Case Digest (G.R. No. L-11499)
Facts:
In re: Petition for Cancellation of Certificate of Naturalization, G.R. No. L-11499. April 29, 1961, the Supreme Court En Banc, Dizon, J., writing for the Court. The Republic of the Philippines, through the Solicitor General, petitioned to cancel Certificate of Naturalization No. 4 issued to Go Bon Lee (hereafter Go).
Go was granted Philippine citizenship by the Court of First Instance of Cebu on November 26, 1941; he took his oath of allegiance on February 11, 1942 and was thereafter issued Certificate No. 4. On August 15, 1951 the Solicitor General filed a petition in the Court of First Instance of Cebu seeking cancellation of that certificate on several grounds: (1) the certificate was illegally obtained because Go lacked the necessary qualifications for citizenship at the time of grant; (2) at the time of his naturalization Go had not enrolled all his minor children of school age in any public or private school recognized by the Office of Private Education; (3) he had not resided continuously in the Philippines for ten years; and (4) his petition for naturalization, filed April 18, 1941, violated Section 5 of the Revised Naturalization Law because it was filed less than one year after his sworn declaration of intention (filed May 23, 1940).
The Court of First Instance of Cebu denied the Government’s petition for cancellation, reasoning that Go had substantially complied with the one-year requirement because the hearing on his petition occurred more than one year after the declaration of intention, and fur...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Is the Government barred by res judicata or estoppel from petitioning to cancel a certificate of naturalization previously granted?
- Did Go’s filing of his petition for naturalization on April 18, 1941 violate Section 5 of the Revised Naturalization Law (the one-year rule), thereby rendering the naturalization illegally obtained?
- Does the failure to enroll minor children of school age in a recognized Philippine school constitute a ground for cancell...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Ratio:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Doctrine:
- (Subscriber-Only)