Lim vs. De la Rosa

A person who is the illegitimate child of a Filipino mother is a Filipino citizen from birth, following the citizenship of the mother. Department of Justice opinions denying a claim of citizenship do not have conclusive character or effect, and a court may determine citizenship in a petition for injunction to prevent administrative officers from compelling registration as an alien, provided the claimant can show, establish, and prove that he is such citizen.

The petitioners-appellees, spouses Lorenzo Lim and Juana Alvarez Lim, claimed to be citizens of the Philippines. The respondents-appellants were Francisco de la Rosa, Assistant Commissioner of Immigration, and Jovito Palattao, Alien Control Officer stationed at Zamboanga City, who sought to require the spouses to register as aliens under the Alien Registration Act of 1900, which imposes a duty on all aliens residing in the Philippines to register with the Bureau of Immigration. The Department of Justice had previously rendered opinions denying Lorenzo Lim's claim of Philippine citizenship, specifically Opinion No. 378, Series of 1955, and Opinion No. 77, Series of 1956, which the immigration officers relied upon in compelling registration.

The spouses Lorenzo Lim and Juana Alvarez Lim filed a petition in the Court of First Instance of Manila to enjoin Francisco de la Rosa, Assistant Commissioner of Immigration, and Jovito Palattao, Alien Control Officer stationed at Zamboanga City, from requiring or compelling them to register as aliens. The respondents' answer alleged that Lorenzo Lim, alias Lam Shun Hock, was not a citizen of the Philippines, as ruled by the Department of Justice in Opinion No. 378, Series of 1955, and Opinion No. 77, Series of 1956. The petitioners' reply mentioned Lorenzo Lim's application in 1957 for a Filipino passport, which was issued to him as Passport No. 3590 upon a memorandum by the Citizenship Committee of the Department of Foreign Affairs; an order for a change of name entered by the Court of First Instance of Zamboanga City stating that the petitioner was a Filipino citizen; and Opinion No. 31, Series of 1956, denying reconsideration of Opinion No. 77.

On March 2, 1960, the parties submitted an Agreed Statement of Facts. On March 12, 1952, Lam Shun Hock, alias Lorenzo Lim, was investigated by the Office of the Immigration Inspector in Zamboanga regarding his claim of Philippine citizenship, and the matter was referred to the Secretary of Justice for opinion. The Department of Justice rendered Opinion No. 378, Series of 1955, denying the claim, and denied reconsideration in Opinion No. 77, Series of 1956. In 1957, Lorenzo Lim applied for and was issued Filipino Passport No. 3590 based on a Memorandum of the Citizenship Committee of the Department of Foreign Affairs dated May 24, 1957. In January 1957, Lorenzo Lim filed a Petition for Change of Name in the Court of First Instance of Zamboanga City, which was favorably acted upon by Order dated July 19, 1957. On August 26, 1957, Lorenzo Lim filed a Motion for Reconsideration of Opinion No. 77, attaching various public and private documents, including certificates of loss of pre-war civil registry records in Jolo, Sulu; affidavits of close friends of his parents regarding the Filipino parentage and citizenship of Mora Alsia; election papers of Lam Shun Hock dated 1941; birth certificates of his children describing them as Filipinos; the memorandum of the Department of Foreign Affairs; marriage and baptismal certificates of his children; affidavits regarding the baptism and marriage of Lam Shun Hock; certificates showing he voted in the 1955 elections and was a registered voter in the 1928 elections; a certificate from Immigration Officer Palattao stating that Lorenzo Lim was not registered as an alien; and a certificate of registration of business name showing he was a Filipino citizen. The Acting Secretary of Justice rendered Opinion No. 31, Series of 1958, denying the motion for reconsideration. As a result, respondent de la Rosa ordered respondent Palattao to require the petitioners to register as aliens, and Palattao advised the petitioners to register within ten days.

The trial court found that Lorenzo Lim was born on January 26, 1905, in Tulay, Jolo, Sulu, the illegitimate son of Lam Hing, a Chinese citizen, and Mora Alsia, a Filipino citizen whose parents were Abdul Hussin and Mora Tamsila, both Filipinos. Lam Hing died in 1907 and Mora Alsia died in 1908. The parents of Lam Hing were never married during their lifetime. Lorenzo Lim was never registered with the Bureau of Immigration as an alien, and in all his transactions with the government he was known to be a Filipino citizen. The evidence further showed that Lorenzo Lim and Juana Alvarez were legally married. The trial court believed the spouses were Filipino citizens either by reason of Lorenzo Lim's illegitimacy or, granting that his parents were legally married, by his mother's reversion to Philippine citizenship when his father died.

• Propriety of Injunction: Petitioners argued that as citizens of the Philippines, they could not be required or compelled to register as aliens, and that injunction was the proper and adequate remedy to protect their right, since they could show, establish, and prove their citizenship.
• Citizenship Through Illegitimacy: Petitioners maintained that Lorenzo Lim was the illegitimate son of Lam Hing and Mora Alsia, a Filipino citizen, and consequently he followed the citizenship of his mother from birth.
• Evidentiary Support: Petitioners presented documentary evidence, including the Agreed Statement of Facts, showing that Lorenzo Lim elected Filipino citizenship on July 18, 1941 after the passage of Commonwealth Act No. 625, was a registered voter in the 1928, 1931, 1934, and 1955 elections, was issued Filipino Passport No. 3590, was declared a Filipino citizen in the change of name proceedings, and had never been registered as an alien.

• Non-Citizenship of Lorenzo Lim: Respondents argued that Lorenzo Lim, alias Lam Shun Hock, was not a citizen of the Philippines, as ruled by the Department of Justice in Opinion No. 378, Series of 1955, and Opinion No. 77, Series of 1956.
• Error in Finding Illegitimacy: Respondents claimed the lower court erred in finding that the petitioner-appellee was the illegitimate son of Lam Hing and Mora Alsia and consequently followed the citizenship of his mother.
• Impropriety of Citizenship Determination in This Petition: Respondents claimed the lower court erred in finding that the citizenship of the petitioner-appellee could be determined in the present petition for injunction.
• Error in Granting the Injunction: Respondents claimed the lower court erred in permanently enjoining them from requiring the petitioners to register as aliens.

• Illegitimacy and Citizenship: Whether the trial court erred in finding that Lorenzo Lim was the illegitimate son of Lam Hing and Mora Alsia and consequently followed the citizenship of his mother.
• Determination of Citizenship in Injunction Proceedings: Whether the trial court erred in determining the citizenship of the petitioner-appellee in the present petition for injunction.
• Propriety of the Permanent Injunction: Whether the trial court erred in permanently enjoining the respondents from requiring the petitioners to register as aliens.

• Illegitimacy and Citizenship: No. The trial court did not err, as the evidence showed that there was no marriage between the parents of Lorenzo Lim, making him a Filipino citizen since he followed the citizenship of his mother Mora Alsia from birth.
• Determination of Citizenship in Injunction Proceedings: No. The trial court properly determined citizenship in the injunction petition, as injunction is the proper and adequate remedy to protect the right of a person claiming to be a citizen who is being required or compelled to register as an alien.
• Propriety of the Permanent Injunction: No. The trial court did not err in granting the permanent injunction, as the evidence supported the finding that the spouses are Filipino citizens, and the Department of Justice opinions relied upon by the respondents did not have conclusive character or effect.

• Illegitimacy and Citizenship: The trial court's findings were supported by the documents and answers of witnesses to interrogatories presented as evidence without objection. The evidence showed that Lorenzo Lim was born on January 26, 1905, in Tulay, Jolo, Sulu, the illegitimate son of Lam Hing, a Chinese citizen, and Mora Alsia, a Filipino citizen. Since there was no marriage between the parents of Lorenzo Lim, he is a Filipino citizen because he follows the citizenship of his mother Mora Alsia from birth. The Court noted that the stipulated facts further strengthened the finding of the trial court: on July 18, 1941, after the passage of Commonwealth Act No. 625, Lorenzo Lim elected Filipino citizenship; he was a registered voter in the 1928, 1931, 1934, and 1955 elections; he was issued Filipino Passport No. 3590 based on a memorandum by the Citizenship Committee of the Department of Foreign Affairs; the Court of First Instance of Zamboanga City, in granting his petition for change of name, stated that he was a Filipino citizen; he and his wife had never been registered as aliens; and his certificate of registration of business name recited that he was a Filipino citizen.
• Determination of Citizenship in Injunction Proceedings: The Court addressed the remedy of a citizen or inhabitant of the country claiming to be a citizen who is being required or compelled to register as an alien by administrative officers of the Government. If the person claiming to be a citizen can show, establish, and prove that he is such citizen, the remedy of injunction to prevent the officers from requiring or compelling him to register as an alien is certainly the proper and adequate remedy to protect his right.
• Propriety of the Permanent Injunction: The opinions of the Department of Justice referred to by the respondents do not have a conclusive character or effect, as they were based on findings that the evidence then submitted was incompetent and the petitioner's statement was unsupported and hence insufficient to warrant a conclusion that the petitioner is a Filipino citizen. The trial court's findings, supported by the evidence presented, justified the permanent injunction against requiring the petitioners to register as aliens.

• Citizenship of an Illegitimate Child Follows the Mother — An illegitimate child follows the citizenship of the mother from birth. In this case, since there was no marriage between Lam Hing, a Chinese citizen, and Mora Alsia, a Filipino citizen, their son Lorenzo Lim was a Filipino citizen from birth, following the citizenship of his mother.
• Non-Conclusiveness of Department of Justice Opinions on Citizenship — Opinions of the Department of Justice on a claim of citizenship do not have a conclusive character or effect. They are based on findings that the evidence then submitted was incompetent and the petitioner's statement was unsupported and hence insufficient to warrant a conclusion that the petitioner is a Filipino citizen. Courts may independently determine citizenship based on the evidence presented.
• Injunction as Remedy Against Compulsory Alien Registration — If a person claiming to be a citizen of the country who is being required or compelled to register as an alien can show, establish, and prove that he is such citizen, the remedy of injunction to prevent the officers from requiring or compelling him to register as an alien is the proper and adequate remedy to protect his right.

• "If the person claiming to be a citizen of the country who is being required or compelled to register as alien, can show, establish, prove that he is such citizen, the remedy of injunction to prevent the offices from requiring or compelling him to register as alien is certainly the proper and adequate remedy to protect his right." — This passage establishes the availability of injunction as a remedy for a person claiming citizenship who is being compelled to register as an alien, and forms the basis for the Court's ruling on the propriety of the injunction.
• "Inasmuch as there was no marriage between the parents of petitioner, Lorenzo Lim, he is a Filipino citizen since he follows the citizenship of his mother Mora Alsia from birth." — This is the core ratio decidendi of the case, stating the rule that an illegitimate child follows the citizenship of the mother from birth.
• "The opinions of the Department of Justice referred to do not have a conclusive character or effect as they are based on findings that the evidence then submitted was incompetent and the petitioner's statement was unsupported and hence insufficient to warrant a conclusion that the petitioner is a Filipino citizen." — This passage establishes the doctrine that Department of Justice opinions on citizenship are not conclusive and may be set aside by courts based on the evidence presented.

N/A — The case text does not cite any prior jurisprudence.

• Commonwealth Act No. 625 — The Court noted that on July 18, 1941, after the passage of Commonwealth Act No. 625 on June 7, 1941, petitioner Lorenzo Lim elected Filipino citizenship, which strengthened the finding that he was a Filipino citizen.
• Alien Registration Act of 1900 — The Court noted that under this Act, it is the duty of all aliens residing in the Philippines to register with the Bureau of Immigration, and the Commissioner of Immigration has the duty to enforce said laws. This was the statutory basis for the respondents' demand that the petitioners register as aliens.

Bengzon, C.J., Bautista Angelo, Paredes, Dizon, Regala, and Makalintal, JJ., concurred.

N/A — The case text does not contain any dissenting opinion. Justices Reyes, J.B.L., Labrador, Concepcion, and Barrera took no part in the case.