[ SCON, December 11, 1998 ]

AMENDED RULES AND REGULATIONS PROMULGATED BY THE SPECIAL COMMITTEE ONNATURALIZATION IMPLEMENTING EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 460, AS AMENDED



Pursuant to Executive Order No. 460, as amended by Executive Order No. 482, of the President of the Philippines, the Special Committee on Naturalization established thereunder hereby adopts the following Rules and Regulations:

RULE I
The Special Committee on Naturalization
  1. The Special Committee on Naturalization shall hold office at the Office of the Solicitor General, OSG Building, 134 Amorsolo Street, Legaspi Village, Makati City.

  2. The unanimous vote of all the members of the Committee is required in order to approve any pending petition for naturalization under Presidential Decree No. 1379.
RULE II
Fees
  1. To cover the increased administrative cost for processing pending petitions, the petitioners are required to pay additional docket and processing fee of P30,000.00.

  2. When petitioner takes his oath, he shall likewise be required to pay an oath-taking fee of P50,000.00.

  3. A minor who has a pending petition for derivative naturalization shall pay the docket and processing fee of P10.000.Q0. Further, he shall pay an oath-taking fee of P20.000.00.
RULE III
Screening and Processing
  1. The petitioner shall submit an updated verified petition together with the affidavits of two (2) character witnesses, annexes and supporting documents duly authenticated. If the verified petition is substantively sufficient and in due form, the Committee or its representatives duly designated for the purpose shall require the petitioner and his two (2) character witnesses to appear personally before it for interview and/or clarificatory questioning. The petitioner shall submit with his petition clearances from the appropriate National Bureau of Investigation, Philippine National Police, Regional Trial Courts, and the Provincial or City Prosecutor's Office, as well as a medical certificate from a government physician.

  2. The petitioner or any person acting in his behalf is prohibited from following up, either directly or indirectly, his petition. Only when officially called for interview shall the petitioner personally appear before any member of the Committee or any of its staff.

  3. Any false statement or misrepresentation in the petition or in any of the documents submitted therewith, or any violation of these Rules and Regulations by the petitioner, or his duly authorized representative, shall constitute adequate basis for the denial of the petition.
RULE IV
Committee Approval/Disapproval of the Petition;
Taking of Oath
  1. If, from the results of the screening and further processing prescribed in Rule II, the Committee finds that the petitioner has all of the qualifications and none of the disqualifications for naturalization prescribed by law, the Committee shall approve the petition for naturalization in consonance with Executive Order No. 460, as amended.

  2. On the date specified in the notice to the petitioner, which date shall be within thirty (30) days from the date the Committee approved the petition, the petitioner shall, upon payment of the oath-taking fee, take the prescribed oath of allegiance to the Republic of the Philippines before the Committee or its representatives duty designated for the purpose.

  3. Six (6) copies of the oath of allegiance duly subscribed by the petitioner before the Committee or any officer authorized to administer oath, shall be filed by the petitioner with the Committee on the same date the oath is taken. The official receipt of payment of the oath-taking fee in the name of the petitioner shall be attached to the original copy of the oath. Duly certified photocopies of the official receipt shall be attached to the duplicate originals of the said oath.

  4. The oath of allegiance shall be as follows:

    OATH OF ALLEGIANCE
    "I,_________, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I renounce absolutely and forever all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty, and particularly to the state/country of_____ of which at this time I am a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines and obey the laws, legal orders, and decrees promulgated by the duly constituted authorities of the Republic of the Philippines; I hereby declare that I recognize and accept the supreme authority of the Republic of the Philippines and will maintain true faith and allegianoe thereto; and that I impose this obligation upon myself voluntarily without mental reservation or purpose of evasion."
  5. After petitioner has taken the oath of allegiance, the Committee shall issue a certificate of naturalization and forward the same together with a copy of said oath to the proper Local Civil Registrar for registration and another copy to the Bureau of Immigration and Deportation (BID) which shall cancel the Alien Certificate of Registration of the naturalized citizen.
RULEV
Committee Staff
  1. The Committee shall appoint an Executive Director, Assistant Executive Director and such other personnel to assist the Committee in the performance of its functions. The functions of the Executive Director, Assistant Executive Director and the other personnel shall be defined by the Committee.

  2. Appropriate allowances shall be provided for all personnel assigned and/or detailed to the Committee in such amounts as may be fixed by the-Solicitor Genera!.
RULE VI
Amendments

Any amendments to these Rules and Regulations shall require the unanimous approval of the members of the Committee.

Adopted: 11 Dec. 1998

(SGD.) RICARDO P. GALVEZ
Chairman, Special Committee on Naturalization
(Solicitor General, Office of the Solicitor General)

(SGD.) RORA N. TOLENTINO
Member, Special Committee on Naturalization
(Undersecretary, Department of Foreign Affairs)

(SGD.) CESAR F. FORTUNO
Member, Special Committee on Naturalization
(Director-General, National Intelligence Coordinating Agency)

Attested:

(SGD.)PIO C. GUERRERO
Executive Director
Special Committee on Naturalization
(Assistant Solicitor General, Office of the Solicitor General)