Rosalind Ybasco Lopez ran for various elected positions in the Philippines. Her citizenship was challenged on the basis that she was born in Australia. The Supreme Court ruled that Lopez is a Filipino citizen based on the principle of jus sanguinis, which determines citizenship by parentage rather than place of birth. Lopez's father was Filipino, so she acquired Filipino citizenship at birth, regardless of being born in Australia. The Court also noted Lopez renounced any Australian citizenship, further solidifying her status as a Filipino citizen and her eligibility to run for office.
Rosalind Ybasco Lopez ran for various elected positions in the Philippines. Her citizenship was challenged on the basis that she was born in Australia. The Supreme Court ruled that Lopez is a Filipino citizen based on the principle of jus sanguinis, which determines citizenship by parentage rather than place of birth. Lopez's father was Filipino, so she acquired Filipino citizenship at birth, regardless of being born in Australia. The Court also noted Lopez renounced any Australian citizenship, further solidifying her status as a Filipino citizen and her eligibility to run for office.
Rosalind Ybasco Lopez ran for various elected positions in the Philippines. Her citizenship was challenged on the basis that she was born in Australia. The Supreme Court ruled that Lopez is a Filipino citizen based on the principle of jus sanguinis, which determines citizenship by parentage rather than place of birth. Lopez's father was Filipino, so she acquired Filipino citizenship at birth, regardless of being born in Australia. The Court also noted Lopez renounced any Australian citizenship, further solidifying her status as a Filipino citizen and her eligibility to run for office.
Rosalind Ybasco Lopez ran for various elected positions in the Philippines. Her citizenship was challenged on the basis that she was born in Australia. The Supreme Court ruled that Lopez is a Filipino citizen based on the principle of jus sanguinis, which determines citizenship by parentage rather than place of birth. Lopez's father was Filipino, so she acquired Filipino citizenship at birth, regardless of being born in Australia. The Court also noted Lopez renounced any Australian citizenship, further solidifying her status as a Filipino citizen and her eligibility to run for office.
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CIRILO R.
VALLES, Petitioner, v. COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS and
ROSALIND YBASCO LOPEZ, Respondents. G. R. No. 137000 August 9, 2000
FACTS OF THE CASE:
Rosalind Ybasco Lopez was born on May 16, 1934 in Australia to a Filipino mother and an Australian mother. At the age of fifteen, she left Australia and came to settle in the Philippines, where she later married a Filipino citizen named Leopoldo Lopez. Since then, she participated in the electoral process not only as voter but as a canndidate, as well. Private respondent ran for and was elected as a governor of Davao Oriental in 1992. Gil Taojo Jr., her opponent, opposed her election as a governor in a petition for a quo warranto. However, finding no sufficient proof that the respondent had renounced her Philippine Citizenship, the COMELEC en banc dismissed the petition. When Lopez ran for re-election in 1995 elections, her opponent, Francisco Rabat, filed a petition for disqualification, contesting her Filipino citizenship but the said petition was likewise dismissed by the COMELEC. In the May 1998 elections, she ran for re-election as a governor but Cirilo Valles filed a petition for her disqualification as candidate on the ground that she is an Australian.The COMELEC, however, dismissed the petition, ruling that Lopez is a Filipino citizen and therefore, qualified to run for a public office because (1) her father, Telesforo Ybasco, is a Filipino citizen, and by virtue of the principle of jus sanguinis she was a Filipino citizen under the 1987 Philippine Constitution; (2) she was married to a Filipino, thereby making her also a Filipino citizen ipso jure under Section 4 of Commonwealth Act 473; (3) and that, she renounced her Australian citizenship on January 15, 1992 before the Department of Immigration and Ethnic Affairs of Australia and her Australian passport was accordingly cancelled as certified to by the Australian Embassy in Manila; and (4) furthermore, there are the COMELEC Resolutions in EPC No. 92-54 and SPA Case No. 95-066, declaring her a Filipino citizen duly qualified to run for the elective position of Davao Oriental governor. Petitioner thus filed a petition for certiorari before the Supreme Court, maintaining that the Lopez is an Australian citizen, placing reliance on the admitted facts that: a) In 1988, private respondent registered herself with the Bureau of Immigration as an Australian national and was issued Alien Certificate of Registration No. 404695 dated September 19, 1988; b) On even date, she applied for the issuance of an Immigrant Certificate of Residence (ICR), and c) She was issued Australian Passport No. H700888 on March 3, 1988.
ISSUE: Whether or not Rosalind Ybasco Lopez is a Filipino?
RULING: Yes. The Philippine law on citizenship adheres to the principle of jus sanguinis. Thereunder, a child follows the nationality or citizenship of the parents regardless of the place of his/her birth, as opposed to the doctrine of jus soli which determines nationality or citizenship on the basis of place of birth. Rosalind Ybasco Lopez was born on May 16, 1934 in Napier Terrace, Broome, Western Australia, to the spouses, Telesforo Ybasco, a Filipino citizen and native of Daet, Camarines Norte, and Theresa Marquez, an Australian. Historically, this was a year before the 1935 Constitution took into effect and at that time, what served as the Constitution of the Philippines were the principal organic acts by which the United States governed the country. These were the Philippine Bill of July 1, 1902 and the Philippine Autonomy Act of August 29, 1916, also known as the Jones Law. Under the Philippine Bill of 1902 and Jones Law, all inhabitants of the Philippines who were Spanish subjects on April 11, 1899 and resided therein including their children are deemed to be Philippine citizens. Private respondent’s father, Telesforo Ybasco, was born on January 5, 1879 in Daet, Camarines Norte, a fact duly evidenced by a certified true copy of an entry in the Registry of Births. Thus, under the Philippine Bill of 1902 and the Jones Law, Telesforo Ybasco was deemed to be a Philippine citizen. By virtue of the same laws, which were the laws in force at the time of her birth, Telesforo’s daughter, herein private respondent Rosalind Ybasco Lopez, is likewise a citizen of the Philippines. The principle of jus sanguinis, which confers citizenship by virtue of blood relationship, was subsequently retained under the 1973 and 1987 Constitutions. Thus, Rosalind Ybasco Lopez, is a Filipino citizen, having been born to a Filipino father. The fact of her being born in Australia is not tantamount to her losing her Philippine citizenship. If Australia follows the principle of jus soli, then at most, private respondent can also claim Australian citizenship resulting to her possession of dual citizenship.
