4/20/2021 E-Library - Information At Your Fingertips: Printer Friendly [31] Id CONCURRING OPINION PANGANIBAN, J.: I concur in the ponencia of Mr. Justice Santiago M. Kapunan, holding that the House Electoral Tribunal did not gravely abuse its discretion in ruling that Private Respondent Teodoro C. Cruz remains a natural-born Filipino citizen and is eligible to continue being a member of Congress. Let me just add a few points. The Facts in Brief It is undisputed that Congressman Cruz was born on April 27, 1960 in San Clemente, Tarlac, to Filipino parents. He was, therefore, a Filipino citizen, pursuant to Section 1 (2),[1] Article IV of the Constitution. Furthermore, not having done any act to acquire or perfect the Philippine citizenship he obtained from birth, he was a natural-born Filipino citizen, in accordance with Section 2[2] of the same Article IV. It is not disputed either that private respondent rendered military service to the United States Marine Corps from November 1985 to October 1993. On June 5, 1990, he was naturalized as an American citizen, in connection with his US military service. Consequently, under Section 1 (4)[3] of CA No. 63, he lost his Philippine citizenship. Upon his discharge from the US Marine Corps, private respondent returned to the Philippines and decided to regain his Filipino citizenship. Thus, on March 17, 1994, availing himself of the benefits of Republic Act (RA) No. 2630, entitled "An Act Providing for Reacquisition of Philippine Citizenship by Persons Who Lost Such by Rendering Service to, or Accepting Commission in, the Armed Forces of the United States,"[4] Cruz took his oath of allegiance to the Republic and registered the same with the Local Civil Registry of Mangatarem, Pangasinan. On the same day, he also executed an Affidavit of Reacquisition of Philippine Citizenship. Main Issue The main question here is: Did the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal (HRET) commit grave abuse of discretion in holding that, by reason of his repatriation, Congressman Teodoro C. Cruz had reverted to his original status as a natural-born citizen? I respectfully submit that the answer is "No." In fact, I believe that the HRET was correct in its ruling. 1. Repatriation Is Recovery of Original Citizenship First, repatriation is simply the recovery of original citizenship. Under Section 1 of RA 2630, a person "who ha[s] lost his citizenship" may "reacquire" it by "taking an oath of allegiance to the Republic of the Philippines." Former Senate President Jovito R. Salonga, a noted authority on the subject, explains this method more precisely in his https://elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocsfriendly/1/58613 10/25