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MOY YA LIM YAO VS. COMMISSIONER OF IMMIGRATION

G.R. No. L-21289, October 4 1971, 41 SCRA 292

FACTS

• Lau Yuen Yeung applied for a passport visa to enter the Philippines as a

non-immigrant on 8 February 1961. In the interrogation made in onnetion !ithher appliation for a temporary visitor"s visa to enter the Philippines# she stated

that she !as a $hinese residing at %o!loon# &ong'ong# and that she desired tota'e a pleasure trip to the Philippines to visit her great grand unle# Lau $hing

Ping. (he !as permitted to ome into the Philippines on 1) *arh 1961 for aperiod of one month.

• +n the date of her arrival# ,sher Y. $heng filed a bond in the amount of 

P1#. to underta'e# among others# that said Lau Yuen Yeung !ould atually

depart from the Philippines on or before the epiration of her authori/ed period of 

stay in this ountry or !ithin the period as in his disretion the $ommissioner of Immigration or his authori/ed representative might properly allo!.

• ,fter repeated etensions# Lau Yuen Yeung !as allo!ed to stay in the

Philippines up to 1) February 1960. +n 0 2anuary 1960# she ontrated marriage

!ith *oy Ya Lim Yao alias 3dilberto ,guinaldo Lim an alleged Filipino iti/en.4eause of the ontemplated ation of the $ommissioner of Immigration to

onfisate her bond and order her arrest and immediate deportation# after the

epiration of her authori/ed stay# she brought an ation for in5untion. ,t thehearing !hih too' plae one and a half years after her arrival# it !as admitted

that Lau Yuen Yeung ould not !rite and spea' either 3nglish or agalog# eeptfor a fe! !ords. (he ould not name any Filipino neighbor# !ith a Filipino name

eept one# 7osa. (he did not 'no! the names of her brothers-in-la!# or sisters-

in-la!. ,s a result# the $ourt of First Instane of *anila denied the prayer forpreliminary in5untion. *oya Lim Yao and Lau Yuen Yeung appealed.

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:hether or not Lau Yuen Yeung ipso fato beame a Filipino iti/en upon her

marriage to a Filipino iti/en.

&3L;

• Yes. nder (etion 1 of $ommon!ealth ,t ualified to be a iti/en of the Philippines under (etion < of the same la!.

Li'e!ise# an alien !oman married to an alien !ho is subse>uently naturali/ed

here follo!s the Philippine iti/enship of her husband the moment he ta'es hisoath as Filipino iti/en# provided that she does not suffer from any of the

dis>ualifiations under said (etion uires toundergo the naturali/ation proeedings# (etion 1 is a parallel provision to

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(etion 16. hus# if the !ido! of an appliant for naturali/ation as Filipino# !hodies during the proeedings# is not re>uired to go through a naturali/ation

proeedings# in order to be onsidered as a Filipino iti/en hereof# it should follo!

that the !ife of a living Filipino annot be denied the same privilege.

• his is plain ommon sense and there is absolutely no evidene that the

Legislature intended to treat them differently. ,s the la!s of our ountry# bothsubstantive and proedural# stand today# there is no suh proedure ?a substitutefor naturali/ation proeeding to enable the alien !ife of a Philippine iti/en to

have the matter of her o!n iti/enship settled and established so that she may

not have to be alled upon to prove it every time she has to perform an at orenter into a transation or business or eerise a right reserved only to Filipinos@#

but suh is no proof that the iti/enship is not vested as of the date of marriageor the husband"s a>uisition of iti/enship# as the ase may be# for the truth is

that the situation obtains even as to native-born Filipinos. 3very time the

iti/enship of a person is material or indispensable in a 5udiial or administrative

ase. :hatever the orresponding ourt or administrative authority deidestherein as to suh iti/enship is generally not onsidered as res ad5udiata# heneit has to be threshed out again and again as the oasion may demand. Lau Yuen

Yeung# !as delared to have beome a Filipino iti/en from and by virtue of her

marriage to *oy Ya Lim Yao al as 3dilberto ,guinaldo Lim# a Filipino iti/en of 02anuary 1960.