G.R. No. 45375 - Commonwealth of the Philippines vs. Baldello

Gloria Baldello, a Filipino citizen, entered into a marriage on November 12, 1921.
Her husband, Gabino Ordorica, is a native of Mexico who, at the time of the marriage, was serving in the United States Army in the Philippines.

Gloria Baldello and Gabino Ordorica lived together until August 24, 1924, when he abandoned her.
On December 31, 1935, she initiated legal proceedings before the Court of First Instance of Manila.

The court declared Ordorica presumptively dead because his whereabouts were unknown for more than eleven years.
The declaration was made for purposes of law, establishing her marital situation and subsequent legal claims.

On June 29, 1936, Gloria filed a petition seeking a return to Filipino citizenship.
The petition was denied by the lower court before being elevated on appeal.
The petition raised significant questions regarding the implications of her marriage on her original Philippine citizenship.

Under Mexican law (paragraph 2, article 37 of the Constitution of Mexico), Ordorica forfeited his Mexican citizenship by serving in the United States Army.
He also failed to comply with the requirements for naturalization in the United States as prescribed by the Act of Congress of May 9, 1918 (40 U.S. Statutes at Large, p. 542).
Consequently, at the time of the marriage, Ordorica was neither a Mexican nor an American citizen, rendering him stateless under the Law of Nations.

The central question was whether a marriage to a stateless individual could affect the Filipino citizenship of Gloria Baldello.
The anomalous condition of Ordorica’s nationality was pivotal in assessing the impact of the marital relationship on her national status.

Whether a Filipino woman, by marrying a foreigner who is effectively stateless, loses her original Philippine citizenship.

Does the general rule that a married woman follows the nationality of her husband apply when the husband himself is stateless?
Is there an imposition of a new citizenship upon the wife by virtue of her marriage, or does her original citizenship remain unchanged?

How the rule indicated in Roa vs. Collector of Customs (23 Phil., 315, 324, 325) applies in the context of this case.
The role of Commonwealth Act No. 63, specifically paragraph 7, article 1, which safeguards the citizenship of a Filipino woman married to a foreigner whose laws do not allow her to acquire his nationality.

Whether the purpose of preventing statelessness in a Filipino woman married to an alien is achieved by maintaining her original citizenship regardless of her husband’s citizenship status.