In Re: Dacanay, B.M NO. 1678, December 17, 2007
Facts:
Petitioner was admitted to the
Philippine bar in March 1960. He practiced law until he migrated to Canada in
December 1998 to seek medical attention for his ailments. He subsequently
applied for Canadian citizenship to avail of Canada’sfree medical aid program.
His application was approved and he became a Canadian citizen in May 2004.On
July 14, 2006, pursuant to Republic Act (RA) 9225 (Citizenship Retention and
Re-Acquisition Act of 2003), petitioner reacquired his Philippine
citizenship.On that day, he took his oath of allegiance as a Filipino citizen
before the Philippine Consulate General in Toronto, Canada. Thereafter, he
returned to the Philippines and now intends to resume his law practice.
Issue:
WON petitioner may still resume
practice? YES
Held:
Section 2, Rule 138 of the Rules of
Court provides an applicant for admission to the bar be a citizen of the
Philippines, at least twenty-one years of age, of good moral character and a
resident of the Philippines.5 He must also produce before this Court
satisfactory evidence of good moral character and that no charges against him,
involving moral turpitude, have been filed or are pending in any court in the Philippines.
Since Filipino citizenship is a requirement for admission to the bar, loss
thereof terminates membership in the Philippine bar and, consequently, the
privilege to engage in the practice of law. In other words, the loss of
Filipino citizenship ipso jure terminates the privilege to practice law in the
Philippines. The practice of law is a privilege denied to foreigners. The
exception is when Filipino citizenship is lost by reason of naturalization as a
citizen of another country but subsequently reacquired pursuant to RA 9225.
This is because “all Philippine citizens who become citizens of another country
shall be deemed not to have lost their Philippine citizenship under the
conditions of [RA 9225].” Therefore, a Filipino lawyer who becomes a citizen of
another country is deemed never to have lost his Philippine citizenship if he
reacquires it in accordance with RA 9225.Before he can can resume his law
practice, he must first secure from this Court the authority to do so,
conditioned on:o the updating and payment of of IBP membership dues;o the
payment of professional tax;o the completion of at least 36 credit hours of
mandatory continuing legal education; this is specially significant to refresh
the applicant/petitioner’s knowledge of Philippine laws and update him of legal
developments ando the retaking of the lawyer’s oath.
DECISION: GRANTED.
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