BENGSON VS.

CRUZ BLOCK C 2018 CONSTI I

GR NO. 142840. May 7, 2001


ISSUE FACTS RULING
Petitioner: Petitioner asserts that
respondent Cruz may no longer be
considered a natural-born Filipino since
he lost his Philippine citizenship when
he swore allegiance to the United States
in 1995, and had to reacquire the same
by repatriation. He insists that Article IV,
Section 2 of the Constitution expressly
states that natural-born citizens are
those who are citizens from birth
without having to perform any act to
acquire or perfect such citizenship.

Respondent: As distinguished from the
lengthy process of naturalization,
repatriation simply consists of the
taking of an oath of allegiance to the
Republic of the Philippines and
registering said oath in the Local Civil
Registry of the place where the person
concerned resides or last resided. It
results in the recovery/return of his
original status as a natural-born Filipino.

Issue: Whether respondent Cruz, a
natural-born Filipino who became an
American citizen, can still be considered
a natural-born Filipino upon his
reacquisition of Philippine citizenship.
Teodoro Cruz (respondent) was a
natural born citizen of the Philippines
under the 1935 Constitution. In
November 5, 1985, he enlisted in the US
Marine Corps, took an oath of allegiance
in the US, thereby losing his Filipino
Citizenship (for rendering service of
accepting commission in the armed
forces of another country). He was
naturalized as a US citizen but
reacquired his Filipino citizenship
through Repatriation (RA No. 2630). He
then ran for Congress in the Second
District of Pangasinan in the 1998
election, where he won by a convincing
margin against the petitioner, Antonio
Bengson III.

Petitioner filed a case for Quo Warranto
Ad Cautelam against the House of
Representatives Electoral Tribunal,
claiming that Cruz was not qualified to
be a representative because he is not a
natural-born citizen. HRET dismissed
his petition, denied his motion for
reconsideration and declared Cruz as
the duly elected representative of the
district.

Yes. Natural born citizens are those citizens of the
Philippines from birth without having to perform
any act to acquire or perfect his Philippine
citizenship. In the case of respondent Cruz,
although he lost his Filipino citizenship when he
rendered service in the Armed forces of the US,
through repatriation under RA No. 2630, he
reacquired his Philippine citizenship without
having to go through all the naturalization
proceedings. As such, he possesses all the necessary
qualifications to be elected a Representative.