The Philippine Citizenship [Part III]

The Philippine Citizenship

The year 1898 was considered the turning point in history on the Spanish ruling over the Philippines. At this time, the power of Spain declined. She was forced to give up to the clout of the United States.

The United States in April 25, 1898 declared were against Spain. To end the six-month hostilities between Spain and the United States, a treaty was entered into. The treaty was signed on December 10, 1898 and Spain was forced to yield the possession of the Philippines, along with Puerto Rico, Guam and Cuba, to the United States.

This treaty was known as the Treaty of Paris of 1898. Under the treaty, the –

“Spanish subjects, natives of the Peninsula, residing in the territory over which Spain by the present treaty relinquishes or cedes her sovereignty may remain in such territory or may remove therefrom, retaining in either event all their rights of property, including the right to sell or dispose of such property or of its proceeds; and they shall also have the right to carry on their industry, commerce, and professions, being subject in respect thereof to such laws as are applicable to foreigners. In case they remain in the territory they may preserve their allegiance to the Crown of Spain by making, before a court of record, within a year from the date of the exchange of ratifications of this treaty, a declaration of their decision to preserve such allegiance; in default of which declaration they shall be held to have renounced it and to have adopted the nationality of the territory in which they reside.”

Under the Treaty of Paris, both native and Spanish subjects who did not exercise their option to leave the Philippines, but remained in the country and adopted the nationality of the Philippines were considered citizens of the Philippines. However, those Spanish subjects who remained in the Philippines and declared before a court of record their intention to preserve their allegiance to Spain within a year and a half from the date of ratification of the treaty retained their Spanish nationality

Upon the ratification of the treaty on April 11, 1900, the civil rights and political status of the native inhabitants of the Philippines were yielded to the United States thereby ceasing them also to be Spanish subjects. But ceding to the United States did not mean becoming American citizens.

For the first time in the Philippine history, the term "citizens of the Philippine Islands" appeared in the Philippine Bill of 1902, thereafter known as the Philippine Organic Act of 1902. Part of which provides –

".... that all inhabitants of the Philippine Islands continuing to reside therein, who were Spanish subjects on the 11th day of April, 1891, and then resided in said Islands, and their children born subsequent thereto, shall be deemed and held to be citizens of the Philippine Islands and as such entitled to the protection of the United States, except such as shall have elected to preserve their allegiance to the Crown of Spain in accordance with the provisions of the treaty of peace between the United States and Spain, signed at Paris, December tenth eighteen hundred and ninety eight."

Under the said Act, to be considered a “citizen of the Philippines”, one must be an inhabitant of the Philippines, and a Spanish subject on the 11^th day of April 1899. An inhabitant refers to one that is a native-born inhabitant, an inhabitant who was a native of Peninsular Spain, and an inhabitant who obtained Spanish papers on or before 11 April 1899.

How about those children who were born in the Philippines from 11 April 1899 to 01 July 1902? How are they considered in terms of citizenship? It should be noted that during these period no citizenship law existed in the Philippines.

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