4/9/2020 E-Library - Information At Your Fingertips: Printer Friendly Senate Bill No. 2130 held on 18 August 2003 (precursors of Republic Act No. 9225), where the Hon. Chairman Franklin Drilon and Hon. Representative Arthur Defensor explained to Hon. Representative Exequiel Javier that the oath of allegiance is different from the renunciation of foreign citizenship; xxxx [T]he intent of the legislators was not only for Filipinos reacquiring or retaining their Philippine citizenship under Republic Act No. 9225 to take their oath of allegiance to the Republic of the Philippines, but also to explicitly renounce their foreign citizenship if they wish to run for elective posts in the Philippines. To qualify as a candidate in Philippine elections, Filipinos must only have one citizenship, namely, Philippine citizenship.[23] (Citation omitted and italics and underlining ours) Hence, in De Guzman v. COMELEC,[24] we declared petitioner therein to be disqualified from running for the position of vice-mayor for his failure to make a personal and sworn renunciation of his American citizenship. We find no reason to depart from the mandatory nature infused by the above rulings to the phrase “sworn renunciation”. The language of the provision is plain and unambiguous. It expresses a single, definite, and sensible meaning and must thus be read literally.[25] The foreign citizenship must be formally rejected through an affidavit duly sworn before an officer authorized to administer oath. It is conclusively presumed to be the meaning that the Legislature has intended to convey.[26] Even a resort to the Journal of the House of Representatives invoked by the petitioner leads to the same inference, viz: INTERPELLATION OF REP. JAVIER Rep. Javier initially inquired whether under the Bill, dual citizenship is only limited to natural-born Filipinos and not to naturalized Filipinos. Rep. Libanan replied in the affirmative. Rep. Javier subsequently adverted to Section 5 of the Bill which provides that natural-born Filipinos who have dual citizenship shall continue to enjoy full civil and political rights. This being the case, he sought clarification as to whether they can indeed run for public office provided that they renounce their foreign citizenship. Rep. Libanan replied in the affirmative, citing that these citizens will only have to make a personal and sworn renunciation of foreign citizenship before any authorized public officer. elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocsfriendly/1/55170 10/18