60,000 reacquire Filipino citizenship

MANILA, Philippines — A total of 60,209 former Filipino citizens have reacquired their Philippine citizenship following the passage of the dual-citizenship law five years ago, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) said Tuesday.

Of the number, 23,196 were approved at the bureau's main office in Manila while 37,013 were processed and approved at various Philippine consular offices abroad, Immigration Commissioner Marcelino Libanan said

The bureau started processing applications for dual citizenship in 2004, a year after the passage of RA 9225 or the Citizenship and Retention and Reacquisition Act of 2003.

Under the law, former natural born Filipinos who have become naturalized citizens of other countries are deemed not to have lost their Philippine citizenship.

Libanan, a former representative of Eastern Samar and one of the principal authors of the act, urged other former Filipinos to avail of the program so they can enjoy their rights and privileges as Filipinos.

He said among these rights or privileges that have lost after giving up Filipino citizenship are the rights to hold a Philippine passport, the rights to vote and own real properties in the Philippines.

"And unlike before when they always had to extend or update their stay as tourists, they may now visit and stay in the Philippines anytime and for as long as they wish," Libanan said.

Lawyer Arvin Santos, head of the bureau's task force on dual citizenship, said that Filipinos who have become American citizens topped the list of approved applicants with 40,000, followed by Canadians.

Most of them filed their applications with the Philippine consulates in the United States — in Washington D.C., San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, and Hawaii.

To apply for dual citizenship, an applicants pays only a fee of P3,000 (P67) and papers are immediately processed and approved if all documentary requirements are submitted, Santos said. - GMANews.TV

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