Case Digest (G.R. No. L-11931)
Facts:
Ching Leng alias Ching Ban Lee and So Buan Ty v. Hon. Emilio L. Galang, G.R. No. L-11931. October 22, 1958, the Supreme Court En Banc, Concepcion, J., writing for the Court.The petitioners are Ching Leng (alias Ching Ban Lee) and his wife So Buan Ty; the respondent is Hon. Emilio L. Galang, Commissioner of Immigration. In May 1950, the Court of First Instance of Rizal granted petitioner Ching Leng’s petition for naturalization (judgment dated May 2, 1950). Thereafter the same petitioners filed Special Proc. No. 1216 for the adoption of five minors — Ching Tiong Seng, Ching Liong Ding, Victoria Ching Liong Yam, Sydney Ching and Ching Tiong An — who were admittedly the illegitimate children of Ching Leng and one Sy An. The CFI adjudged the adoption proper and, by decision dated September 12, 1950, declared the minors free from legal obligations toward their mother and, for all legal intents, the children of the adopters with the legal rights and obligations provided by law.
On September 29, 1955, petitioner Ching Leng took the oath of allegiance and was issued a certificate of naturalization. Believing that his adopted children thereby became Filipino citizens, Ching Leng requested the Commissioner of Immigration to cancel the minors’ alien certificates of registration. The Commissioner refused, relying on Department of Justice Opinion No. 269 (Oct. 9, 1954), which held that adoption does not change the nationality of the adopted.
The petitioners then filed an action in the Court of First Instance of Rizal seeking a writ of mandamus to compel the Commissioner to cancel the minors’ alien certificates and remove them from the list of aliens. The CFI denied relief, ruling that the adopted children did not acquire Philippine citizenship by reason of the adopter’s natu...(Pro-only)
Issues:
- Whether the five adopted minors became Philippine citizens by virtue of the naturalization of their adopting father under Section 15 of Commonwealth Act No. 473 (the Revised Naturalization Law)?
- Whether adoption under Article 341 of the Civil Code effects a change in the nationality of the adopted, particularly where the adoptees were illegitimate childr...(Pro-only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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