Becoming Filipino again

Every day between 4:00 and 4:30 p.m. a distinct air of anticipation fills the ground floor lobby of the Philippine Consulate General in New York. Eager kababayans sit, wait and look forward to what perhaps translates to a defining moment in their life: regaining their Filipino citizenship.

The reason for doing so may be varied: retiring in our country, starting a business, investing in property, wanting to exercise one’s right of suffrage or to simply have a Philippine passport again and enjoy its benefits, which otherwise has been overlooked, if not for the pandemic.

That Covid disrupted our lives yet allowed us to reflect on what matters most in our life is a truism to the Filipino diaspora. When flights resumed, only Philippine passport holders were allowed to enter our country and dual citizens greatly benefited from it. Since then, our NY consulate and perhaps our consulates and embassies around the world saw a surge in applications for dual citizenship.

As our consul general here in New York Senen Mangalile puts it, “There are a lot of misconceptions (about dual citizenship), some people think it’s a liability.” He said that Republic Act 9225, otherwise known as the Citizenship Retention and Reacquisition Act of 2003 or the Dual Citizenship Law, is an “enabling legislation spearheaded by Fil-Ams and recognized by both the Philippines and the US.” He therefore enjoins those who are still tentative in their decision that “this is specially for you, come and take it.”

Most Fil-Ams initially hesitated to reacquire their Filipino citizenship for worry of double taxation. ConGen Mangalile stresses, “We have a treaty with the US on the avoidance of double taxation,” therefore there is nothing to worry about. It is along this note that the NY-PCG, led by ConGen Mangalile, is steadfast in its efforts to create awareness or assist Filipinos in 10 other states under their jurisdiction, who are applying for dual citizenship. The onset of online transactions now streamlines the application process available at the NY-PCG website. A dedicated team at the NY-PCG takes charge of the administrative procedures. The oath taking, led by Consul Paolo Marco Mapula, takes place everyday. The key is for applicants to have all documents accomplished.

Having dual passports could have helped an elderly US citizen relative in her predicament when she was about to leave the Philippines post-pandemic. She overstayed for a few days, past the one-year limit for balikbayans. Her companions thought they could pay the fine for overstaying at the airport. Instead they were told to offload their luggage and work on the necessary clearance at the Bureau of Immigration. While they had complied with the requirements and were able to eventually fly out, I imagine how the repercussions were in terms of logistics, rebooking fees and the inconvenience it must have caused them. On one hand, if our aunt was a dual passport holder at her time of travel back home, she could have enjoyed an unli-stay in the Philippines – one of the benefits of being a dual citizen. We Filipinos have penchant for things unli after all.

In a customary pep talk he delivers before leading the oath taking, Consul Paolo states “this is not only your right, but also an expression of the care of both the Philippine and US governments.”

In his motivational and cheerful conversation that afternoon with 15 or so applicants, a mixed group of young, middle-aged and seniors, Consul Paolo asked if they are excited to go home. Hailing what he calls “pagpapadala ng pagmamahal,” he reminded them that Filipinos in the US brought the biggest remittance, roughly 10 percent of overall remittances, thus making them one of the key drivers of our economy. For those who are going home to the Philippines for good, Consul Paolo encouraged them to invest and become micro business owners.

Dual citizenship is for the old and young. Regardless of one’s age, Consul Paolo reminded the group that their decision to become Filipinos again is “a way to show your appreciation to our country of birth.” Since some are going to practice their profession in our homeland, he urged them to bring back and apply the best practices they learned from the US.

In inspiring Taglish, Consul Paolo spoke of what I think is the embodiment of what the aspirants will fully enjoy upon retaining/reacquiring their Philippine citizenship: “You are the better version of the Philippine society. Pinili nyo maging Pilipino ulit, gawin itong mas makahulugan, maging kalahok at katuwang sa ating economic, cultural and social programs.”

He also underscored what I believe to be one of the most important patriotic duties that even my family and I continue to perform regardless of where we are assigned – the right to vote. “I implore you to vote,” Consul Paolo said, reminding everyone that as dual citizens they can vote for 12 senators and one party-list representative come 2025. On that note and after a pitch from our tourism representative to visit our country, Consul Paolo led the applicants in the oath of allegiance, which he recited by heart, as the applicants read from a folder containing their documents.

I am an itinerant Filipino so my heart goes to kababayans who frequently yearn for home. The oath taking for dual citizens meaningfully ends with the Lupang Hinirang. As I joined the new Filipinos in singing that afternoon, some were teary-eyed and so was I.

In my conversation with ConGen Mangalile, I mentioned how touching that part of the program is and he agreed. In fact sometime last year, he requested the Philippine Madrigal Singers, who happened to be in the consulate, to lead in the singing of our national anthem. Having watched several of the Madrigals’ performances, I imagined “Bayang magiliw, Perlas ng Silanganan…” soulfully reverberating in the hall, while our kababayans sang along, beaming with hope and pride for becoming Filipinos again.