Case Digest (G.R. No. L-29194)
Facts:
Henry Sy Chuang v. Republic of the Philippines, G.R. No. L-29194, August 30, 1971, the Supreme Court En Banc, Fernando, J., writing for the Court.Petitioner Henry Sy Chuang filed a petition for naturalization in the Court of First Instance of Negros Oriental on November 2, 1963. He did not file a declaration of intention; instead he claimed exemption from that requirement on the ground that he was born in the Philippines and had completed his primary and secondary education in government-recognized schools — the Dumaguete Chinese School (elementary, completed 1952) and Iloilo Sun Yat Sen High School (secondary, completed 1956).
At the hearing the only evidence offered to prove government recognition of those schools was petitioner’s own testimony. The trial court granted the petition for naturalization in a decision dated September 30, 1964, and on April 29, 1967 ordered that petitioner be allowed to take the oath of allegiance; a naturalization certificate followed. The Solicitor General, receiving notice on May 15, 1967, filed a motion for reconsideration on the ground that the petition was jurisdictionally defective for failure to file the declaration of intention and that the claimed exemption was not established; the trial court denied the motion.
The Republic, through the Solicitor General (brief filed by Felix V. Makasiar), appealed to the Supreme Court. The Republic argued, relying on documentary evidence in official lists of government-recognized private schools, that the Dumaguete school received government recognition only in 1959 and Sun Yat Sen only in 1957 — dates after petitioner completed his studies — and thus petitioner failed to prove the statutory exemption under Section 6 of Commonwealth Act No. 473. Counsel for petition...(Pro-only)
Issues:
- Was petitioner exempt from filing a declaration of intention under Section 6 of Commonwealth Act No. 473 by reason of birth in the Philippines plus primary and secondary education in public or government-recognized schools not limited to any race or nationality?
- If petitioner was not exempt, did his failure to file a declaration of intention constitute a jurisdictional defect that vitiated the naturalization...(Pro-only)
Ruling:
- (Pro-only)
Ratio:
- (Pro-only)
Doctrine:
- (Pro-only)