G.R. No. L-22204




Republic of the Philippines SUPREME COURT Manila SECOND DIVISION G.R. No. L-22204 August 21, 1980 IN THE MATTER OF THE PETITION OF SANTIAGO CHENG alias SANTIAGO CHENG UN TO BE ADMITTED AS A CITIZEN OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES. SANTIAGO CHENG ALIAS SANTIAGO CHENG UN, PETITIONER-APPELLEE, vs. REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES, oppositor-appellant. FERNANDO, C.J., At present pending before this Court is an appeal by the Republic of the Philippines, the oppositor in the application for Filipino citizenship filed by petitioner Santiago Cheng alias Santiago Cheng Un. The decision under review held that petitioner-appellee had all the qualifications prescribe by law and none of the disqualification therein specified. The main ground was the failure to establish by sufficient evidence that his character witnesses are "credible persons within the contemplation of the Act." 1 The brief for the petitioner-appellee alleged that there is no basis for such an allegation. At any rate, under date of August 15, 1980, a Manifestation and Motion was filed by the Solicitor General, 2 setting forth the following: " 1. The Republic of the Philippines has appealed to this Honorable Court the decision of the Court of First Instance of Iloilo dated July 11, 1963 granting Philippine citizenship to Santiago Cheng, alias Santiago Cheng Un; 2. During the pendency of the appeal, said Santiago Cheng filed an application for naturalization under Letter of Instructions No. 270, and upon recommendation of the Special Committee on Naturalization, he was granted Philippine citizenship on November 22, 1977 pursuant to Presidential Decree No. 1220. Copies of his Oath of Allegiance and Certificate of Naturalization are hereto attached as Annexes '1' and '2', respectively." 3 A xeroxed copy of his oath of allegiance and his certificate of naturalization were, as stated in such manifestation, included the prayer for the dismissal of the appeal for being moot and academic. WHEREFORE, the appeal is dismissed for being moot and academic. Barredo, Aquino, Concepcion, Jr., Guerrero and De Castro, JJ., concur. Abad Santos, J., is on leave. Footnotes 1 Cf. Record on Appeal, 42-60. 2 Solicitor General Estelito P. Mendoza was assisted by Assistant Solicitor General Santiago M. Kapunan and Solicitor Oswaldo D. Agcaoili. 3 Manifestation and Motion, 1-2. The Lawphil Project - Arellano Law Foundation