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EN BANC

G.R. No. L-20715 April 29, 1966

IN THE MATTER OF THE PETITION FOR PHILIPPINE CITIZENSHIP,
WAYNE CHANG alias WONG LIAN, petitioner-appellee, vs. REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES, oppositor-appellant.

De Santos and Delfino, for petitioner-appellee.
Office of the Solicitor General Arturo A. Alafriz, First Assistant Solicitor General E. Umali and Attorney Torres M. Dilig, for oppositor-appellant.

SANCHEZ, J.:chanrobles virtual law library

The Republic prays for reversal of the judgment granting Philippine citizenship herein, amongst others, because -chanrobles virtual law library

1. The Court of First Instance of Misamis Occidental did not have jurisdiction over the case;chanrobles virtual law library

2 Petitioner failed to state in the petition his various places of residence; andchanrobles virtual law library

3. Petitioner has used aliases without judicial authorization.chanroblesvirtualawlibrarychanrobles virtual law library

1. Petitioner, a native-born Chinese, arrived at the port of Manila on July 8, 1937. He studied in the elementary schools of Oroquieta, Misamis Occidental, thence in Misamis Occidental High School, Mindanao Academy, and Silliman University where he finished high school. Thereafter, he took up engineering for three (3) years at the Cebu Institute of Technology. He continued his engineering course at the Mapua Institute of Technology where he obtained his B.S. in mechanical engineering in 1956. In 1958 and up to the time his petition¹ was heard in April 1962, he was employed at the Universal Motors Corporation in Manila.chanroblesvirtualawlibrarychanrobles virtual law library

Of significance is his petition filed in this Court on March 21, 1963. There, petitioner sought permission to withdraw his herein application for citizenship because of the State's appeal. Petitioner there avers that he "has since 1953 been a resident of Manila".² This court however denied the petition to withdraw. Because, it was made subject to a certain condition or qualification - that he be allowed "to refile a new petition for naturalization in Manila and introduce evidence in support thereof, with the reservation that he will use the same declaration of intention he has already filed in the above-entitled case - "which the Court is not disposed to grant at this time".³chanrobles virtual law library

The foregoing facts conclusively show that petitioner has not resided in Misamis Occidental at least one year immediately preceding the filing of the petition. And, the Misamis Occidental court did not have "the exclusive original jurisdiction to hear the petition" in this case.⁴chanrobles virtual law library

2. The verified petition for naturalization solely mentions Oroquieta, Misamis Occidental and 270 P. Casal, San Miguel, Manila, as the places where he had resided. It did not state therein his other places of residence - Cebu City, Dumaguete City, and
1242-A Abreu Street, 1950 Arellano Street, 747 Padilla Street and 242 P. Casal Street, in Manila. By established jurisprudence, petitioner's failure so to do is fatal to his petition.⁵chanrobles virtual law library

3. The petition here was filed in the name of Wayne Chang alias Wong Lian. Prior thereto, i.e., on February 25, 1956, the Court of First Instance of Misamis Occidental granted his application to change his name from Wong Lian alias Chang Wingkoy, alias Chang Wing, to Wayne Chang.⁶ Petitioner used the name Wong Lian in his Landing Certificate of Residence and Alien Certificate of Registration; Chang Wingkoy in Holy Rosary School in Oroquieta, Misamis Occidental, and Silliman University in Dumaguete. An applicant who had adopted several names in dealing with the public, without judicial authorization therefor, is unworthy of Philippine citizenship.⁷chanrobles virtual law library

Judgment reversed; petition dismissed; costs against petitioner. So ordered.

Bengzon, C.J., Bautista Angelo, Concepcion, Reyes, J.B.L., Barrera, Dizon, Regala, Makalintal, Bengzon, J.P., and Zaldivar, JJ., concur.

Endnotes:

¹Filed in Court on March 16, 1961.

²Record on Appeal, p. 22.

³Record on Appeal, p. 33.

⁴Section 8 of the Naturalization Law, as amended; Chin Guan Go vs. Republic, L-15794, December 29, 1962.

⁵Republic vs. Reyes, et al., G.R. L-20602, December 24, 1965.

⁶Special Proceedings No. 1806, Court of First Instance of Misamis Occidental.

⁷Teen Eng Lee vs. Republic, G.R. L-17918, November 28, 1962.