Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session
569

House Bill No.

Introduced by Representative PABLO JOHN F. GARCIA

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Paragraph 1, Section 5 of Republic Act No. 9225 specifically provides that “those
who retain or reacquire Philippine Citizenship [or dual citizens] shall enjoy full civil and
political rights and be subject to all attendant liabilities and responsibilities under existing
laws of the Philippines.”

Despite this guarantee, however, dual citizens are prejudiced and disadvantaged in
that they cannot seek appointment in public office without first renouncing their oath of
allegiance to the foreign country. While the requirement of renunciation may be justifiable in
the case of elective public office on constitutional grounds, and certain appointive public
positions on the grounds of national security and the national interest, a blanket prohibition
against any employment in the public sector absent this renunciation would seem excessive.

Consider, for instance, dual citizens who, having studied, worked, taught, specialized
or become experts in their fields who subsequently, after acquiring dual citizenship, wish to
contribute to nation-building by teaching at public educational institutions such as the
University of the Philippines (UP) and other State Universities and Colleges (SUCs). These
dual citizens are required to renounce their allegiance to the foreign country in which they
had studied, worked, taught, specialized or become experts simply because, impelled by a
sense of patriotism to their mother country, they wish to teach future generations of Filipinos.
These dual citizens naturally balk at the idea of renunciation, considering that this would
mean loss of unhampered travel rights for private, family, educational or research purposes,
and, quite possibly, the loss of other eared rights or privileges such as healthcare, pensions
and the like.

In contrast, professors with foreign citizenship (who are not dual citizens) have the
unfair advantage of only being required to obtain an alien employment permit (AEP) or
working visa from the government in order to teach in colleges and universities in the
Philippines, whether private or public. No renunciation of citizenship is required. In fact,
the fact that they are foreigners probably top the list of considerations for their employment.


On the other side of the equation, public universities are unfairly disadvantaged
compared to their private counterparts in that they would be hard-put to convince dual
citizens to renounce their foreign citizenship as a condition precedent to employment,
whereas private educational institutions do not labor under the same requirement. Beyond
our territorial boundaries, our SUCs will be further disadvantaged compared to its ASEAN
and international counterparts because of this inability to recruit from a deep and convenient
pool of experts and talent — our dual citizens.

In order to correct this injustice and unfaimess, as well as to equalize the playing
field for dual citizens insofar as appointments to UP and other SUCs are concemed, RA
9225 should be amended to remove the requirement of renunciation as a condition
precedent to the appointment of dual citizens to UP and other SUCs.

In view of the foregoing, the passing of this bill is earnestl

Rep. PABLO JOHN F. GARCIA
3rd District, Province of Cebu


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Bill No. 9569

Introduced by Representative PABLO JOHN F. GARCIA

AN ACT
AMENDING SECTION 5, PARAGRAPH 3 OF REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9225 OTHERWISE
KNOWN AS THE “CITIZENSHIP RETENTION AND RE-ACQUISITION ACT OF 2003”

Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in
Congress assembled:

Section 1. Section 5, Paragraph 3 of Republic Act No. 9225, otherwise known as the
“Citizenship Retention and Re-acquisition Act of 2003,” is hereby amended to read as
follows:

“Section 5. Civil and Political Rights and Liabilities - Those who
retain or re-acquire Philippine citizenship under this Act shall enjoy full civil
and political rights and be subject to all attendant liabilities and
responsibilities under existing laws of the Philippines and the following
conditions:

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(3) Those appointed to any public office shall subscribe and swear to
an oath of allegiance to the Republic of the Philippines and its duly
constituted authorities prior to their assumption of office: Provided, That they
renounce their oath of allegiance to the country where they took that oath;
PROVIDED, FURTHER, THAT APPOINTEES TO THE UNIVERSITY OF
THE PHILIPPINES AND OTHER STATE UNIVERSITIES AND COLLEGES
SHALL NOT BE REQUIRED TO MAKE SUCH RENUNCIATION AS A
CONDITION PRECEDENT TO THEIR APPOINTMENT.”

Section 2. Separability Clause. - If any provision of this Act is declared invalid or
unconstitutional, the other provisions not affected by such declaration shall remain in full
force and effect.


Section 3. Repealing Clause. - All laws, executive orders, administrative orders and
rules and regulations inconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed or amended accordingly.

Section 4. Effectivity Clause. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its
complete publication in the Official Gazette or in two (2) newspapers of general circulation.

Approved,