Title
Go Julian vs. Government of the Philippine Islands
Case
G.R. No. 20809
Decision Date
Oct 22, 1923
Go Julian, born in the Philippines to Chinese parents, sought naturalization under Act No. 2927; the Supreme Court upheld his latent right to Philippine citizenship via jus soli.
naturalization
citizen
court decision

Case Summary (G.R. No. 20809)

Factual Background

The record showed that Go Julian was born in Iloilo to a Chinese father and mother, named Gotianting and Chansi, respectively. From birth, he resided in Iloilo, except for two trips to China. The first trip lasted nine years for studies, and the second lasted one year for a sojourn. At the time material to the petition, he was married to a Chinese woman and had a child, both living in Iloilo.

He was not alleged to be under any disqualification under section 2 of Act No. 2927. He admitted that he was a citizen or subject of the Chinese Republic. The record further disclosed that he held a certificate of residence dated October 1, 1903, issued under the provisions of the Act of Congress of April 29, 1902 (as reflected in Exhibit B). The decision emphasized that it did not appear in the record that his parents, who were of Chinese nationality, were considered Spanish subjects prior to the ratification of the Treaty of Paris on August 11, 1899.

The Court also proceeded on assumptions drawn from the facts found to have been proven: that, because Go Julian had been born in the Philippines, he had at least a latent right to Philippine citizenship; and that, during his minority, his father chose the nationality of his country in applying for the 1903 certificate of residence, after which Go Julian, upon attaining the age of majority, chose the nationality of his father.

Opposition and Trial Court Ruling

The Attorney-General opposed Go Julian’s petition on two grounds. First, reliance was placed on subsection (c) of section 1 of Act No. 2927, arguing that a Chinese subject could not avail himself of the law’s benefits because Philippine citizenship could be acquired only by “citizens of the United States, or foreigners who under the laws of the United States may become citizens of said country if residing therein.” Second, it was argued that, under United States law, the petitioner could not be naturalized as a United States citizen even if he resided therein.

The trial court sustained the opposition and denied the petition in a judgment dated March 6, 1923. On appeal, Go Julian challenged the trial court’s finding that denied his request for naturalization.

Applicable Citizenship Regime After Cession

The Court framed the issue against the background of citizenship laws effective in the Philippines following the cession of sovereignty from Spain to the United States. It observed that the controlling provisions after the cession were those contained in the Treaty of Paris and in the Act of Congress of August 29, 1916. It traced how earlier rules on Spanish citizenship, discussed in prior jurisprudence including Roa vs. Collector of Customs (23 Phil., 315), had ceased to operate as political laws of the former sovereign by virtue of the well-known principle that upon cession, political laws pertaining to the prerogatives of the former government cease immediately upon the transfer of sovereignty.

Section 2 of the Act of Congress of August 29, 1916 provided that inhabitants of the Philippine Islands who were Spanish subjects on April 11, 1899, and who then resided in the Islands, together with their children born subsequent thereto, were deemed Philippine citizens, subject to exceptions for those who elected to preserve allegiance to Spain under the treaty and those who had since become citizens of some other country. The same section also authorized Philippine legislation to provide for the acquisition of Philippine citizenship by natives not within those provisions, and by other residents in the Philippines who were citizens of the United States or who could become such under United States law if residing therein.

Under that legislative authority, the Philippine Legislature enacted Act No. 2927 on March 26, 1920.

Statutory Framework Under Act No. 2927

The Court quoted section 1 of Act No. 2927, which enumerated who may become Philippine citizens: (a) natives of the Philippines who were not citizens thereof under the Jones Law; (b) natives of the other Insular possessions of the United States; and (c) citizens of the United States or foreigners who under the laws of the United States may become citizens of said country if residing therein.

It then focused attention on the meaning of “natives” in the naturalization statute. The key interpretive question was whether Go Julian, despite his Chinese nationality, was a native of the Philippines within the meaning of the statute and thus qualified to recover Philippine citizenship through naturalization under the law’s section 1. The trial court had effectively rejected such recovery.

The Court’s Reliance on United States v. Wong Kim Ark and Philippine Applications

The Court considered the Supreme Court of the United States’ doctrine in United States vs. Wong Kim Ark (169 U.S., 649) as decisive. It reproduced the core holding: the Fourteenth Amendment affirms citizenship by birth within the territory, including children born of resident aliens, subject only to enumerated exceptions (children of foreign sovereigns or their ministers, children born on foreign public ships, or children of enemies during hostile occupation, and the additional exception related to Indian tribes owing direct allegiance). The Court emphasized the principle of jus soli, where birth within the jurisdiction under allegiance and protection leads to citizenship.

The Court further relied on Roa vs. Collector of Customs (23 Phil., 315), which had applied Wong Kim Ark in Philippine adjudication. In Roa, the Court had stated that if the appellant had been born in the United States and sought to reenter under the same circumstances, he would be entitled to land as a citizen because citizenship generally depends on place of birth, with recognized exceptions. Roa also discussed the natural and inherent right of expatriation, holding that determining whether expatriation occurred required examining facts and circumstances; until a voluntary act denationalizing a person is shown, the assumption remains that one continues the citizenship acquired by birth.

The Philippine Court, in the present case, treated these principles as controlling for the petition’s resolution. It proceeded on the premise that, as in the Wong Kim Ark framework, the fact of birth in the Philippines created a latent right to Philippine citizenship that could not be negated solely by a later choice of nationality under the circumstances described, especially when the petitioner sought recourse under the Philippine naturalization law rather than reasserting birthright citizenship directly.

Issue Framed: Whether the Petitioner Was a “Native” and Could Recover Citizenship

The Court posed the central issues in sequence. First, it asked whether Go Julian was a native of the Philippine Islands within the meaning of “natives” used in the Act of Congress of August 29, 1916 and in Act No. 2927. Second, it asked whether, assuming the petitioner was a native but fell outside the specific provisions of section 2 of the Act of Congress of August 29, 1916 because he had chosen the nationality of his father, he could nonetheless recover Philippine citizenship under section 1 of Act No. 2927.

On the first question, the Court adopted an authoritative definition from Chancellor Kent’s Commentaries, as quoted in the record of Roa: natives are all persons born within the jurisdiction and allegiance of the United States, consistent with the common-law rule, except for children of ambassadors. Applying that understanding, the Court held that Go Julian, being born in the Philippines, was a native of the Philippine Islands for statutory purposes.

On the second question, the Court turned to the legal effect of the petitioner’s conduct and choices. It noted that Act No. 2927 had a qualification fo

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