In Re: Mallare

A person born out of wedlock to a Filipino mother is himself a Filipino citizen, and no further act is necessary to confer upon him the rights and privileges of Philippine citizenship; entries in public documents indicating alien nationality are disputably presumed correct and must yield to more positive evidence to the contrary.

Florencio Mallare was admitted to the Philippine Bar on March 5, 1962. Acting Immigration Commissioner Martiniano P. Vivo filed a complaint questioning Mallare's citizenship, prompting the Court to order an investigation to determine whether his name should be stricken from the roll of attorneys. The inquiry turned on the citizenship of Mallare's father, Esteban Mallare, because respondent's mother, Te Na, was admittedly Chinese. If Esteban were Filipino, respondent — as his legitimate son — would likewise be Filipino and qualified to practice law.

Florencio Mallare was admitted to the Philippine Bar on March 5, 1962. Acting Immigration Commissioner Martiniano P. Vivo thereafter filed a complaint questioning Mallare's citizenship, alleging that his father Esteban Mallare was a Chinese national and that his mother, Te Na, was admittedly Chinese. The complaint sought to have respondent's name stricken from the roll of attorneys, as only Filipino citizens are qualified to practice law in the Philippines.

After investigation by the Court's Legal Officer Investigator, the Court rendered a decision on April 29, 1968, holding by preponderance of evidence that Esteban Mallare was a Chinese national up to his death. Since respondent's mother was also Chinese, respondent was declared a Chinese national, excluded from the practice of law. His bar admission was revoked, and he was ordered to return his lawyer's diploma. His motion for reconsideration was denied on January 10, 1969.

On February 4, 1969, respondent petitioned for reopening and new trial on the ground of newly discovered evidence, consisting of an entry in the baptismal registry of the Immaculate Concepcion Church at Macalelon, Quezon, purporting to show that Esteban Mallare was the natural son of Ana Mallare, a Filipina, and the testimonies of persons who had known Esteban and his mother during their lifetime. By resolution of July 31, 1969, the Court granted the reopening, noting that respondent should be given ample opportunity to establish the true facts about his citizenship before being stripped of the privilege granted to him. Additional evidence was thereafter received before the Court's Investigating Officer.

Respondent presented several elderly residents of Macalelon, Quezon, who had personal knowledge of Ana Mallare and her son Esteban. Damiana Cabangon, 80 years old, testified that she was present when her mother, the "hilot" who attended to Ana Mallare, delivered Esteban, and that she was present at his baptism; she stated that Ana was unmarried and that she had never seen Esteban's father, a certain Mr. Dy. Rafael Catarroja, 77 years old and former mayor of Macalelon, declared that he knew Esteban as a child living with his mother Ana, a Tagala who was cohabiting with a Chinese, and that Esteban started voting in 1934. Salomon Gimenez, 75 years old and also a former mayor, testified that in the 1925 elections, when Esteban campaigned for a rival candidate, he sought to disqualify Esteban but was advised by Judge Gaudencio Eleazar that such a move would not prosper because Esteban's mother was not married to his Chinese father. Joaquin Enobal, 69 years old, declared that he was Esteban's classmate and playmate, that Ana was a Tagalog who lived in Macalelon, and that he had never seen Ana's husband.

The Commissioner of Immigration, opposing respondent's claim, presented the death certificate of Esteban Mallare dated June 7, 1945, indicating Chinese nationality; the birth certificates of respondent and his siblings stating that their father was a Chinese citizen born in Amoy, China; respondent's alien certificate of registration dated August 25, 1950; and opinions of the Secretary of Justice to the effect that respondent had failed to establish his Philippine citizenship. Respondent countered with a decision of the Court of First Instance of Quezon in Civil Case No. 329-G upholding the validity of a contract of sale wherein the vendees, including respondent, were declared Filipino citizens; an order canceling his alien certificate of registration; an identification certificate from the Bureau of Immigration declaring him a citizen of the Philippines by birth; a final order in Special Proceedings No. 3925 directing correction of his nationality from "Chinese" to "Filipino" in the civil registry; his voter's affidavit; his Philippine passport; and an opinion of the Solicitor General recognizing him as a Filipino citizen.

• Father's Chinese Nationality: The Commissioner of Immigration maintained that respondent's father Esteban Mallare was a Chinese national, as evidenced by his death certificate, the birth certificates of respondent and his siblings indicating their father was a Chinese born in Amoy, China, and respondent's alien certificate of registration.
• Prior Administrative Rulings: The Commissioner relied on Opinions Nos. 90 and 166 of the Secretary of Justice, dated March 31, 1955 and July 10, 1959, respectively, to the effect that respondent and his siblings had failed to establish their claim to Philippine citizenship.
• Insufficiency of Baptismal Registry Entry: The complainant placed emphasis on the testimonies of expert witnesses regarding discrepancies in the entry in the baptismal registry, seeking to undermine its probative value.

• Father's Filipino Citizenship by Birth: Respondent argued that his father Esteban Mallare, being the natural son of Ana Mallare, a Filipina, was a Filipino citizen, and that as Esteban's legitimate son, respondent was likewise a Filipino.
• Election of Philippine Citizenship: Respondent maintained that Esteban Mallare, as the son of a Filipino mother, had by his own overt acts — specifically, registering as a voter as early as April 14, 1928, and actively participating in elections since 1925 — chosen Philippine citizenship.
• Official Recognition of Citizenship: Respondent pointed to the decision of the Court of First Instance of Quezon in Civil Case No. 329-G upholding his Filipino citizenship, the cancellation of his alien certificate of registration, the issuance of an identification certificate by the Bureau of Immigration declaring him a Filipino citizen by birth, the correction of his nationality in the civil registry, his voter's affidavit, his Philippine passport, and the Solicitor General's opinion recognizing him as a Filipino citizen.

• Citizenship of Esteban Mallare: Whether respondent's father Esteban Mallare was a Filipino citizen as the natural son of Ana Mallare, a Filipina.
• Admissibility of Reputation Evidence: Whether public reputation in the community is admissible as evidence of birth, illegitimacy, and race or ancestry.
• Evidentiary Weight of Public Documents: Whether entries in public documents such as death and birth certificates designating Esteban and his children as Chinese prevail over reputation and testimonial evidence establishing Filipino citizenship.
• Election of Citizenship: Whether Esteban Mallare's exercise of suffrage constituted a valid election of Philippine citizenship.

• Citizenship of Esteban Mallare: Yes. Esteban Mallare was a Filipino citizen as the natural child of Ana Mallare, a Filipina; no further act was necessary to confer upon him the rights and privileges of Philippine citizenship.
• Admissibility of Reputation Evidence: Yes. Reputation is admissible as evidence of age, birth, race, or race-ancestry, and the witnesses' declarations regarding Ana Mallare's Tagalog ancestry and Esteban's illegitimate birth were properly received.
• Evidentiary Weight of Public Documents: No. The entries in the death and birth certificates were presumptively correct but that presumption is disputable and must yield to more positive evidence establishing their inaccuracy.
• Election of Citizenship: Yes. Even assuming Ana Mallare were legally married to an alien, Esteban's registration as a voter and participation in elections as early as 1925 constituted a positive act of election of Philippine citizenship, no formal proceeding being required prior to Commonwealth Act No. 625.

• Citizenship of Esteban Mallare: The witnesses presented by respondent — all elderly residents of Macalelon, Quezon, with personal knowledge of Ana Mallare and her son Esteban — were unanimous in declaring that Ana was a Tagalog who had continuously resided in Macalelon and that Esteban was reputedly born out of wedlock. These declarations constituted admissible evidence of birth and illegitimacy. In a Philippine rural community, relationships deviating from established conventions become the subject of public scrutiny, so the community reputation that Esteban was Ana's natural child served as proof of his illegitimacy. The fact that Esteban retained the surname "Mallare" after his mother, rather than adopting his father's surname, further corroborated his illegitimate birth. As the natural child of a Filipino mother, Esteban was himself a Filipino, and no further act was necessary to confer citizenship upon him. Acts taken on the erroneous belief that he was a non-Filipilo could not divest him of citizenship to which he was rightfully entitled.

• Admissibility of Reputation Evidence: Reputation has been held admissible as evidence of age, birth, race, or race-ancestry, and on the question of whether a child was born alive. Unlike matters of pedigree, general reputation of marriage may proceed from persons who are not members of the family, because of the public interest taken in the existence of marital relations. The witnesses' declarations that Ana Mallare was a Tagalog were not mere conclusions devoid of evidentiary value; they were based on community reputation regarding her race-ancestry and had a factual basis, since in Philippine society a person from a given region can normally detect whether another hails from the same region, even from speech patterns. The witnesses had lived with and known Ana in Macalelon, lending high credibility to their declarations.

• Evidentiary Weight of Public Documents: While the death certificate of Esteban and the birth certificates of respondent and his siblings were public documents whose entries were presumed correct, that presumption is merely disputable. Artemio Mallare, Esteban's eldest son, denied having supplied the data in the death certificate, stating he was only 16 when his father died and learned of the death only the following day. The birth certificates appeared to have been prepared upon information given by nurses or midwives who would have no knowledge of the father's actual citizenship; in respondent's case, the informant was a "hilot" named Maria Arana. The alien certificate of registration was secured by respondent's mother on the belief that upon Esteban's death, she and her children reverted to Chinese citizenship. Even assuming these documents were prepared with actual knowledge and consent of respondent or his parents, on the erroneous belief that Esteban was a non-Filipino, such acts would not cause the loss or forfeiture of Philippine citizenship that Esteban had acquired from his Filipino mother.

• Election of Citizenship: Even assuming arguendo that Ana Mallare were legally married to an alien, Esteban's exercise of the right of suffrage upon reaching majority constituted a positive act of election of Philippine citizenship. Esteban was a registered voter as of April 14, 1928, and was already participating in elections and campaigning for candidates as early as 1925, when he was about 22 years old. These acts sufficed to show his preference for Philippine citizenship. It would be unfair to expect a formal deed of election, considering that prior to Commonwealth Act No. 625 enacted on June 7, 1941, no particular proceeding was required to exercise the option granted by Section 1, subsection 4, Article IV of the 1935 Philippine Constitution.

• Citizenship of Illegitimate Child of Filipino Mother — A person born out of wedlock to a Filipino mother is himself a Filipino citizen, and no further act is necessary to confer upon him the rights and privileges of Philippine citizenship. The Court applied this rule to Esteban Mallare, finding him to be the natural child of Ana Mallare, a Filipina, and thus a Filipino citizen by birth.

• Reputation as Evidence of Birth, Race, and Illegitimacy — Reputation is admissible as evidence of age, birth, race, or race-ancestry, and on the question of whether a child was born alive. Unlike pedigree, general reputation of marriage may proceed from persons who are not family members, due to the public interest in marital relations. The Court applied this principle to the declarations of Macalelon residents who testified to Ana Mallare's Tagalog ancestry and Esteban's illegitimate birth.

• Disputable Presumption of Public Document Entries — Entries in public documents are presumed correct, but the presumption is merely disputable and must yield to more positive evidence establishing their inaccuracy. The Court held that the death and birth certificates designating Esteban and his children as Chinese could not prevail over the testimonial and reputation evidence establishing Filipino citizenship.

• Election of Citizenship by Exercise of Suffrage — Prior to Commonwealth Act No. 625 (June 7, 1941), no particular proceeding was required to elect Philippine citizenship under Section 1, subsection 4, Article IV of the 1935 Constitution; exercise of suffrage and participation in elections constituted a positive act of election. The Court found Esteban's voter registration and electoral participation sufficient to establish his election of Philippine citizenship.

• "Esteban Mallare, natural child of Ana Mallare, a Filipina, is therefore himself a Filipino, and no other act would be necessary to confer on him all the rights and privileges attached to Philippine citizenship." — This passage states the ratio decidendi on the core citizenship question, establishing that an illegitimate child of a Filipino mother acquires Philippine citizenship by birth without need of any further act.

• "Reputation has been held admissible as evidence of age, birth, race, or race-ancestry, and on the question of whether a child was born alive." — This defines the doctrine on reputation evidence as applied to questions of birth, race, and legitimacy, distinguishing it from pedigree evidence.

• "While said documents are public and the entries therein are, consequently, presumed to be correct, such presumption is merely disputable and will have to yield to more positive evidence establishing their inaccuracy." — This articulates the rule on the evidentiary weight of entries in public documents, establishing that the presumption of correctness is not conclusive.

• "Indeed, it would be unfair to expect the presentation of a formal deed to that effect considering that prior to the enactment of Commonwealth Act 625 on June 7, 1941, no particular proceeding was required to exercise the option to elect Philippine citizenship, granted to the proper party by Section 1, subsection 4, Article IV of the 1935 Philippine Constitution." — This clarifies the manner of electing Philippine citizenship under the 1935 Constitution prior to the procedural requirements introduced by Commonwealth Act No. 625.

• U.S. vs. Ong Tianse, 29 Phil. 332 — Cited as authority for the proposition that the natural child of a Filipino mother is himself a Filipino citizen requiring no further act to confer citizenship.
• Santos Co vs. Government of the Philippine Islands, 42 Phil. 543 — Cited in support of the rule on citizenship of illegitimate children of Filipino mothers.
• Serra vs. Republic, L-4223, May 12, 1952 — Cited in support of the rule on citizenship of illegitimate children of Filipino mothers.
• Sy Quimsuan vs. Republic, L-4693, Feb. 16, 1953 — Cited in support of the rule on citizenship of illegitimate children of Filipino mothers.
• Pitallano vs. Republic, L-5111, June 28, 1954 — Cited in support of the rule on citizenship of illegitimate children of Filipino mothers.
• Palanca vs. Republic, 80 Phil. 578 — Cited for the proposition that acts taken on the erroneous belief that one is a non-Filipino cannot divest a person of citizenship privileges to which he is rightfully entitled.

• Section 1, subsection 4, Article IV, 1935 Philippine Constitution — Granted the option to elect Philippine citizenship to persons born of Filipino mothers. The Court held that prior to Commonwealth Act No. 625, no particular proceeding was required to exercise this option, and Esteban Mallare's exercise of suffrage constituted a valid election.
• Commonwealth Act No. 625 (June 7, 1941) — Introduced a formal proceeding for the election of Philippine citizenship. The Court noted that this law was enacted after Esteban had already exercised his option through suffrage, so its procedural requirements did not apply retroactively.

Makalintal, C.J., Zaldivar, Castro, Fernando, Teehankee, Barredo, Antonio, Esguerra, Muñoz Palma, and Aquino, JJ., concurred.