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Justice
BillSBN-202420th Congress

Acquisition of Filipino Citizenship by the Children of Former Natural-born Filipino Citizens

In committee Filed Apr 7, 2026
◷ Where it standsIn Committee
FiledCommittee2nd Reading3rd ReadingBicamEnacted

Filed on April 7, 2026, and referred to the Committees on Justice and Human Rights and Constitutional Amendments and Revision of Codes; it has been pending in committee since then with no recorded action.

Should you care?
Relevance to you
Moderate

The bill addresses the citizenship status of children born to former Filipino citizens, which affects many families with Filipino heritage.

Children of former natural-born citizensFilipino citizensDepartment of Foreign Affairs
Timeliness
Timely

The bill responds to the needs of families with Filipino heritage who face challenges in citizenship acquisition.

Affects you ifChildren of former citizensFilipino families abroadNaturalization applicants
Impact assessment
AI read — verify with source
Overall impact
3.5/ 10
Long title

Acquisition of Filipino Citizenship by the Children of Former Natural-born Filipino Citizens

Plain-language summary
AI Summary

This bill aims to expand the process for acquiring Filipino citizenship for children of former natural-born Filipino citizens who lost their citizenship before the child's birth. It seeks to simplify the citizenship process and strengthen the recognition of citizenship by descent.

What this bill actually requires
RequiresChildren of former natural-born citizens may acquire Filipino citizenship by taking an oath of allegiance.
DeadlineThe Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) must issue implementing rules and regulations within 60 days of the law's effectivity.
ⓘ AI-generated — verify with the source.↗ Official Senate PDF
What changes from current law

Compared with current law:

Today

Children of former Filipino citizens cannot acquire citizenship easily.

This bill

Children of former Filipino citizens can acquire citizenship by taking an oath.

ⓘ AI-generated comparison — verify against the bill and the cited law.
Ask this bill

Children whose father or mother was a natural-born Filipino citizen but lost their citizenship through naturalization before the child's birth can acquire Filipino citizenship by taking an oath of allegiance.

Source · full text
Issue areas
JusticeCitizenshipDepartment of Foreign AffairsFilipino heritage

✦ Dashed tags are AI-suggested nuance; solid tags follow the committee taxonomy.

Legislative history
Apr 7, 2026Senate
Introduced by Senator IMEE R. MARCOS;
May 4, 2026Senate
Read on First Reading and Referred to the Committees on JUSTICE AND HUMAN RIGHTS and CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS AND REVISION OF CODES;
✦ AI insight

Stalled: the bill has sat in committee for over five months with no action since its referral on May 4, 2026.

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Floor activity

No floor deliberations yet — this measure has not reached plenary. Its committee-stage actions appear under Legislative history above.

Full text
SBN-2024 — verbatim textAs filed

Senate Office of the secretary TWENTIETH CONGRESS OF THE) REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES ) APR -7 P1:06 First Regular Session SENATE RECEIVED BY: S.B. No. 2024 Introduced by SENATOR IMEE R. MARCOS AN ACT EXPANDING DERIVATIVE FILIPINO CITIZENSHIP AND PROVIDING FOR THE ACQUISITION OF FILIPINO CITIZENSHIP BY THE CHILDREN OF FORMER NATURAL-BORN FILIPINO CITIZENS EXPLANATORY NOTE Republic Act No. 9225, otherwise known as the "Citizenship Retention and Re- Acquisition Act of 2003," allows' natural-born Filipinos who have acquired foreign citizenship to retain or re-acquire their Philippine citizenship upon taking the prescribed oath of allegiance. However, the law does not extend relief to persons born to former Filipino citizens who had already lost their Philippine citizenship prior to the child's birth. As a result, many individuals who are Filipino by lineage, heritage, and identity are effectively precluded from claiming Philippine citizenship solely because of legal and procedural limitations. The proposed measure seeks to redress such limitations by providing a more accessible and streamlined process for the acquisition of Philippine citizenship by children of former natural-born Filipinos. In so doing, the measure strengthens the State's recognition of citizenship by descent and affords greater protection to the legitimate interests of children of Filipinos abroad, without subjecting them to unduly burdensome procedural requirements. Given the abovementioned circumstances, the approval of this bill is earnestly sought. Free h. Marca IMEE R. MARCOS

senate Difice of the Secretary TWENTIETH CONGRESS OF THE) REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES ) First Regular Session APR -7 P1:06 SENATE 24 S.B. No. RECEIVED BY: Introduced by SENATOR IMEE R. MARCOS AN ACT EXPANDING DERIVATIVE FILIPINO CITIZENSHIP AND PROVIDING FOR THE ACQUISITION OF FILIPINO CITIZENSHIP BY THE CHILDREN OF FORMER NATURAL-BORN FILIPINO CITIZENS Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled:

Sec. 1. Any person, whose father or mother was a natural-born Filipino citizen

who had lost such citizenship through naturalization before the person's birth, may acquire Filipino citizenship by taking the oath of allegiance to the Republic: "I -, solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines and obey the laws 7 and legal orders promulgated by the duly constituted authorities of the Philippines; and I hereby declare that I recognize and accept the supreme authority of the Philippines and will maintain true faith and allegiance thereto; and that I imposed this obligation upon myself voluntarily without mental reservation or purpose of evasion."

Sec. 2. Implementing Rules and Regulations. - Within sixty (60) days from

effectivity, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) shall promulgate the necessary rules and regulations for the proper implementation of this Act.

Sec. 3. Separability Clause. - If any provision or part hereof is declared

unconstitutional, the other provisions not affected thereby shall remain in full force and effect.

Sec. 4. Repealing Clause. - All laws, decrees, orders, rules and regulations or

parts thereof inconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

Sec. 5. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its

publication in the Official Gazette or in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation. Approved,

Reproduced from the Senate document. The official PDF is the authoritative version.