Yasay admits he was granted US citizenship
MANILA, Philippines - “I’m a Filipino citizen in thought, word and deed.”
This was the response of Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr. when asked yesterday about his citizenship.
“I am neither an American nor a dual citizen. I’m not stateless,” he said in a television interview.
Yasay admitted he was granted US citizenship in 1986 and took an oath on Nov. 24 of that year.
But said he was disqualified because he had a “preconceived intent” to abandon his US residency as he returned to the Philippines in January 1987.
Yasay said he did not legally acquire US citizenship and that he returned all his papers and executed an affidavit “telling US authorities that I did not qualify and this is my right.”
The foreign affairs chief also admitted that he had an American passport and that it had been returned along with his naturalization certificate.
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