACQUIRE FOREIGN CITIZENSHIP PERMANENT.

AMENDING FOR THE PURPOSE COMMONWEALTH ACT. NO. 63, AS AMENDED AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.”