Duterte's misaligned "realignment of ideology"

I do not know if it is the smog that he breathed or the food that was served, but what President Duterte declared during the state dinner in China is not only mindboggling but frankly very disturbing. I am not referring to his supposed "separation from the US," as I knew that such phrase could easily be explained by his advisers as to be meant and taken differently. After fierce criticisms from even his hardcore supporters, the president himself softened his stance by saying he could not do what he said as severing ties with the US is not in the country's best interest.

What is especially alarming is his unilateral proclamation of realigning himself in China's ideological flow. Just what did he mean by this? What part of China's ideology that he wants to realign with? Is it its political ideology of communism, or the adoption of socialist market economy? Or is it atheism and absolute authoritarianism? Was it is just an unguarded and innocent musing of a private individual? Or was it meant to be an abdication by presidential fiat of Section 1, Article 2 of the Constitution of the Philippines which declares as a matter of state principle that the Philippines is a democratic and republican state and that sovereignty resides in the Filipino people and all government authority emanates from them? He owes it to this country and its people to fully explain to them what he means by his so called "realignment of ideological flow" and what he intends to do with it.

Words have meaning and power. And when spoken by a duly elected head of state, those words become the expression of the collective spirit of the people he represents. As with his past miscues, which was easily forgiven and forgotten, I believe he should now be more aware not only of what he says but also as to what his utterances would mean in a national and even global scale.

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The Civil Service Commission recently issued Memorandum Circular 23 that took effect on September 23, 2016 which states that a person with dual citizenship shall not be appointed in the government unless he or she renounces his or her foreign citizenship pursuant to the provisions of RA 9225. It also gives incumbent government employees who hold dual citizenship six months within which to renounce their foreign citizenship. Failure to do so would result in the recall of their appointment. 

I believe such memo by the commission opens itself to future legal challenges. It defeats the very purpose upon which RA 9225 was passed. Republic Act 9225, also known as the Citizenship Retention and Reacquisition Act of 2003 was designed in order to restore full civil, economic, and political rights of natural born Filipino citizens who have acquired citizenship of another country. The retention and reacquisition of Philippine citizenship under this act is subject to all attendant liabilities and responsibilities under existing laws of the Philippines and the conditions under RA 9225 itself.

Section 5.3 of RA 9225 complicates CSC Memo 23. That pertinent provision states that those appointed to any public office shall subscribe and swear to an oath and allegiance to the Republic of the Philippines and its duly constituted authorities prior to their assumption of office, provided that they renounce their oath of allegiance to the country where they took that oath. Note that the law provides renunciation of oath of allegiance. It does not require renunciation of foreign citizenship. Congress, when it crafted the law, would have expressly provided that a renunciation of foreign citizenship is required for appointed positions. Yet, it only reserved this requirement to those seeking elective public office as stated in RA 9225, Section 5.2.

This column is not a substitute for professional legal advice obtained from a US licensed immigration attorney. The information contained herein does not constitute a warranty or guarantee or legal advice regarding a reader's specific immigration case. No attorney-client relationship is and shall be established with any reader.

For any questions, comments and observations, please contact Atty. Marco Tomakin at

[email protected]. US IMMIGRATION NOTES Atty. Marco F.G. Tomakin