SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE )
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES)
Third Regular Session )

House of Representatives

House Bill No. 8182

Introduced by Representative Doy C. Leachon

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The privilege of being considered as a citizen of the Philippines is
enshrined in the 1987 Constitution. Unfortunately, the same is not
afforded to anyone. For instance, those born of Filipino mothers at
the time the 1935 Constitution was in place, had to elect Philippine
citizenship upon reaching the age of majority to become one.

Margarita Melian Ortigas, born at the Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Sta.
Mesa, Manila on December 9, 1948 to a Filipino woman, Maria
Natividad Aboitiz Ugarte and a Spanish gentleman, Leopoldo Melian y
Zobel, missed her opportunity to avail of this privilege and failed to
elect Philippine citizenship and, thus, remained a Spanish citizen like
her father.

Despite being a Spanish citizen all her life, Margarita Melian Ortigas
always had a sense of patriotism and remained faithful to the country.

She was raised in the country and spent her formative years of
schooling in the Philippines up to her 3 year of high school at the
Assumption Convent. Thereafter, she left for Spain and then the
United States for a total period of almost six (6) years in order to
further her studies.

After schooling, she returned to the Philippines, where she worked for
the Camara de Comercio Espanola and then with KLM Royal Dutch
Airline.

In 1975,she married a Filipino lawyer, Ignacio Ricardo Ortigas and
opted to reside in the country with her husband, where they chose to
build their home and raise their children following Philippine norms,
values, morals, practices and traditions.

Margarita Melian Ortigas is a permanent resident visa holder, who
has spent more than half of her lifetime in the Philippines, devoting
most of her time in raising her children, following a strong sense of
faith and devotion to the promotion of her Catholic faith, discharging
apostolate works and performing her socio-civic duties.


She is a dynamic leader with a strong compassion for the
marginalized members of our society. She is generous with her time
and chose to involve herself in numerous livelihood projects,
fundraising activities and medical outreach programs. Among her
notable contributions in the field of public service are her active
participation in the Pinatubo Sa Kinabukasan Foundation, which
catered to providing relief to the victims of the Pinatubo eruption,
including the provision for housing of five hundred (500) displaced
families, building a community center, a church and a_ public
elementary and high school, in cooperation with the Social Action
Center of Pampanga (SACOP), which currently forms part of the
Wenceslao Village; the Riding for the Disabled Philippines, which
provided free riding opportunities for children with disabilities; the
O.T. Kang Scholarship Foundation, Inc., which provides
scholarships to hundreds of deserving students all over the
Philippines; the Catholic Women’s League (CWL) Unit in Greenhills,
a religious, charitable, socio-economic, civic, non-profit organization
bound in faith, with a strong sense of socio-economic responsibility,
actively involved in numerous apostolic works, which include regular
outreach projects through fund raising activities for the benefit of the
Pediatric Ward of the Quirino Memorial Medical Center, regular
medical missions and feeding program for the benefit of the
depressed sector of Barangay West Crame, San Juan City, among
others.

Having been born to a Filipino mother and happily married to a
Filipino husband, she has always proudly considered the Philippines
as her home and her heart and soul truly reflects her genuine concern
for the country and its people. She epitomizes what a Filipina should
and must be, a “Woman of Faith and a Woman of Action.” Thus, she
truly deserves to become a Filipino citizen.

For these considerations, the passage of this bill is earnestly sought.

DOY \¢. LEACHON


SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE)
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES )
Third Regular Session )

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

House Bill No. 8182

Introduced by Representative Doy C. Leachon

AN ACT GRANTING PHILIPPINE CITIZENSHIP TO
MARGARITA MELIAN ORTIGAS

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

SECTION 1. ‘Mrs. Margarita Melian Ortigas is hereby granted
Philippine citizenship with all the rights, privileges, prerogatives, duties and
obligations appurtenant thereto under the Constitution and the laws of the
Republic of the Philippines.

SECTION 2. After the taking by Mrs. Margarita Melian Ortigas of
her Oath of Allegiance before an officer duly authorized for the purpose,
and the registration of the same with the Bureau of Immigration, Mrs.
Margarita Melian Ortigas shall enter upon the full enjoyment of her
Philippine citizenship.

SECTION 3. Upon registration of the Oath of Allegiance, the
Bureau of Immigration shall forthwith issue Margarita Melian Ortigas’
Certificate of Naturalization.

SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its
publication in the Official Gazette or in any newspaper of general
circulation.

Approved,