Dual citizenship law may breed frustration

CLARIFICATION NEEDED: Senate President Franklin Drilon announced yesterday with understandable pride that President Arroyo would sign into law not later than Friday the new dual citizenship bill.

Drilon, sponsor of Senate Bill 2130 that dominated in the merger with House Bill 4720 on the subject, better clarify the effects of the impending law before it breeds frustration and bitterness among overseas Filipinos dreaming of dual citizenship.

The law would revise the 67-year old (Commonwealth Act 63) on Philippine citizenship, which provides that natural-born Filipinos who become naturalized citizens of another country automatically lose their Philippine citizenship.

The new law would allow Filipinos naturalized in other countries to retain or regain their native citizenship. But that reversion may not be problem-free for some of them despite the liberal intention of the dual citizenship bill.

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TWO-WAY DEAL: Drilon said that under the upcoming law, former Filipinos applying to regain their lost citizenship must take an oath of allegiance to the Republic before reassuming their citizenship.

"This measure would allow natural born citizens of the Philippines, upon subscribing to an oath of allegiance to the Republic, to retain or re-acquire their Philippine citizenship concurrently with another citizenship," Drilon was quoted as saying in his press release.

The problem here lies no in the Philippine law, but in corresponding citizenship laws of countries hosting Filipino immigrants. It could happen, on a case to case basis, that some countries may not look kindly on dual citizenship.

It’s a two-way deal. It is not enough that Philippine laws allow dual or multiple citizenship.Other countries hosting the prospective dual citizen must also be amenable to it.

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ULTERIOR MOTIVE?: How will this apparent ulterior motive of some immigrants jibe, for instance, with that concluding part of their US oath of allegiance that they embrace American citizenship without mental reservation?

Drilon pushed even deeper overseas Pinoys by saying that they adopt foreign citizenship just "to be able to have a decent and comfortable life for them and their family which the Philippines cannot as yet guarantee and provide to all."

This might be true in many cases, but is it prudent to say it publicly?

The new law, he said, would restore Philippine citizenship to former natural-born Filipinos "who have embraced foreign citizenship out of necessity, mostly due to legal requirements of host countries."

How will the other country harboring Filipino immigrants react to this hidden mercenary streak exposed by the Senate president?

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OTHER PERSPECTIVES: For better perspective, we extracted our archives (Postscript, 03Nov02) this summary sent by former Ambassador Rodolfo Arizala of how some countries regard dual or multiple citizenship:

1. United Kingdom – The British Nationality Act allows a citizen to re-apply for British citizenship if his/her act of renouncing British citizenship was necessary for the retention or acquisition of some other citizenship or nationality.

2. Italy – It allows Italians who possess, acquire or regain a foreign citizenship to retain their citizenship.

3. South Africa – It allows specifically other nationals to acquire South African citizenship without renouncing their original citizenship.

4. Ireland – Irish citizenship law provides in Article 24: "No person shall be deemed ever to have lost Irish citizenship . . . merely by operation of the law of another country whereby citizenship of that country is conferred on that person without any voluntary act on his part."

5. Mexico – The Mexican Nationality Law was adopted in 1998 making it possible for Mexicans to regain their nationality even if they had acquired another citizenship or nationality.

6. Spain – Filipinos with legal residence in Spain may become Spanish citizens after two years of residence without having to renounce their Filipino citizenship.

7. Portugal – The law makes it optional whether a Portuguese acquiring other citizenship shall renounce his/her Portuguese citizenship.

8. Canada – It allows its citizens to become members of the armed forces of other country without losing their Canadian citizenship. It is only when there is an armed conflict between Canada and that foreign country that Canada strips the citizenship of such Canadians rendering military service in the foreign country.

9. New Zealand – It allows its citizens who have acquired another citizenship the option to renounce their original citizenship through a formal declaration of renunciation. In other words, loss of original citizenship is not automatic.

10. Chile – It recognizes "dual citizenship" by providing in paragraph 1, Article II, Chapter 11 of its 1980 political constitution that Chilean citizenship is lost by naturalization in a foreign country.

" . . . except in the case of Chileans covered by clauses 1, 2, and 3 of the prece-ding Article, who should have obtained another nationality without surrendering their Chilean citizenship in accordance with the provisions set forth in clause 4 of the same Article.

"The aforementioned grounds for loss of Chilean nationality shall not apply to Chileans who, by virtue of constitutional, legal or administrative provisions of the State in the territory in which they should reside, may adopt the foreign nationality whenever it should be a condition for remaining in that country or for juridical equality with nationals of the respective country in the exercise of civil rights."

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LOSING CITIZENSHIP: Naturalization in another country is one of the seven ways listed under CA 63 (enacted in 1936) for a Filipino to lose citizenship. The other ways are:

1. By express renunciation of citizenship.

2. By subscribing to an oath of allegiance to support the Constitution or the laws of a foreign country upon attaining 18 years or age or older.

3. By rendering service to or accepting a commission in the armed forces of a foreign power.

4. By cancellation of his certificate of naturalization.

5. By having been declared by competent authority a deserter of the Philippine armed forces in time of war, unless subsequently a plenary pardon or amnesty is granted him.

6. In case of a woman, upon her marriage to a foreigner if, by virtue of the laws in force in her husband’s country, she acquires his nationality. (In this last case, many of us might ask: Why single out the women?)

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ePOSTSCRIPT: You can read Postscript in advance simply by going to our personal website www.manilamail.com. While at our ManilaMail.com site, you can also peruse back columns and review past discussions on specific subjects. E-mail can be sent to us at [email protected].