WHEREAS, Letter of Instructions No. 270, as amended by Letter of Instructions Nos. 278, 283, 292, and 491 and by Presidential Decrees Nos. 836 and 1379, the Special Committee on Naturalization was granted jurisdiction and authority to receive, consider, and recommend actions on petitions for naturalization of deserving aliens;

WHEREAS, the Memorandum of March 27, 1987 issued by then President Corazon C. Aquino directed the Chairman and Members of the Special Committee on Naturalization œto cease and desist from undertaking any and all proceedings within your functional area of responsibility ;

WHEREAS, to date, there are, more or less, 9,000 petitions for naturalization pending with the Special Committee on Naturalization;

WHEREAS, there is a growing clamor among resident-aliens who desire to become Filipinos to acquire Philippine citizenship through administrative proceedings, without going through the tedious and more expensive judicial process; and

WHEREAS, it becomes necessary to reactivate the Special Committee on Naturalization in order to address the need to consider and process petitions for naturalization by the speedier and more practical method of administrative proceedings;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FIDEL VALDEZ RAMOS, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Constitution, do hereby order and ordain:

Section 1. The Special Committee on Naturalization is hereby reactivated with jurisdiction and authority to receive, consider, and evaluate petitions for naturalization of deserving aliens and, thereafter, to submit recommendation thereon to the President of the Philippines for its approval or denial, as provided for in Letter of Instructions No. 270, as amended by Letters of Instructions Nos. 278, 283, 292 and 491 as well as in Presidential Decrees Nos. 836 and 1379.

Section 2. The Solicitor General, as Chairman of the Special Committee on Naturalization, is hereby authorized to fix the amount of fees for the application form, the docketing thereof, the oath-taking, and such other fees necessary for the processing of said application/petition.

Section 3. The Solicitor General, as Chairman of the Special Committee on Naturalization, shall likewise have the authority to fix the honoraria, allowances, and other incidental expenses of the Chairman, Members, and Secretary of the Committee as well as of its staff members, which are necessary and appurtenant to the functions and duties of the Special Committee on Naturalization.

Section 4. All laws, decrees, executive orders, administrative orders, proclamations, rules and regulations, or part thereof that are in conflict with this Executive Order are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

Section 5. This Executive Order shall take effect immediately.

DONE in the City of Manila, this 3rd day of December, in the Year of Our Lord, Nineteen Hundred and Ninety Seven.

(Sgd.) FIDEL V. RAMOS
President of the Philippines

By the President:

(Sgd.) RUBEN D. TORRES
Presidential Executive Secretary