DOJ backs treaty concerning Philippine-Spanish citizenship

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Justice (DOJ) has supported a draft treaty between the Philippines and Spain that would allow natural-born Filipinos to retain their Philippine citizenship even if they become Spanish nationals.

In a three-page opinion dated April 30, the DOJ stated that under current laws, Filipinos retain their Philippine citizenship when acquiring citizenship from Iberian, Ibero-American countries, or the United Kingdom, provided a corresponding treaty exists.

The Justice department has cited Commonwealth Act. (CA) No. 63 concerning the legal opinion.

The CA 63 is a law promulgated in 1936 that governed the rules on providing ways to reacquire Philippine citizenship.

The law has been amended by Republic Act (RA) Nos. 2639 and 3834.

The DOJ also cited Spain as an example, highlighting that Spanish law stipulates individuals of Spanish origin who acquire Philippine citizenship shall not lose their Spanish nationality.

“Further, the second paragraph of Article 24(2) of the Spanish Civil Code provides that ‘acquisition of the nationality of Latin American countries, Andorra, the Philippines, Equatorial Guinea, or Portugal shall not be sufficient to cause the loss of Spanish nationality by birth,” the DOJ’s legal opinion read.

On the other hand, the DOJ also said that RA 9225 allows natural-born Filipino citizens who have lost their Philippine citizenship through naturalization in another country to swiftly reacquire or retain their Philippine citizenship by taking an oath of allegiance to the Republic of the Philippines.

The Iberian countries, located on the Iberian Peninsula, are Portugal and Spain. Ibero-American countries, on the other hand, are those situated in South America.

The legal opinion was requested by Maria Elena Algabre, head of the Office of European Affairs at the Department of Foreign Affairs, in light of the potential draft treaty on dual citizenship between the Philippines and Spain.