REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES reject applications for naturalization as
SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON provided in R. A. No. 9139, hereinafter
NATURALIZATION
Makati City, Metro Manila
RULES AND REGULATIONS
IMPLEMENTING REPUBLIC ACT NO.
9139, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE
ADMINISTRATIVE NATURALIZATION
LAW OF 2000
Section 1. Special Committee on
Naturalization. The Special
Committee on Naturalization, hereinafter
referred to as the Committee, shall be
composed of: (1) the Solicitor-General, as
Chairman; (2) the Secretary of Foreign
Affairs or his duly authorized
representative; and (3) the National
Security Adviser, as members. The
Committee shall have its principal office
at the Office of the Solicitor-General. The
Committee shall meet, as often as
practicable, to consider applications for
naturalization.
Section 2. Secretariat of the
Committee; Functions. Immediately
upon the effectivity of these
Implementing Rules and Regulations, the
Committee shall meet in order to
establish a Secretariat which shall have
the following functions:
(a) to receive all papers filed
with the Committee and
cause the publication of those
matters required by law;
(b) to receive all fees paid by
applicants;
(c) to record all the
proceedings of the
Committee;
(d) to keep and maintain all
the books necessary for the
recording of such papers and
documents;
(e) to notify applicants of the
progress of their applications
and such other developments
as may arise in the course of
the evaluation; and
(f) to perform such other
functions as may be required
by the Committee.
Section 3. Power to Approve, Deny
or Reject Applications; Unanimous
Vote Required. The Committee shall
have the power to approve, deny or
referred to as the Act. To approve
petitions for naturalization, the vote of all
three (3) members shall be required. In
meeting to consider petitions for
naturalization, however, the presence of
two (2) members shall constitute a
quorum. When only two (2) members
were present in the meeting, the
following are required in order to
consider the petition for naturalization
approved:
(1) the affirmative vote of the
two (2) members present
during the meeting; and
(2) the submission of the
written affirmative vote of the
absent member,
accompanied by his
certification that he has
considered and reviewed the
minutes of the meeting
wherein the pertinent petition
was considered, together with
all relevant and material
information. The written
affirmative vote and
certification shall be
submitted by the absent
member within fifteen (15)
days from receipt of the
minutes of the pertinent
meeting.
Section 4. Strict Construction.
These rules shall be strictly construed
against an
application for naturalization.
Section 5. Where Filed; Processing
Fee. Any person who has all of the
qualifications under Section 3 of the Act
and none of the disqualifications under
Section 4 thereof may file a petition for
naturalization with the Secretariat of the
Committee, upon the payment of the
processing fee of Forty thousand pesos
(P40,000.00). Thereafter, the petition
shall be stamped to indicate the date of
filing and a corresponding docket
number.
Section 6. Number of Copies of
Petition. The petition for naturalization
shall be filed in five (5) copies, signed,
thumbmarked on each and every page
and verified by the petitioner, legibly
typed, and with the latters passport size
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photograph (colored with white disqualifications under the
background) attached to each copy of Act;
the petition. (h) A declaration that
petitioner shall never be a
Section 7. Contents of Petition for public charge; and
Naturalization. The petition for (i) A declaration that it is the
naturalization shall set forth the petitioners true and honest
following: intention to acquire Philippine
citizenship and to renounce
(a) The petitioners name, absolutely and forever any
surname, middle name, prince, potentate, State or
nickname, and any other sovereign, and particularly
name he/she has used or by the country of which the
which he/she is known; petitioner is a subject.
(b) The petitioners present
and all former places of Section 8. Accompanying
residences, if any; Documents. The petition for
(c) The petitioners place and naturalization shall be accompanied by
date of birth, the complete the following documents attached to the
names and citizenship of petition as annexes thereof:
his/her parents, both natural
and adopting, if any, and a) The duplicate original or
their residences; certified photocopies of
(d) The petitioners trade, petitioners birth certificate;
business, profession or b) The duplicate original or
occupation, and if married, certified photocopies of
also that of his/her spouse, petitioners alien certificate of
and children, if any; registration and native-born
(e) The petitioners civil certificate of residence;
status, whether single, c) The duplicate original or
married, legally separated, or certified photocopies of
widowed. If married or petitioners marriage
widowed, petitioner shall certificate, if married, or the
state the date and place of death certificate of his/her
marriage, and the name, date spouse, if widowed, or the
of birth, birthplace, court decree annulling his/her
citizenship, and residence of marriage or granting legal
the spouse. If petitioner is separation, if such was the
legally separated or the fact;
marriage was annulled, the d) The duplicate original or
date of the decree of legal certified photocopies of birth
separation or annulment, and certificates, alien certificates
the court which granted the of registration or native-born
same. If petitioner is certificates of residence, if
widowed, the date and place any, of petitioners minor
of death of his/her spouse; children, if any;
(f) If petitioner has a e) Affidavit of financial
child/children, whether capacity by the petitioner,
legitimate, illegitimate, or duly supported by bank
adopted, the name/s, date/s certifications, passbooks,
of birth, birthplace/s, stock certificates, or proof of
residence/s, and school/s ownership of other
where such child/children properties;
received primary and f) Affidavits of at least two (2)
secondary education; credible witnesses who must
(g) A declaration specifying in be Filipino citizens of good
detail that petitioner reputation in petitioners
possesses all the place of residence, attesting
qualifications and none of the to the following: (a) the good
moral character of petitioner;

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(b) that they have personally
known petitioner for a period
of at least ten (10) years; and
(c) that in their opinion, the
petitioner has all the
qualifications and none of the
disqualifications to become a
citizen of the Philippines, and
not in any way disqualified
under the provisions of the
Act;
g) A medical certificate that
petitioner is not suffering
from mental alienation or a
user of prohibited drugs or
otherwise a drug dependent
and that he/she is not
afflicted with acquired
immune deficiency syndrome
(AIDS), or any incurable
contagious disease;
h) School diploma and
transcript of records of the
petitioner in the school/s he
or she attended in the
Philippines. Should the
petitioner have minor
children, a certification that
his or her children are
enrolled in private or public
school/s duly recognized by
the Department of Education,
Culture and Sports (DECS),
where Philippines history,
government and civics are
taught and prescribed as part
of the school curriculum, and
enrollment in said school/s is
not limited to any race or
nationality; and
i) If gainfully employed,
petitioners income tax
returns for the past three (3)
years.
Section 9. Determination of
Sufficiency of Petition.
Within fifteen (15) days from
receipt of the petition, the
Committee shall determine
whether the petition is
complete in form and in
substance. If the petition is
found to be wanting in form
and substance, particularly
with the requirement as to
the allegation of all of the
qualifications and none of the
same, upon the payment of
the processing fee.
Section 10. Mandatory Publication
and Posting Requirements. If the
petition is complete, the Committee shall
inform petitioner of such fact.
Thereafter, the Committee, upon receipt
from the petitioner of the amount
necessary to pay for the publication
expenses, shall immediately cause the
publication of pertinent portions of the
petition, indicating the name,
qualifications, and other personal
circumstances of the applicant, once a
week, for three (3) consecutive weeks in
a duly accredited newspaper of general
circulation, and have copies of the entire
petition posted in any public or
conspicuous area.
The Committee shall immediately
furnish the Department of Foreign Affairs
(DFA), the Bureau of Immigration (BI),
the civil registrar of the of the petitioners
place of residence, and the National
Bureau of Investigation (NBI) with
copies of the petition and its supporting
documents. These agencies shall have
the copies of the petition posted in any
public or conspicuous area in their
buildings, offices and premises, and shall,
within thirty (30) days from receipt of the
petition, submit to the Committee a
report stating the following:
(a) The Compliance with the
posting requirement under
the Act; and
(b) The presence or absence
of any derogatory record on
file or any such relevant and
material information which
might adversely affect
petitioners application for
citizenship.
Section 11. Review of Petition.
Within sixty (60) days from receipt of the
reports of the agencies which are
required to be furnished a copy of the
petition, or the date of the last
publication of the petition, whichever
comes later, the Committee shall
consider and review all relevant and
material information it has received
pertaining to the petition.
Section 12. Interview. The
Committee may call the petitioner and/or
his witnesses for an interview to
ascertain petitioners identity, the
authenticity of the petition and its
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annexes, and to determine the
truthfulness of the statements and
declarations made in the petition and its
annexes.
If the Committee shall have
received any information adverse to the
petition, the Committee shall advise
petitioner of said information and allow
the petitioner to answer, explain or refute
the information under oath in writing
within the period prescribed by the
Committee.
Section 13. Decision of the
Committee. After the review of the
petition or the conduct of the interview,
the Committee, based on the facts and
documents before it, shall approve or
disapprove the petition, and henceforth
notify the petitioner of its decision.
Section 14. Disapproval of Petition.
If the Committee disapproves the
petition, it shall set forth the factual
and/or legal bases for the disapproval,
and notify petitioner thereof.
Section 15. Approval of Petition;
Payment of Naturalization Fee.
Within thirty (30) days from receipt of
notice of approval of the petition, the
petitioner shall pay the Committee,
through its Secretariat, a naturalization
fee in the amount of One hundred
thousand pesos (P100,000.00), which
may be paid in full or as follows: Fifty
thousand pesos (P50,000.00) within the
aforesaid thirty-day period.
Within sixty (60) days from
approval of the petition and full payment
of the naturalization fee, the petitioner
shall take his or her oath of allegiance to
the Republic of the Philippines. After
petitioner takes his oath, the Committee
shall forthwith issue a Certificate of
Naturalization and the oath of allegiance.
The Committee shall immediately furnish
the BI with a copy of the petitioners oath
of allegiance. A copy of his oath will be
kept in the records of the Committee.
Should the applicant fail to take his
oath of allegiance within the time
provided herein, the approval of the
petition for naturalization shall be
deemed abandoned.
Section 16. Duty of the Secretariat.
Within five (5) days after the issuance of
the Certificate of Naturalization, the
Secretariat shall forward a copy of the
Certificate of Naturalization to the BI and
to the proper local civil registrar.
Section 17. Status of Alien Wife and
Minor Children. After the approval of
the petition for administrative
naturalization and cancellation of
petitioners alien certificate of
registration, petitioners alien lawful wife
and minor children may file a petition for
the cancellation of their alien certificates
of registration with the Committee
subject to the payment of the filing fee of
Twenty thousand pesos (P20,000.00) and
naturalization fee or Forty thousand
pesos (P40,000.00) for each individual
payable as follows: Twenty thousand
pesos (P20,000.00) upon taking the oath
of allegiance to the Republic of the
Philippines.
Section 18. Status of Alien Husband
and Minor Children. If the applicant is
a married woman, the approval of her
petition for administrative naturalization
will not benefit her alien husband but her
minor children may file a petition for
cancellation of their alien certificates of
registration with the BI subject to the
payment of the fees prescribed in Section
17 hereof.
Section 19. Revocation of the
Certificate of Naturalization. The
Committee may revoke or cancel the
Certificate of Naturalization issued under
the Act, motu proprio or upon complaint
by any person, after due notice and
summary hearing, in the following cases:
(a) If the Committee finds
that the naturalization person
or his duly authorized
representative made any
false statement or
misrepresentation or
committed any violation of
law, rules and regulations in
connection with the petition
for naturalization, or if he
otherwise obtains Philippine
citizenship fraudulently or
illegally;
(b) If the naturalized person
or his wife, or any of his
minor children who acquired
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 Philippine citizenship by
virtue of his naturalization
shall, within five (5) years
next following the grant of
Philippine citizenship,
establish permanent
residence in a foreign
country, that individuals
certificate of naturalization or
acquired Philippine
citizenship shall be revoked:
Provided, That the fact of
such persons remaining for
more than one (1) year in his
country of origin, or two (2)
years in any foreign country,
shall be considered prima
facie evidence of intent to
permanently reside herein;
(c) If the naturalized person
or his wife who acquired
citizenship allows himself or
herself to be used as a
dummy in violation of any
constitutional or legal
provision requiring Philippine
citizenship as a condition for
the exercise, use or
enjoyment of any right,
franchise or privilege; and
(d) If the naturalized person
or his wife or child who
acquired Philippine
citizenship commits any act
inimical to national security.
Section 20. Renunciation of
Hereditary Title or Membership in
any Order of Nobility. In case the
naturalized person holds any hereditary
title, or belongs to any order of nobility,
he shall make an express renunciation of
his title or membership in this order of
nobility before the Committee or its duly
authorized representative, and such
renunciation shall be included in the
records of his application for citizenship.
Section 21. Special Circumstances.
Any person who failed to register his/her
birth with the concerned city or municipal
civil registrar may, within two (2) years
from the effectivity of the Act, file a
petition for the acquisition of Philippine
citizenship, subject to the requirements
under the Act and these implementing
rules and regulations.
Section 22. Effectivity Clause. These
rules and regulations shall take effect
fifteen (15) days following its publication
in at least two (2) newspapers of general
circulation.
(Sgd.) TEOFISTO T. GUINGONA, JR.
Secretary of Foreign Affairs
(Sgd.) ROILO S. GOLEZ
National Security Adviser
(Sgd.) SIMEON V. MARCELO
Solicitor General
Interested parties may apply at the Office
of the Solicitor General, 134 Amorsolo
Street, Legaspi Village, Makati City, Metro
Manila, upon effectivity of the above
rules and regulations.