Today, we got an inquiry from Zenaida Tan.
Zenaida wrote concerning a problem she had in getting a Philippine Passport:
I was born in the Philippines but my father was a Chinese and my mother was a Filipina I try to get a passport here in General Santos City but they did not allow me because they consider me as a Chinese citizen.I will be going to Manila this month July 2011 to get a Philippine passport it could be or not? Thank you so much God bless. Zenaida
Here is our response to Zenaida:
Chairman Mao is certainly a Chinese Citizen!
Hello Zenaida,
If you have proof that your mother was a Philippine Citizen (her passport, birth certificate, etc) at the time of your birth, then you are also a Philippine Citizen. In fact, since your father was Chinese, you are already a dual citizen. Bring that proof of your mother’s citizenship to the DFA and re-apply for a passport. You should be recognized as a Filipino. If they still refuse, I’d recommend speaking with an attorney there in General Santos and see if he can straighten it all out for you.
Good luck to you Zenaida.
About MindanaoBob
Hello too Sir Robert,
Have a good day sir and thank you so much for replying my email and its a big honor for me to answer my question. Sir the problem is my mother don’t have any birth certificate because my father only make her birthday and she was a stow away child when she was a young and no read no write so what can I do sir to have proof for her citizenship is okay her marriage contract sir?Please let me know and thank you so much.
God bless and for your whole family.
Respectfully yours,
Zenaida
Hi Zenaida – Wow, that’s a little tough, then. In your case, I believe your best bet would be to contact an attorney and see if they can sort out your situation. Good luck to you.
Hello good morning, my mom cannot get a passport because on her bitth certificate she is chinese because her father is chinese but she was born in the philippines. Her mother dont have a birth certificate and they’re not married too. Can she apply for a dual citizenship because she went court to change her nationality to filipino but that was denied because the court said her father is an allien so now they turn over to court of appeals. I petitioned her since 2008 to come to the us and we;ve been waiting for a long time and we dont know what to do now. Please give some advice on what to do. Thank you and hope to hear from you soon.
Hello rowena – Unfortunately, the only thing that you can do, as far as I know, is to continue to pursue the case in the Court of Appeals.