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 P 30,000.00.

2.         When petitioner takes his oath, he shall likewise be required to pay an oath-taking fee of P 50,000.00.

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 for 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 of 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 of 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 duly 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, 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 allegiance 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 of the Bureau of Immigration and Deportation (BID) which shall cancel the Alien Certificate of Registration of the naturalized citizen.

Rule V
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 the personnel assigned and/or detailed to the Committee in such amounts as may be fixed by the Solicitor General.

Rule VI
Amendments

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

Adopted: 18 Sept. 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 by:

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


NOTICE

All petitioners/applicants for naturalization under Presidential Decree No. 1379, who have approved/pending petitions before the Special Committee on Naturalization (SCN), are instructed to secure their application forms from the SCN Secretariat at the Office of the Solicitor General, 134 Amorsolo St., Legaspi Village, Makati City, and to fill up said application forms with updated data.

Petitioners/applicants are required to submit with their petitions the original or certified true copies of the following supporting documents, as may be appropriate:

1.         Affidavits of two (2) character witnesses
2.         Marriage contract, if married
3.         Birth certificate of petitioner
4.         Birth certificate of children
5.         Latest passport
6.         Latest Alien Certificate of Registration
7.         Latest Immigration Certificate of Registration
8.         Medical certificate from a government physician
9.         Clearances from the following:

9.1    Regional Trial Court in the place of residence

9.2    Police in the place of residence

9.3    National Bureau of Investigation

9.4    Provincial or City Prosecutor in the place of residence

10.       Original or certified true copies of petitioner's Income Tax Returns and receipts of payment of income tax for the last three (3) years

11.       Other supporting documents, namely:

11.1  Original of certified copy of the birth certificate of petitioner's wife, if native-born

11.2  Certificates of enrollment of petitioner's minor children of school age; and

11.3  Other documents that the petitioner may desire to attach to his application

The updated verified petition and the supporting documents should be filed with the SCN Secretariat not later than April 30, 1999, otherwise the petition will be deemed abandoned.

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