Ong v. Republic Of The Philippines

CASTRO, J.:

This is an appeal by the Republic of the Philippines from the decision of the Court of First Instance of Manila, in its civil case 62710, granting the petition for naturalization of Ong Chiong alias Charles Ong. The petitioner who was born in Amoy, China on August 16, 1932, was admitted into the Philippines on October 27, 1934. He is married to Anita Sy, with whom he has six children.ℒαwρhi৷ He is exempt from filing a declaration of intention because he had been continuously residing in the Philippines for more than thirty years.

He is a graduate of the Mapua Institute of Technology with the degree of Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering. He has been employed with the United Neon Light Company since 1963. The Republic seeks the reversal of the judgment a quo, on four grounds, namely: (1) that the petitioner's use of the alias "Charles Ong"

without judicial authority disqualifies him from naturalization; (2) that the failure of the petitioner to state in his petitionhis second alias, "Charles T. Ong," is fatal to his application; (3) that the petitioner does not have a lucrative income; and (4) that the petitioner's character witness Alfonso Reyes is not in a position to vouch for the qualification of the petitioner for naturalization. For the purpose of resolving this appeal, we need dwell only on one of the grounds for reversal offered by the Republic.

The Petitioner has a wife and six children. According to his income tax return for 1963, the following items constituted his income for that year: Salary as employee of United Neon Light Co. P4,800.00 Bonus from United Neon Light Co. 2,000.00 Private tutoring (this was later revealed by peti- tioner as earnings of his wife) 1,972.00 Total