ANGAT V.

REPUBLIC
14 Sept.1999

Facts: P was a natural born citizen who lost his citizenship by naturalization in the US. On
March 11, 1996, he filed a petition with the RTC to regain his status as a citizen of the
Philippines. The court thereafter repatriated P.

Issue: Whether the RTC has jurisdiction over repatriation cases

Held: No. A petition for repatriation should be filed with the Special Committee on
Naturalization and not with the RTC which has no jurisdiction thereover. The court’s order
was thereby null and void. The Special Committee on Naturalization was reactivated on June 8,
1995, hence, when P filed his petition on March 11, 1996, the Committee constituted pursuant
to LOI No. 270 under PD No. 725 (a Decree providing for repatriation of Filipino women who
had lost their Philippine citizenship by marriage to aliens and of natural born Filipinos) was in
place. IT IS THE STATUTE IN FORCE AT THE TIME OF THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE
ACTIN DETERMINES JURISDICTION.