G.R. No. L-34997




Republic of the Philippines SUPREME COURT Manila SECOND DIVISION G.R. No. L-34997 February 16, 1982 IN THE MATTER OF THE PETITION OF HILARIO TAN also known as MANUEL TAN TO BE ADMITTED AS CITIZEN OF THE PHILIPPINES, HILARIO TAN, petitioner-appellee, vs. REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES, oppositor-appellant. R E S O L U T I O N FERNANDO, C.J.: This appeal was filed by the Republic of the Philippines from a lower court decision granting the petition for naturalization of appellee Hilario Tan, also known as Manuel Tan, as well as from its order, thereafter issued after the required period, authorizing "the petitioner to take his oath as citizen of the Republic of the Philippines, [whereupon] he will be entitled to all the privileges of a Filipino citizen." ¹ The briefs were duly filed. Thereafter, the case was submitted for decision. Subsequently, on January 20, 1982, there was a Manifestation and Motion by the Office of the Solicitor General. ² It alleged: "1. The Republic of the Philippines has appealed to this Honorable Court the decision of the Court of First Instance of Quezon (Branch IV-Calauag) dated December 11, 1968 granting Philippine citizenship to Hilario Tan also known as Manuel Tan; 2. During the pendency of the appeal, said Hilario Tan 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 December 3, 1975 pursuant to Presidential Decree No. 836. ..." ³ Copies of the Oath of Allegiance ⁴ and the Certificate of Naturalization ⁵ were therein included. The prayer is to have this case dismissed for being moot and academic. WHEREFORE, this case is dismissed for having become moot and academic. Barredo, Aquino, Concepcion, Jr., Abad Santos, De Castro, Ericta and Escolin, JJ., concur. Footnotes 1 Record on Appeal, 68. 2 Solicitor General Estelito P. Mendoza was assisted by Assistant Solicitor General Eulogio Raquel Santos 3 Manifestation and Motion, 1-2. 4 Annex " 1 ". 5 Annex "2". The Lawphil Project - Arellano Law Foundation