CONFLICT OF LAWS
STATUS
“the place of an individual in society, and consists of
personal quantities and relationships, more or less
permanent, with which the state and the community
is concerned” (Paras)
examples:
 civil status of a person: single, married,
widowed or divorced)
 paternity and filiation: legitimate or
illegitimate or adopted)
 minor or have reached the age of majority
CAPACITY vs STATUS
-a mere part of status and defined as the sum total
of his rights and obligations (Graveson)
KINDS OF CAPACITY:
1. Capacity to act -power to do acts with legal
effects
2. Juridical Capacity- fitness to be the subject
of legal mediation
Characteristics of Status: (CUPIT)
a. Conferred principally by the state
b. generally have a Universal character.
(countries generally recognize the
status of one person all over the
world regardless of what state
conferred it)
c. matter of Public or social Interest
(e.g., marriage is conferred by
the state)
d. cannot be easily Terminated by mere
will or desire of the parties concerned.
(e.g., marriage requires the parties
to file a petition for annulment if
parties no longer want to be
married to each other)
PERSONAL LAW
-the law that attaches to the individual wherever he
may go which generally governs his status, capacity
and family relations and the consequences of his
actuations.
THEORIES OF PERSONAL LAW (theories that should
govern his status and capacity)
 nationality law
 domiciliary law
 law of situs.
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Domicile vs Residence
-domicile denotes a fixed, permanent residence to
which, when absent, one has the intention of
returning while residence applies to a temporary
stay of a person in a given place.
Romualdez vs RTC Br. 7 Tacloban City
(226 SCRA 408, 1993)
"Domicile" denotes a fixed permanent
residence to which when absent for business or
pleasure, or for like reasons, one intends to
return.
(amimus revertendi)
“Residence” imports not only an intention to
reside in a fixed place but also personal
presence in that place, coupled with conduct
indicative of such intention."
DOMICILIARY LAW
- the proper determinative law on status and
capacity
Situs Theory (“eclectic theory”)
-the particular place or situs of an event or
transaction is generally the controlling law.
Nationality theory prevails in our country.
- The status and capacity of an individual is
generally governed by his nationality
Article 15. Laws relating to family rights and duties,
or to the status, condition and legal capacity of
persons are binding upon citizens of the Philippines,
even though living abroad.
Nationality vs Citizenship
- “National” includes not only citizens but all
those owing allegiance to a particular state
- Nationality and citizenship are generally
synonymous terms in the study of conflict
of laws
THEORIES ON NATIONALITY
1. Jus Soli- law of the place of one’s birth determines
one’s nationality.
2. Jus Sanguinis- one follows the citizenship of his
parents; this is citizenship by blood.
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STATELESSNESS
Statelessness due to: (Four factors how a person
may become stateless)
1. Deprivation of his citizenship for any cause
such as commission of a crime;
2. Renunciation of one’s nationality by certain
acts, express or implied;
3. Voluntary release from his original state;
4. He may have been born in a country which
recognizes only the principle of jus sanguinis
-- or citizenship by blood, of parents whose
law recognizes only the principle of jus soli -
- citizenship by birth in a certain place. Thus
he is neither a citizen of the country of his
parents.
CITIZENS OF THE PHILIPPINES
(Art. IV of the 1987 Philippine Constitution)
The following are citizens of the Philippines –
a. Those who are citizens of the
Philippines at the time of the
adoption of the Constitution;
b. Those whose fathers OR mothers are
citizens of the Philippines;
c. Those born before January 17, 1973
of Filipino mothers, who elect
Philippine citizenship upon reaching
the age of majority
d. Those who are naturalized in
accordance with law
NATURALIZATION
JUDICIAL PROCESS (CA 473, Sec. 2)
QUALIFICATIONS
a. Petitioner must not be less than 21 years of age a. The applicant must be born in the Philippines and residing
on the date of the hearing of the petition. therein since birth.
b. He must have, as a rule, resided in the
Philippines for a continues period of not less than
10 years.
c. He must be of good moral character, and
believes in the principles underlying the Philippine
Constitution, and must have conducted himself in
a proper and irreproachable manner during the
entire period of his residence in the Philippines in
relation with the constituted government as well
as with the community in which he is living.
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-process of acquiring the citizenship of another
country
Attributes of Naturalization:
1. Citizenship is not a right, it is a privilege. The
burden is on the applicant to show clearly
that he has complied with every condition
that the law imposes.
2. The requisite conditions for naturalization are
laid out by congress; courts can change and
modify them
3. There is strict compliance with the
requirements of the process of naturalization
4. Only foreigners may be naturalized.
5. Naturalization may be revoked by the state
6. Naturalization demands allegiance to our
constitution, law and government
7. It is a proceeding in rem.
MODES OF NATURALIZATION:
(Acquisition or reacquisition)
1. Judicial Process -Commonwealth Act No.
473, as amended by RA 530
-process for acquiring Filipino citizenship for
naturalization
2. Legislative Process- the congress enacts a
law conferring the citizenship
3. Administrative Process- governed by RA
9139 or Administrative Naturalization Law
of 2000
Judicial Process
Qualifications and Disqualifications under CA. 473
(PART OF EXAM!)
ADMINISTRATIVE PROCESS (RA 9139, Sec.3)
b. The applicant must not be less than 18 years of age at the
time of the filing of his/her petition.
c. The applicant must be of good moral character and believe
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
 CONFLICT OF LAWS

d. He must own real estate in the Philippines worth
not less than P5,000.00; or must have some
lucrative trade, profession, or occupation.
e. He must be able to speak and write English,
Spanish and any one of the principle Philippine
languages; and
f. He must have enrolled his minor children of
school age in any of the public or private schools
recognized by the Bureau of Private Schools where
Philippine history, government, and civics are
taught or prescribed as part of the school
curriculum during the entire period of the
residence required of him, prior to the hearing of
his petition for naturalization.
secondary education in any public school or private
education 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 sufficient 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 disqualified to do so by reason of
citizenship.

f. The applicant must also be able to read, write, and speak

Filipino or any of their dialects of the Philippines.

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.
DISCUALIFICATIONS
a. Persons opposed to organized governments or a. those opposed to organized government or affiliated with
affiliated with, any association or group of persons any association or group of persons who uphold and teach
who uphold and teach doctrines opposing all doctrines opposing all organized governments.
organized governments;
b. Those defending or teaching the necessity of or propriety
b. Persons defending or teaching the propriety of violence, personal assault or assassination for the success
of violence, personal assault or assassination for or predominance of their ideas;
the success and predominance of their ideas;
c. polygamists or believers in the practice of polygamy.
c. Polygamists or believers in the practice of
polygamy; d. Those convicted of crimes involving moral turpitude.

d. Persons convicted of a crime involving moral e. Those suffering from mental alienation or incurable
turpitude; contagious disease;

e. Persons suffering from mental alienation or
incurable contagious disease;
f. Persons who, during the period of their
residence in the Philippines, have not mingled
socially with the 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 of nations with whom the
Philippines is at war.
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 (of nations) 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.

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 CONFLICT OF LAWS
h. Citizens or subjects of a foreign country
(other than the US) whose laws do not grant
Filipinos the right to become naturalized citizens or
subjects thereof.
Where to file the petition for administrative
naturalization?
-OFFICE OF THE SOLICITOR GENERAL
REPUBLIC vs. CO KENG, GR L-19829, 1966
Co Keng’s petition for naturalization was revoked
on the grounds: (1) Co Keng, in his petition, did
not indicate that he had two known residence
(Sec. 7 & 8 of the Revised Naturalization law
requires the applicant to state all his present and
former places of residence) and as a result, only
one place was cited in the publication which
made his petition for naturalization non-
compliant with Sec. 7 of the Commonwealth Act
473; (2) Co Keng also underdeclared his income
from 1948 to 1957 which became a conclusive
evidence of dishonesty making him devoid of
good moral character required by Sec 2(3) of the
Revised Naturalization Law.
GO vs. REPUBLIC
Naturalization is not a right, but one of privilege
of the most discriminating, as well as delicate and
exacting nature, affecting, as it does, public
interest of the highest order, and which may be
enjoyed only under the precise conditions
prescribed by law therefor.
Go’s petition for naturalization was revoked on
the grounds: (1) Go failed to prove the credibility
of his character witnesses since they merely
averred general statements without specifying
acts or events that would exhibit Go’s traits and
even when the background checks were being
done, Go’s members of the household as well as
Go, himself, did not cooperate for an interview by
the BOI agents; and (2) Go failed to state his
former residence in the application. One of his
character witness revealed that he & Go were
neighbors prior to the latter’s transfer to their
declared residential address and thus, the former
residence was excluded in the allegations of his
published petitions.
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COMMONWEALTH 473 “Revised Naturalization
Law”
DECLARATION OF INTENTION:
1 year prior to the filing of his petition for admission
to Philippine citizenship, applicant must file with the
Bureau of Justice, a declaration under oath of its
intention to become a citizen of the Philippines.
Contents:
- Name, age, occupation, personal
description, place of birth, last foreign
residence and allegiance, the date of arrival,
the name of the vessel or aircraft, if any, in
which he came to the Philippines, and the
pace of residence at the time of the making
of the declaration.
For the declaration to be valid, the lawful entry for
permanent residence must be established and a
certificate showing the date, place, and manner of
his arrival must be issued.
Other contents of the declaration:
- If applicant has children, that they are
enrolled in any of the public schools or
private schools recognized by the Office of
Private Education of the Philippines, where
Philippine history, government, and civics
are taught or prescribed as part of the
school curriculum, during the entire period
of the residence in the Philippines required
of him prior to the hearing of his petition
for naturalization
- 2 photographs of himself
PERSONS EXEMPT FROM THE REQUIREMENT TO
MAKE A DECLARATION (SEC. 6)
- Persons born in the Philippines and have
received their primary and secondary
education in public schools or those
recognized by the Government and not
limited to any race or nationality,
- those who have resided continuously in the
Philippines for a period of 30 years or more
before filing their application.
- Widow and minor children of an alien who
has declared his intention to become a
 CONFLICT OF LAWS

citizen in the Philippines and dies before he 1. Declaration of Intention filed with the
is actually naturalized. Office of the Solicitor General
NOTE: Must be done one year prior to the
WHERE TO FILE: RTC of the province in which the filing of petition for admission to Philippine
petitioner has resided at least one year immediately Citizenship
preceding the filing of the petition 2. Petition for Citizenship
NOTE: Appeal to CA under Rule 45, question of 3. Notification and Appearance
law NOTE: Publication of such petition in the
Official Gazette and in one of the
EFFECTS OF NATURALIZATION newspapers of general circulation in the
ON THE WIFE province where the petitioner resides
Vests citizenship on the wife who might herself be once a week for 3 consecutive weeks
lawfully naturalized; She need not prove her 4. Hearing of the Petition
qualifications but only that she is not disqualified. 5. Issuance of the Certificate of Naturalization
(Moy Ya Lim Yao v. Comm. of Immigration, G.R. No. L- NOTE: The petitioner shall also take an
21289, Oct. 4, 1971) oath before the naturalization certificate
ON THE MINOR CHILDREN is issued.
Born in 6. Record Books
the Born in Abroad 7. Charging of Fees
Philippines
Automati- Before the After parent’s Procedure under RA 9139
cally naturalization of the naturalization 1. Petition for Citizenship
becomes father 2. Special Committee on Naturalization
a citizen 3. Approval or Disapproval of the Petition
If residing If not Considered 4. Decree of Naturalization
in the residing Filipino, 5. Charging of Fees
Phil. At in the provided
the time Phil. At registered as REPUBLIC vs. MANALO, GR 221029, APRIL 24,
of the time such before 2018
naturaliza of any Phil.
tion naturaliza consulate Paragraph 2 of Article 26 confers jurisdiction on
tion within 1 year Philippine courts to extend the effect of a foreign
after attaining divorce decree to a Filipino spouse without
majority age undergoing trial to determine the validity of the
and takes oath dissolution of the marriage. It authorizes our
of allegiance. courts to adopt the effects of a foreign divorce
Automati GEN: decree precisely because the Philippines does not
cally Considere allow divorce. Philippine courts cannot try the
becomes d citizen case on the merits because it is tantamount to try
a citizen. only a divorce case. Under the principles of comity, our
during jurisdiction recognizes a valid divorce obtained by
minority a spouse of foreign nationality, but the legal
XPN: He effects thereof, e.g., on custody, care and support
begins to of the children or property relations of the
reside spouses, must still be determined by our courts.
permanen
tly in the Paragraph 2 of Article 26 speaks of a “divorce
Phil. validly obtained abroad by the alien spouse
capacitating him or her to remarry”. Based on a
clear and plain reading of the provision, it only
Procedure for naturalization under CA 473 requires that there be a divorce validly obtained
abroad. The letter of the law does not demand
that the alien spouse should be the one who

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 CONFLICT OF LAWS

initiated the proceeding wherein the divorce

decree was granted. It does not distinguish
whether the Filipino spouse is the petitioner or
the respondent in the foreign divorce proceeding.

To reiterate, the purpose of Paragraph 2 of Article

26 is to avoid the absurd situation where the
Filipino spouse remains married to the alien
spouse who, after a foreign divorce decree that is
effective in the country where it was rendered, is
no longer married to the Filipino spouse. The
provision is a corrective measure to address the
anomaly where the Filipino spouse is tied to the
marriage while the foreign spouse is free to marry
under the laws of his or her country. Whether the
Filipino spouse initiated the foreign divorce
proceeding or not, a favorable decree dissolving
the marriage bond and capacitating his or her
alien spouse to remarry will have the same result:
the Filipino spouse will effectively be without a
husband or a wife. A Filipino who initiated a
foreign divorce proceeding is in the same place
and in like circumstance as a Filipino who is at the
receiving end of an alien initiated proceeding.
Therefore, the subject provision should not make
a distinction. In both instance, it is extended as a
means to recognize the residual effect of the
foreign divorce decree on Filipinos whose marital
ties to their alien spouses are severed by
operation of the latter’s national law.

NOTE: in the case of Republic vs Manalo, to invoke

the nationality principle is erroneous since Article 15
of the Civil Code is not an absolute and unbending
rule. The mere existence of Paragraph 2 of Article 26
is a testament that the Senate may provide for an
exception thereto. Moreover, blind adherence to the
nationality principle must be disallowed if it would
cause unjust discrimination and oppression to
certain classes of individuals whose rights are
equally protected by law. The courts have the duty
to enforce the laws of divorce as written by the
Legislature only if they are constitutional.

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