Case Digest (G.R. No. L-26196)
Case Digest (G.R. No. L-26196)
Facts:
Gan Y. Guan v. Republic of the Philippines, G.R. No. L-26196. July 31, 1970, the Supreme Court En Banc, Reyes, J.B.L., J., writing for the Court.Petitioner Gan Y. Guan (also Yguan Gan or Yguan G. Gan) filed a petition for naturalization in the Court of First Instance of Nueva Ecija (Nat. Case No. 53). In his petition he alleged he was a Chinese citizen born in Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija on December 5, 1936, had continuously resided in Cabanatuan except during the Japanese occupation when he lived in Manila, worked as one of three partners operating a grocery store and as its assistant manager and purchasing agent with an approximate annual gross income of P5,000, was single with no issue, spoke and wrote English and the national language, owned real and personal property worth not less than P25,000, held a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Mapua Institute of Technology, had attended the Philippine Statesman College where Philippine history and government were taught, professed belief in constitutional principles, and had no criminal convictions or disqualifying disease.
Petitioner did not file a declaration of intention but claimed exemption therefrom on the ground of having been born in the Philippines and having received education in schools he asserted were attended by Filipinos. The petition was supported by the joint affidavit of two character witnesses. After hearing, the Court of First Instance rendered judgment on January 27, 1966 granting the petition, finding petitioner possessed the qualifications and lacked disqualifications for Philippine citizenship.
The Solicitor General, representing the Republic of the Philippines, prosecuted an appeal to the Supreme Court on a single ground: a jurisdictional defect because petitioner failed to file the statutory declaration of intention. The matter reached the Supreme Court as an appeal from the trial court's grant of naturalization. The Supreme Court heard the case and issued the decision now under review.
Issues:
- May petitioner claim exemption from filing a declaration of intention under the Revised Naturalization Act by virtue of being born in the Philippines and having received his primary and secondary education in schools claimed to be attended by Filipinos?
- Is the omission of a former place of residence (Manila during the Japanese occupation) from the published petition fatal to the naturalization petition?
Ruling:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Ratio:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Doctrine:
- (Subscriber-Only)