Philippine Naturalization Law of 1920

Disqualifications for naturalization

Section 2 disqualifies persons who cannot be organized government or affiliated with any association or group of persons who uphold and teach doctrines opposing all organized government.
Section 2 disqualifies persons defending or teaching the necessity of propriety of violence, personal assault, or assassination for the success and predominance of their ideas.
Section 2 disqualifies polygamists or believers in the practice of polygamy.
Section 2 disqualifies persons convicted of crimes involving moral turpitude.
Section 2 disqualifies persons suffering from mental alienation or incurable contagious diseases.
Section 2 disqualifies citizens or subjects of nations with whom the United States and the Philippines are at war during the period of such war.

Core qualifications and age

Section 3 requires petitioners under Section 1(a) to be not less than twenty-one years of age on the day of the hearing of their petition.
Section 3 requires petitioners under Section 1(b) and Section 1(c) to be not less than twenty-one years of age on the day of the hearing of their petition and to meet four additional qualifications.
Section 3 requires continuous residence in the Philippine Islands for not less than five years, subject to Section 4 reductions.
Section 3 requires petitioners to have conducted themselves in a proper and irreproachable manner during the entire residence period, in relations with the constituted government and the community.
Section 3 requires holding in the Philippine Islands real estate worth not less than one thousand pesos (Philippine currency), or having some known trade or profession.
Section 3 requires the ability to speak and write English, Spanish, or some native tongue.
Section 3 requires foreign subjects to declare in writing and under oath an intention of renouncing absolutely and perpetually all faith and allegiance to the foreign authority, state, or sovereignty of which they were native citizens or subjects.

Special reductions of residence

Section 4 reduces the five years of continuous residence to two years for petitioners who have any of the enumerated special qualifications.
Section 4 applies reduction if the petitioner has honorably held office under the Government of the Philippine Islands or under any province, municipality, or political subdivision.
Section 4 applies reduction if the petitioner has established a new industry or introduced a useful invention in the Philippines.
Section 4 applies reduction if the petitioner is a railroad contractor, constructor, or director in any part of the Philippines.
Section 4 applies reduction if the petitioner is married to a Filipino woman.
Section 4 applies reduction if the petitioner has been engaged as a teacher in the Philippines in any branches of education or industry for a period of not less than two years.

Filing the petition and supporting proof

Section 5 allows any person desiring Philippine citizenship to file a petition with the competent Court.
Section 5 requires the petition to state: the petitioner’s name and surname; present and former places of residence; occupation; place and date of birth; whether single or married.
Section 5 requires additional information if married, including: name, age, birthplace, and residence of the wife and each child; and if not a native of the Philippines, the approximate date of arrival, the port of debarkation, and (if remembered) the ship name.
Section 5 requires the petition to include a declaration that the petitioner has the qualifications required by the Act and is not disqualified for naturalization under its provisions, and (if the petitioner is a native of the Philippines and has been naturalized in a foreign country) the date of return to the Philippines.
Section 5 requires the petition to be supported by the affidavit of at least two persons who are citizens of the Philippines, personally know the petitioner as a resident, and attest to the petitioner’s good repute and moral irreproachability and that in their opinion the petitioner has the qualifications necessary for citizenship.
Section 5 requires the petition to set forth the names and post-office addresses of witnesses the petitioner desires to introduce at the hearing.

Jurisdiction, court process, and publication

Section 6 gives the Court of First Instance of the province or district where the petitioner resides exclusive original jurisdiction to hear naturalization petitions.
Section 6 gives the Supreme Court of the Philippine Islands appellate jurisdiction for naturalization petition cases.
Section 7 requires the clerk to publish the petition immediately upon filing at the petitioner’s expense, once a week for three consecutive weeks, in the Official Gazette.
Section 7 requires the clerk to post copies of the petition and a general notice of hearing in a public and conspicuous place in the clerk’s office or in the building where it is located, including specified details such as the petitioner’s name, birthplace, residence, date and place of arrival, witness names the petitioner proposes, and the final hearing date.
Section 7 requires the final hearing to be held after sixty days from the date of the last publication in the Official Gazette.
Section 7 requires the clerk, as soon as possible, to forward copies of the petition, the sentence, the naturalization certificate, and other pertinent data to the Department of the Interior.
Section 7 exempts persons under Section 1(a) from the Official Gazette notice/publication requirement and from the period within which the petition must be heard.

Hearing requirements and government participation

Section 8 provides that no petition (except petitions of persons under Section 1(a)) shall be heard within the thirty days preceding any election.
Section 8 requires that the hearing be public.
Section 8 requires the Attorney-General, either personally or through a delegate or the provincial fiscal concerned, to appear on behalf of the Government of the Philippine Islands in all proceedings and at the hearing.
Section 8 requires the Court to order the issuance of the proper naturalization certificate if, after the hearing and on the evidence taken, the petitioner has all qualifications required by the Act and has complied with all requisites established.

Appeals and certificate issuance

Section 9 allows the final sentence to be carried to the Supreme Court for revision at the request of either party, using the procedure in Section 143 and following sections of the Code of Civil Procedure.
Section 10 provides that after thirty days from notice of the Court’s decision, the clerk issues the naturalization certificate if no appeal has been filed.
Section 10 provides that if there is an appeal, the certificate is issued after the Supreme Court confirms the decision.
Section 10 requires the naturalization certificate to state: the file number of the petition; the number of the naturalization certificate; the signature of the person naturalized affixed in the presence of the clerk; the personal circumstances of the person naturalized; the date the petition was filed; the date of the decision granting the petition; and the name of the judge who rendered the decision.
Section 10 requires the petitioner to take an oath in open court before issuance of the naturalization certificate.
Section 10 prescribes the oath to renounce all faith and allegiance to the prince/authority/state/sovereignty of which the petitioner is a subject; to recognize and accept the supreme authority of the United States of America in the Philippine Islands; to obey the laws of the Philippine Islands and lawful orders of duly constituted authorities; to faithfully defend the Government of the Philippine Islands; and to undertake the obligation voluntarily without mental reservation or purpose of evasion.

Court records and fees

Section 11 requires the clerk to keep two books: one recording petitions in chronological order and noting all proceedings from filing to final issuance of the certificate.
Section 11 requires the second book to record naturalization certificates, with each page having a duplicate duly attested by the clerk and delivered to the petitioner.
Section 12 requires the clerk of the Court of First Instance to charge sixteen pesos as fees for recording the petition and for proceedings, including issuance of the certificate.
Section 12 requires the clerk of the Supreme Court to collect twenty-four pesos for each appeal and for services rendered in connection with it.

Death of petitioner; widow and minor children

Section 13 provides that if a petitioner dies before final decision, the widow and minor children may continue the proceedings.
Section 13 provides that the decision rendered produces the same legal effect for the widow and minor children as if rendered during the petitioner’s lifetime.

Cancellation of naturalization certificate

Section 14 allows the Attorney-General or his representative, or the proper provincial fiscal, to file a motion in proper proceedings to cancel a naturalization certificate.
Section 14 authorizes cancellation if the certificate was obtained fraudulently.
Section 14 authorizes cancellation if, within the five years following issuance, the person naturalized returns to the native country or another foreign country and establishes permanent residence there.
Section 14 provides that remaining more than one year in the native country or former nationality, or two years in any other foreign country, is considered prima facie evidence of intention to take up permanent residence in the same.
Section 14 authorizes cancellation if the person naturalized is convicted of any violation of this Act under Section 15.
Section 14 requires the clerk to forward a certified copy of the decree canceling the naturalization certificate to the Department of the Interior.

Criminal penalties and prescription

Section 15 punishes any person who fraudulently makes, falsifies, forges, changes, alters, or aids another in doing so, or purposely aids and assists in falsely making, forging, falsifying, changing, or altering a naturalization certificate for the purpose of use by another or by another persons.
Section 15 punishes any person who purposely aids and assists another in obtaining a naturalization certificate in violation of the Act.
Section 15 sets punishment at a fine of not more than five thousand pesos or imprisonment for not more than five years, or both.
Section 16 provides that prosecution, charging, or punishment for an offense implying a violation of the Act requires that the information or complaint be filed within five years after commission of the offense.

Regulations, blanks, and effectivity

Section 17 requires the Secretary of Justice to issue necessary regulations for proper enforcement of the Act.
Section 17 requires the Attorney-General to prepare and furnish naturalization certificate blanks and other blanks required to carry out the Act, subject to approval of the Secretary of Justice.
Section 18 provides that the Act takes effect on its approval.
The Act was approved March 26, 1920.