The Department of Justice (DOJ) has expressed support for the draft treaty between the Philippines and Spain that would allow natural-born Filipinos to retain their citizenship should they decide to become Spanish nationals.

In a legal opinion dated April 30, 2024, DOJ Secretary Jesus Crispin C. Remulla said “a Filipino citizen does not lose his/her Philippine citizenship upon acquisition of the citizenship of any Iberian and Ibero-American countries, as well as that of the United Kingdom, provided that the same is embodied in a treaty between the Philippines and the country from which the citizenship is acquired.”

Iberian countries are Portugal and Spain while Ibero-American countries are those located in South America.

Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Maria  Elena P. Algabre, head of the Office of European Affairs, sought the legal opinion because the Philippines and Spain have come out with a draft “Agreement on Dual Nationality.”

Algabre asked the DOJ if the draft agreement is contrary to the Constitution, Republic Act 9225, the Citizenship Retention and Re-acquisition Act, and Commonwealth Act (CA) 63, as amended, which provide a way for Filipinos to lose or reacquire citizenship.

Remulla said that CA 63 states that “the acquisition of citizenship by a natural born Filipino citizen from of the Iberian and any friendly democratic Ibero-American countries or from the United Kingdom shall not produce loss or forfeiture of his Philippine citizenship if the law of that country grants the same privilege to its citizens and such had been agreed upon by a treaty between the Philippines and the foreign country from which the citizenship is acquired.”

“Spain is one such Iberian country, and its law expressly recognizes that Spaniards de origen who acquire Philippine citizenship will not lose their Spanish nationality,” he pointed out.

“Further, the second paragraph of Article 24(2) of the Spanish Civil Code provides that ‘acquisition of the nationality of Latin American countries, Andorra, the Philippines, Equatorial Guinea or Portugal shall not be sufficient to cause the loss of Spanish nationality by birth,” he added.

At the same time, Remulla noted that RA 9225 “allows natural-born Filipino citizens, who lost their Philippine citizenship through naturalization in a foreign country, to expeditiously reacquire/retain Philippine citizenship by taking of an oath of allegiance to the Republic of the Philippines.”

“Entering into the proposed Agreement could be said to enhance RA No. 9225 on the retention of Philippine citizenship,” he said.

Should the treaty push through, the DOJ chief recommended that there should be an amendment to the Bureau of Immigration’s (BI) Memorandum Circular No. AFF-o4-01 that serves as the existing procedural rules in implementing RA 9225.