In re Mallare
REITERATIONFacts
The Antecedents: Florencio Mallare was admitted to the practice of law on March 5, 1962. In his petition to take the bar examinations in 1961, he alleged he was a Filipino citizen, with Filipino parents. The Acting Commissioner of Immigration denounced Mallare, alleging he was a Chinese national masquerading as a Filipino. Mallare claimed Filipino citizenship based on his father, Esteban Mallare, being a Filipino citizen by choice, as Esteban was the illegitimate son of a Chinese father and a Filipina mother, Ana Mallare. Mallare also asserted that his Filipino citizenship was conclusive due to a final judgment in Civil Case No. 329-G, which declared him and his siblings Filipino citizens, and a corrected birth record in Special Proceeding No. 3925. The complainant disputed these claims, alleging Civil Case No. 329-G was a simulated action to obtain a judicial declaration of citizenship and facilitate the change of their birth and alien registration records to conceal their Chinese nationality. Procedural History: Civil Case No. 329-G was an action filed by Vitaliano Itable to rescind the sale of land to the Mallare siblings, alleging they were Chinese. The defendants (Mallare siblings) presented evidence of their Filipino citizenship, and the plaintiff did not cross-examine or present rebuttal. The court declared the Mallare siblings as natural-born Filipino citizens and upheld the sale. Subsequently, based on this declaration, the Mallare siblings filed Special Proceeding No. 3925 for the correction of their birth records, which was granted. The Commissioner of Immigration then cancelled their alien registrations and issued identification certificates recognizing them as Filipino citizens. The Petition: The Acting Commissioner of Immigration requested an investigation into Mallare's citizenship and, if found not to be Filipino, for steps to be taken to strike his name from the roll of attorneys. The Supreme Court referred the matter for investigation.
Issue(s)
Whether the judicial declaration of citizenship in Civil Case No. 329-G and the corrected birth record in Special Proceeding No. 3925 are conclusive and binding on the government. Whether Florencio Mallare is a Filipino citizen by blood or by choice. Whether the Supreme Court is precluded from inquiring into the citizenship of Florencio Mallare.
Ruling
The Supreme Court ruled that Florencio Mallare is not a Filipino citizen and ordered his exclusion from the practice of law, revoking his admission to the Philippine Bar. His lawyer's diploma was ordered returned.
Ratio Decidendi
On the conclusiveness of judicial declarations of citizenship: The Court held that Civil Case No. 329-G, which declared the Mallare siblings as Filipino citizens, was an action in personam where the declaration of citizenship was not the primary relief sought but merely an incident to the adjudication of property rights. Such a pronouncement was beyond the court's competence as there was no law authorizing a judicial proceeding solely to declare an individual's citizenship. Therefore, the declaration did not attain finality as res judicata and could not be conclusive against the government or the world. The appearance of the fiscal in Special Proceeding No. 3925 did not bind the state, as the proceeding was not in rem and the state had not given its consent to be a party. Furthermore, neither case involved adequate publication to apprise all concerned, a requirement for res judicata. On Florencio Mallare's citizenship by blood or choice: The Court found the evidence preponderant that Florencio Mallare's father, Esteban Mallare, was and remained a Chinese national until his death. This was supported by birth certificates of his children, including Esperanza, which bore Esteban's signature admitting he was Chinese, and Esteban's own death certificate, signed by his son Artemio, which stated Esteban was Chinese, born in China, and buried in the Chinese cemetery. The family was also registered as aliens in 1942. Florencio himself was registered as an alien in 1950, stating he was Chinese and of the yellow race, using other names. His claim to Filipino citizenship through his father's supposed election was unsubstantiated by any recorded election. The landing certificate of residence of his mother, Te Na, describing her husband as a "P.I. citizen," carried little evidentiary weight as it was an administrative ex parte determination. Esteban's affidavit electing Filipino citizenship was self-serving and not a substitute for a duly recorded election, especially since he was already 36 years old and executed it to change a previous statement in a lease application indicating he was Chinese. His registration as a voter, while indicating a desire to exercise a right, did not alter his real citizenship determined by jus sanguinis. On the Supreme Court's authority to inquire into citizenship: The Court affirmed its inherent and constitutional authority to inquire into the citizenship of persons admitted to the practice of law, independently of any other court's findings. This power is not precluded by prior judicial declarations, especially when those declarations are found to be without legal basis or obtained through simulated proceedings. The Court's duty to maintain the integrity of the legal profession necessitates such an inquiry.
Main Doctrine
A judicial declaration of citizenship, when not the main relief sought but merely incidental to a controversy over property, does not attain finality as res judicata and cannot be used to alter one's established citizenship by jus sanguinis. The Supreme Court retains its inherent power to inquire into the citizenship of individuals admitted to the practice of law.