Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City
FIFTEENTH CONGRESS

SECOND REGULAR SESSION

1578
COMMITTEE REPORTNO. SS
Submitted by the Committee on Justice on

Re: House Bill No. 52327

Recommending its approval with amendments

Sponsors Representatives Niel C. Tupas, Jr. and Kimi S. Cojuangco

Mr. Speaker

The Committee on Justice to which was referred House Bill No. 5277, introduced by
Representative Kimi S. Cojuangco, entitled

“AN ACT
GRANTING PHILIPPINE CITIZENSHIP TO JESSIE JOSEPHINE C. LICHAUCO”

has considered the same and recommends its approval with the following amendments:
1, On page 1, insert a new Section 2 to read as follows:

“SEC. 2. Upon the taking of the oath of allegiance to the Republic of the
Philippines before the Bureau of Immigration and the issuance to him of the
Certificate of Naturalization, Jessie Josephine Coe Lichauco shall enter upon the
full enjoyment of Philippine citizenship.”

2. Delete Section 2 and in lieu thereof, insert a new Section 3 to read as follows:

“SEC. 3. This Act shall take effect after fifteen (15) days from its complete
publication in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation.”

with Representatives Kimi S. Cojuangco, Niel C. Tupas, Jr., Rodolfo C. Farifias,
Federico Quimbo, David Kho and Roilo Golez as authors thereof.

jommittee on Justice

‘The Honorable

‘The Speaker

House of Representatives
Quezon City


Republic of the Philippines
House of Representatives
Quezon City, Metro Manila

FIFTEENTH CONGRESS.
Second Regular Session

HOUSE BLL NO. 5277

Introduced by Honorable Kimi S. Cojuangco

EXPLANATORY NOTE

This proposed measure which seeks to grant Philippine
citizenship to Jessie Josephine C. Lichauco was originally filed as
House Bill No. 6217 by former Congw. Ma. Clarissa O. Cosculuella
during her incumbency as a Member of the 14% Congress. The bill had
passed consideration by the Committee on Justice, and a committee
report was submitted on 01 September 2009 which recommends,
among others, the approval thereof. With the closing of the 14%
Congress, this piece of legislation was eventually archived.

In recognition however of the invaluable contribution/s of Jessie
Josephine C. Lichauco to the Philippine society, this author has
decided to re-file the same bill, adopting the same justifications and

reasons which were submitted by the original author to elicit the
approval by Congress.

Thus, for purposes of ease of reference, hereunder are the legal
basis for this bill, and facts surrounding the life of Jessie Josephine C.
Lichauco and her contribution to Philippine society.

Under Article IV, Section 1 of the Constitution, Congress is
empowered to pass laws granting Philippine citizenship to foreigners
who have rendered outstanding service to the country and to the
Filipino people.

This bill seeks to grant Philippine citizenship to Jessie Josephine
Coe Lichauco, with all the rights, privileges, duties and obligations
appurtenant to such grant under the Constitution.


Jessie Josephine Coe Lichauco is an American who was born in
Cuba but raised in Florida by her relatives after she was orphaned as
a young girl. While studying in Washington, D.C., she met Marcial P.
Lichauco, then a young Filipino lawyer working with OSROX
Philippine Independence Mission. Upon Marcial’s invitation, Jessie

Lichauco came to the Philippines in 1933, and the two were married in
the same year.

Since then, Jessie Lichauco has lived in the Philippines and
claimed the country and its people as her own. Jessie Lichauco joined
the Asociacion de Damas de Filipinas and devoted her work towards
the Settlement House. During World War Il, she suffered together with
Filipinos, and aided those of them in need, sheltering them in her
home and supporting efforts to reach prisoners of war. During the
liberation when Manila was bombarded, Jessie and Marcial Lichauco
opened their Sta. Ana home to fleeing citizens and provided for a
make-shift hospital where at least 2000 people were cared for.

After the war, Jessie Lichauco devoted her energies to the
Settlement House, of which she was President for 9 years. She was
also one of the founding members of the Red Feather Agency, later
known as the Community Chest, an organization that raises funds
and distributes them to member ,charitable agencies. In her own

capacity, she has also helped over’ 100 young people in completing
their education.

Between 1963-66, Marcial Lichauco was appointed Philippine
ambassador to the United Kingdom, Demark, Norway, and Sweden by
then President Diosdado Macapagal. Jessie Licahuco served as the
Ambassador’s hostess, representing the Philippines with pride and
dignity in international organizations, social events and activities
involving the diplomatic corps. The Ambassador’s home in Palace
Green was open to Filipino students, business people, and a wide
spectrum of workers and travelers from the Philippines. Dozens of

Filipinos have stories of being welcomed and assisted within the
protective umbrella her home provided.

After her husband’s death in 1971, Jessie Lichauco spent some
years in the United States of America, again opening her home in
Massachusetts to Filipino students and scholars needing a place to
stay. But her century-old home by the Pasig River in Sta. Ana remains
full of historical memorabilia, making it not only a repository of

Filipino history, but a haven for travelers, friends and local residents
alike.


Out of her 99 years of age, Jessie Lichauco has spent 75 years in
the Philippines, claiming this country as her home, speaking the
Filipino language and embracing the Filipino culture.

In recognition of the invaluable service rendered to the Filipino
nation, this bill proposes that Jessie Josephine Coe Lichauco be
granted by Congress the honor of Philippine citizenship with all the
rights, privileges, duties and obligations appurtenant thereto and with
the same effects and subject to the same conditions as provided under

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

a Ye
wn COJMANGCO.


Republic of the Philippines
House of Representatives
Quezon City, Metro Manila

FIFTEENTH CONGRESS
Second Regular Session

HOUSE BILL No. 5277

Introduced by Honorable Kimi S. Cojuangco

AN ACT
GRANTING PHILIPPINE CITIZENSHIP TO JESSIE JOSPEHINE C.
LICHAUCO

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

SECTION 1. Jessie Josephine Coe Lichauco is hereby granted
Philippine citizenship with all the rights, privileges, duties and obligations

appurtenant thereto and with the same effects and subject to the same
conditions as provided under the Constitution.

Sec. 2. This Act shall take effect upon approval.

Approved,


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
‘Quezon City

COMMITTEE ON JUSTICE

FOR THE HONORABLE SPEAKER
FELICIANO BELMONTE, JR.

THRU Atty. ARLENE DADA-ARNALDO.
Deputy Secretary General, Committee Affairs Department.

RE SPOT REPORT ON THE MEETING OF THE COMMITTEE ON JUSTICE ON
28 SEPTEMBER 2011 AT 1:30 P.M., RE: GRANTING OF PHILIPPINE
CITEZENSHIP TO MR. BRUCE McTAVISH, MR. DENNIS MARTIN, AND
MS. JOSEPHINE LICHAUCO, ANDAYA HALL, HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES, QUEZON CITY

DATE : 2B September 2011

1, House Bill Nos. 1445, 4040 and 5277 re: Grant of Philippine Citizenship

a, Major issues/positions and views aired

‘+ The sponsors, Reps. Carmelo Lazatin for Mr. McTavish, Isidro Rodriguez for Mr.
Martin, and Kimi Gojuangco for Ms. Lichauco, all contended that HB Nos. 1445,
4040 and 5277 had been approved in the previous Congress by the Committee.
Citing Sec. 48 of the Rules of the House of Representatives on Bills and
Resolutions Favorably Acted Upon, the sponsors moved for the approval of the
measures.

b, Agreement reached/Decision made

+ There being no objection for the approval of the measures, House Bill Nos, 1445,
4040, and 5277, were simultaneously approved, subject to the submission of
clearances’ from ‘the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Bureau of
Immigration (B1) that all applicants have no derogatory or criminal record.

‘+ Hon. Rollo Golez was made co-author of HB Nos. 1445, 4040, and 5277

* All Members present, namely, Reps. Kho, Tupas, Quimbo, and Ferifias were made
co-authors of HB No. 5277.

2. House Bill No. 3309 re: NBI Modernization Act
‘a. Major issuesipositions and views aired
‘+ House Bill No, 3309 will be consolidated with House Bill No. 385 which was already

approved by the Committee on Government Reorganization. A substitute bill has
already been crafted which is now pending with the Committee on Appropriations.

+ The NBI representatives need sufficient time to study HB No. 3309 and compare it
with the said substitute bill


b, Agreement reached/Decision made

The consideration of HB No. 3309 authored by Hon. Roger Mercado re: NBI
Modernization Act was suspended for the next meeting.

Prepared by Noted by:

Atty. NARCISA H. GUEVARRA Atty. DAVID ROBERT U. AMORIN
Committee Secretary Service Pfector, Cluster 5 (Legal and Political 1) CAD

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