GOVPH (/)
Republic Act No. 9139
Signed on June 8, 2001 (https://www.o cialgazette.gov.ph/2001/06/08/republic-no-9139/)
Republic of the Philippines
Congress of the Philippines
Metro Manila
Eleventh Congress
Third Regular Session
Begun and held in Metro Manila, on Monday, the twenty-fourth day of July, two
thousand.
[REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9139]
AN ACT PROVIDING FOR THE ACQUISITION OF PHILIPPINE CITIZENSHIP FOR
CERTAIN ALIENS BY ADMINISTRATIVE NATURALIZATION AND FOR OTHER
PURPOSES
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in
Congress assembled:
SECTION. 1. Short Title. — This Act shall be known as “The Administrative
Naturalization Law of 2000.”
SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. — The State shall control and regulate the admission
and integration of aliens into its territory and body politic including the grant of
citizenship to aliens. Towards this end, aliens born and residing in the Philippines
may be granted Philippine citizenship by administrative proceedings subject to
certain requirements dictated by national security and interest.
SEC. 3. Quali cations. — Subject to the provisions of the succeeding section, any
person desiring to avail of the bene ts of this Act must meet the following
quali cations:
(a) The applicant must be born in the Philippines and residing therein since birth;
(b) The applicant must not be less than eighteen (18) years of age, at the time of
ling of his/her petition;
(c) The applicant must be of good moral character and believes in the underlying
principles of the Constitution, and must have conducted himself/herself in a proper
and irreproachable manner during his/her entire period of residence in the
Philippines in his relation with the duly constituted government as well as with the
community in which he/she is living;
(d) The applicant must have received his/her primary and secondary education in
any public school or private educational institution duly recognized by the
Department of Education, Culture and Sports, where Philippine history, government
and civics are taught and prescribed as part of the school curriculum and where
enrollment is not limited to any race or nationality: Provided, That should he/she
have minor children of school age, he/she must have enrolled them in similar
schools;
(e) The applicant must have a known trade, business, profession or lawful
occupation, from which he/she derives income su cient for his/her support and if
he/she is married and/or has dependents, also that of his/her family: Provided,
however, That this shall not apply to applicants who are college degree holders but
are unable to practice their profession because they are disquali ed to do so by
reason of their citizenship;
(f) The applicant must be able to read, write and speak Filipino or any of the dialects
of the Philippines; and
(g) The applicant must have mingled with the Filipinos and evinced a sincere desire
to learn and embrace the customs, traditions and ideals of the Filipino people.
SEC. 4. Disquali cations. — The following are not quali ed to be naturalized as
Filipino citizens under this Act:
(a) Those opposed to organized government or a liated with any association or
group of persons who uphold and teach doctrines opposing all organized
governments;
(b) Those defending or teaching the necessity of or propriety of violence, personal
assault or assassination for the success or predominance of their ideas;
(c) Polygamists or believers in the practice of polygamy;
(d) Those convicted of crimes involving moral turpitude;
(e) Those suffering from mental alienation or incurable contagious diseases;
(f) Those who, during the period of their residence in the Philippines, have not
mingled socially with Filipinos, or who have not evinced a sincere desire to learn and
embrace the customs, traditions and ideals of the Filipinos;
(g) Citizens or subjects with whom the Philippines is at war, during the period of
such war; and
(h) Citizens or subjects of a foreign country whose laws do not grant Filipinos the
right to be naturalized citizens or subjects thereof.
SEC. 5. Petition for Citizenship. — (1) Any person desiring to acquire Philippine
citizenship under this Act shall le with the Special Committee on Naturalization
created under Section 6 hereof, a petition of ve (5) copies legibly typed and signed,
thumbmarked and veri ed by him/her, with the latter’s passport-sized photograph
attached to each copy of the petition, and setting forth the following:
(a) The petitioner’s name and surname, and any other name he/she has used or by
which he/she is known;
(b) The petitioner’s present and former places of residence;
(c) The petitioner’s place and date of birth, the names and citizenship of his/her
parents and their residences;
(d) The petitioner’s trade, business, profession or occupation, and if married, also
that of his/her spouse;
(e) Whether the petitioner is single or married or his/her marriage is annulled. If
married, petitioner shall state the date and place of his/her marriage, and the name,
date of birth, birthplace, citizenship and residence of his/her spouse; and if his
marriage is annulled, the date of decree of annulment of marriage and the court
which granted the same;
(f) If the petitioner has children, the name, date and birthplace and residences of
his/her children;
(g) A declaration that the petitioner possesses all the quali cations and none of the
disquali cations under this Act;
(h) A declaration that the petitioner shall never be a public charge; and
(i) A declaration that it is the petitioner’s true and honest intention to acquire
Philippine citizenship and to renounce absolutely and forever any prince, potentate,
State or sovereign, and particularly the country of which the applicant is a citizen or
subject.
(2) The application shall be accompanied by:
(a) Duplicate original or certi ed photocopies of petitioner’s birth certi cate;
(b) Duplicate original or certi ed photocopies of petitioner’s alien certi cate of
registration and native born certi cate of residence;
(c) Duplicate original or certi ed photocopies of petitioner’s marriage certi cate, if
married, or the death certi cate of his spouse, if widowed, or the court decree
annulling his marriage, if such was the fact;
(d) Duplicate original or certi ed photocopies of birth certi cates, alien certi cate of
registration or native born certi cate of residence if any, of petitioner’s minor
children, wherever applicable;
(e) A davit of nancial capacity by the petitioner, and sworn statements on the
good moral character of the petitioner by at least two (2) Filipino citizens of good
reputation in his/her place of residence stating that they have personally known the
petitioner for at least a period of ten (10) years and that said petitioner has in their
own opinion all the quali cations necessary to become a citizen of the Philippines
and is not in any way disquali ed under the provisions of this Act;
(f) A medical certi cate that petitioner is not a user of prohibited drugs or otherwise
a drug dependent and that he/she is not a icted with acquired immune de ciency
syndrome (AIDS);
(g) School diploma and transcript of records of the petitioner in the schools he
attended in the Philippines. Should the petitioner have minor children, a certi cation
that his children are enrolled in a school where Philippine history, government and
civics are taught and are part of the curriculum; and
(h) If gainfully employed, the income tax return for the past three (3) years.
SEC. 6. Special Committee on Naturalization — There shall be constituted a Special
Committee on Naturalization herein referred to as the “Committee”, with the
Solicitor General as chairman, the Secretary of Foreign Affairs, or his representative,
and the National Security Adviser, as members, with the power to approve, deny or
reject applications for naturalization as provided in this Act.
The Committee shall meet, as often as practicable, to consider applications for
naturalization. For this purpose, the chairman and members shall receive an
honorarium of Two thousand pesos (₱2,000.00) and One thousand ve hundred
pesos (₱1,500.00), respectively, per meeting attended.
SEC. 7. Powers/Functions of the Special Committee on Naturalization. — An alien
who believes that he has all the quali cations, and none of the disquali cations,
may le an application for naturalization with the secretariat of the Special
Committee on Naturalization, and a processing fee of Forty thousand pesos
(₱40,000.00). Thereafter, the petition shall be stamped to indicate the date of ling
and a corresponding docket number. Within fteen (15) days from the receipt of the
petition, the Committee shall determine whether the petition is complete in
substance and in form. If such petition is complete, the Committee shall
immediately publish pertinent portions of the petition indicating the name,
quali cations and other personal circumstances of the applicant, once a week for
three (3) consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation, and have copies
of the petition posted in any public or conspicuous area. The Committee shall
immediately furnish the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), the Bureau of
Immigration (BI), the civil registrar of the petitioner’s place of residence and the
National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) copies of the petition and its supporting
documents. These agencies shall have copies of the petition posted in any public or
conspicuous area in their buildings, o ces and premises, and shall, within thirty
(30) days from the receipt of the petition, submit to the Committee a report stating
whether or not petitioner has any derogatory record on le or any such relevant and
material information which might be adverse to petitioner’s application for
citizenship.
If the petition is found by the Committee to be wanting in substance and form, the
petition shall be dismissed without prejudice.
SEC. 8. Approval or Disapproval of the Petition. — Within sixty (60) days from receipt
of the report of the agencies which were furnished a copy of the petition or the date
of the last publication of the petition, whichever comes in later, the Committee shall
consider and review all relevant and material information it has received pertaining
to the petition, and may, for the purpose call the petitioner for interview to ascertain
his/her identity, the authenticity of the petition and its annexes, and to determine the
truthfulness of the statements and declarations made in the petition and its
annexes.
If the Committee shall have received any information adverse to the petition, the
Committee shall allow the petitioner to answer, explain or refute the information.
Thereafter, if the Committee believes, in view of the facts before it, that the
petitioner has all the quali cations and none of the disquali cations required for
Philippine citizenship under this Act, it shall approve the petition and henceforth,
notify the petitioner of the fact of such approval. Otherwise, the Committee shall
disapprove the same.
SEC. 9. Decree of Naturalization and Naturalization Processing Fee. — Within thirty
(30) days from the receipt of the notice of the approval of his/her petition, the
applicant shall pay to the Committee a naturalization fee of One hundred thousand
pesos (₱100,000.00) payable as follows: Fifty thousand pesos (₱50,000.00) upon
the approval of the petition and Fifty thousand pesos (₱50,000.00) upon the taking
of the oath of allegiance to the Republic of the Philippines, forthwith, a certi cate of
naturalization shall be issued. Within sixty (60) days from the issuance of the
certi cate, the petitioner shall take an oath of allegiance in the proper forum upon
proof of payment of the required naturalization processing fee and certi cate of
naturalization. Should the applicant fail to take the abovementioned oath of
allegiance within said period of time, the approval of the petition shall be deemed
abandoned.
SEC. 10. Duty of the Bureau of Immigration. — Within ve (5) days after the applicant
has taken his oath of allegiance as required in the preceding section, the BI shall
forward a copy of the petitioner’s oath to the proper local civil registrar. Thereafter,
the BI shall cancel the alien certi cates of registration of the applicant.
SEC. 11. Status of Alien Wife and Minor Children. — After the approval of the petition
for administrative naturalization and cancellation of applicant’s alien certi cate of
registration, applicant’s alien lawful wife and minor children may le a petition for
cancellation of their alien certi cates of registration with the Committee subject to
the payment of the ling fee of Twenty thousand pesos (₱20,000.00) and
naturalization fee of Forty thousand pesos (₱40,000.00) payable as follows: Twenty
thousand pesos (₱20,000.00) upon the approval of the petition and Twenty
thousand pesos (₱20,000.00) upon the taking of the oath of allegiance to the
Republic of the Philippines.
SEC. 12. Status of Alien Husband and Minor Children. — If the applicant is a married
woman, the approval of her petition for administrative naturalization will not bene t
her alien husband but her minor children may le a petition for cancellation of their
alien certi cates of registration with the BI subject to the requirements of existing
laws.
SEC. 13. Cancellation of the Certi cate of Naturalization. — The Special Committee
may cancel certi cates of naturalization issued under this Act in the following
cases:
(a) If it nds that the naturalized person or his duly authorized representative made
any false statement or misrepresentation or committed any violation of law, rules
and regulations in connection with the petition for naturalization, or if he otherwise
obtains Philippine citizenship fraudulently or illegally, the certi cate of naturalization
shall be cancelled;
(b) If the naturalized person or his wife, or any of his minor children who acquire
Filipino citizenship by virtue of his naturalization shall, within ve (5) years next
following the grant of Philippine citizenship, establish permanent residence in a
foreign country, that individual’s certi cate of naturalization or acquired citizenship
shall be cancelled or revoked: Provided, That the fact of such person’s remaining for
more than one (1) year in his country of origin, or two (2) years in any foreign
country, shall be considered prima facie evidence of intent to permanently reside
therein;
(c) If the naturalized person or his wife or child with acquired citizenship allows
himself or herself to be used as a dummy in violation of any constitutional or legal
provision requiring Philippine citizenship as a condition for the exercise, use or
enjoyment of a right, franchise or privilege, the certi cate of naturalization or
acquired citizenship shall be cancelled or revoked; and
(d) If the naturalized person or his wife or child with acquired citizenship commits
any act inimical to national security, the certi cate of naturalization or acquired
citizenship shall be cancelled or revoked.
In case the naturalized person holds any hereditary title, or belong to any order of
nobility, he shall make an express renunciation of his title or membership in this
order of nobility before the Special Committee or its duly authorized representative,
and such renunciation shall be included in the records of his application for
citizenship.
SEC. 14. Penalties. — Any person who shall fraudulently make, falsify, forge, change,
alter, or cause or aid any person to do the same, or who shall purposely aid and
assist in falsely making, forging, falsifying, changing or altering a naturalization
certi cate issued under this proceeding for the purpose of making use thereof, or in
order that the same may be used by another person or persons, and any person who
shall purposely aid and assist another in obtaining a naturalization certi cate in
violation of this Act, shall be punished by a ne of not more than Five hundred
thousand pesos (₱500,000.00) and by imprisonment for not more than ve (5)
years, and in the case that the person convicted is a naturalized citizen, his
certi cate of naturalization shall, if not earlier cancelled by the Special Committee,
be ordered cancelled.
SEC. 15. Any person who failed to register his/her birth with the concerned city or
municipal civil registrar may, within two (2) years from the effectivity of this Act, le
a petition for the acquisition of the Philippine citizenship: Provided, That the
applicant possesses all the quali cations and none of the disquali cations under
this Act and subject to the requirements of existing laws.
SEC. 16. Special Disposition of the Filing Fee. — An amount equivalent to twenty- ve
percent (25%) of the ling fee to be paid by the applicants pursuant to Section 7
hereof shall accrue to the University of the Philippines Law Center and another
twenty- ve percent (25%) shall be allotted for the publication of the Journal of the
House of Representatives. Said amount shall be treated as receipts automatically
appropriated.
SEC. 17. Implementing Rules and Regulations. — The Special Committee on
Naturalization is hereby authorized to promulgate such rules and regulations as may
be needed for the proper implementation of the provisions of this Act.
SEC. 18. Repealing Clause. — All provisions of existing laws, orders, decrees, rules
and regulations contrary to or inconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed or
modi ed accordingly.
SEC. 19. Separability Clause. — If any part, section or provision of this Act is
declared invalid or unconstitutional, the part, section or provision not affected
thereby shall continue to be in force and effect.
SEC. 20. Effectivity Clause. — This Act shall take effect after fteen (15) days
following its publication in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation.
Approved:
(Sgd.) AQUILINO Q. PIMENTEL JR. (Sgd.) FELICIANO BELMONTE JR.
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
of Representatives
This Act which originated in the House of Representatives was nally passed by the
House of Representatives and the Senate on February 5, 2001 and June 5, 2001,
respectively.
(Sgd.) LUTGARDO B. BARBO (Sgd.) ROBERTO P. NAZARENO
Secretary of the Senate Secretary General
House of Representatives
Approved: JUN 08 2001
(Sgd.) GLORIA MACAPAGAL-ARROYO
President of the Philippines
Source: CDAsia (http://www.cdasia.com/)
RESOURCES
[PDF] Republic Act No. 9139, June 8, 2001
(http://www.o cialgazette.gov.ph/downloads/2001/06jun/20010608-RA-
9139-GMA.pdf)
This entry was posted under Executive Issuances
(https://www.o cialgazette.gov.ph/section/laws/executive-issuances/), Laws and Issuances
(https://www.o cialgazette.gov.ph/section/laws/), Legislature
(https://www.o cialgazette.gov.ph/section/legis/), Republic Acts
(https://www.o cialgazette.gov.ph/section/laws/republic-acts/) and tagged Executive Issuances
(https://www.o cialgazette.gov.ph/tag/executiveissuances/), Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
(https://www.o cialgazette.gov.ph/tag/gloria-macapagal-arroyo/), Republic Acts
(https://www.o cialgazette.gov.ph/tag/republic-acts/). Bookmark the permalink
(https://www.o cialgazette.gov.ph/2001/06/08/republic-no-9139/).
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES
All content is in the public domain unless otherwise stated.
Feedback Form (https://www.o cialgazette.gov.ph/feedback-form/)
ABOUT GOVPH
Learn more about the Philippine government, its structure, how government works and the people behind it.
GOV.PH (https://www.gov.ph/)
O cial Gazette (https://www.o cialgazette.gov.ph/)
Open Data Portal (https://data.gov.ph/)
GOVERNMENT LINKS
The President (http://president.gov.ph/)
O ce of the President (http://op-proper.gov.ph/)
O ce of the Vice President (https://ovp.gov.ph/)
Senate of the Philippines (http://senate.gov.ph/)
House of Representatives (http://www.congress.gov.ph/)
Supreme Court (http://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/)
Court of Appeals (http://ca.judiciary.gov.ph/)
Sandiganbayan (http://sb.judiciary.gov.ph/)
