Senate passes dual citizenship, SAMC laws

The Senate passed on second and third readings yesterday two important bills: One granting dual citizenship to Filipinos who have acquired foreign citizenship, and another rehabilitating the country’s banking system through the sale of non-performing assets worth billions of pesos.

Senate Bill 2130, also known as the Dual Citizenship Bill, is expected to benefit more than 1.7 million Filipino expatriates, most of them based in the United States.

Senate President Franklin Drilon, who authored the bill, said the measure would encourage more overseas Filipinos to invest in the Philippines, help the local tourism industry and enhance technology transfer.

Sen. Rodolfo Biazon was the lone dissenter to the Dual Citizenship Bill.

On the other hand, Sen. Ralph Recto said Senate Bill 2116 or the Special Asset Management Companies (SAMC) measure was designed to pave the way for the entry into the country of over $3 billion in fresh foreign investments and revive an estimated P600 billion in non-performing assets in the banking industry.

The SAMC law, formerly known as the Special Purpose Assets Vehicle bill, was approved through a 16-2 vote, with opposition Senators Aquilino Pimentel Jr. and Teresa Aquino-Oreta voting against it.

Under the Dual Citizenship bill, Filipinos who have acquired foreign citizenship need only present evidence that his or her father or mother is a Filipino to be able to be granted Philippine citizenship.

The proposed law amended the 1936 Commonwealth Act No. 63 mandating that a pledge of allegiance to another country would mean the loss of one’s Philippine citizenship.

Drilon said the bill mandates that natural-born Filipinos who have become citizens of another country must retain their Philippine citizenship, unless by their own free, willful and voluntary act they renounce under oath their citizenship before a consular official abroad, or any public officer authorized by law to administer such oath.

"We are glad to have fulfilled the aspiration of many of our countrymen who would have wanted to come back to our country and retire here," Drilon said. "It is now time to debunk the efficacy, if not the fairness, of the present law on citizenship and its place in what is rapidly becoming a borderless world."

The senators said Philippine laws should take cognizance of the fact that a majority of Filipinos who have migrated to other lands did so in search of better opportunities for themselves and their families.

"Those who became citizens of their adopted country have done so mainly for economic reasons, or for broadening career opportunities, or for maximizing their social security and protection," Drilon added.

For his part, Recto said the SAMC bill would free local banks from billions of non-performing loans and foreclosed assets that have badly affected their profitability as well as their capacity to lend at lower interest rates.

As of last June, the aggregate worth of non-performing assets was placed at 18 percent of the banking industry’s total assets.

"It is a fair bill in the sense that it addressed the concerns of the banking industry, the borrowers and potential investors. We can be proud of this bill as it would go a long way in reviving the economy," Recto said.

Sen. Sergio Osmeña said the SPAV measure’s benefits to the country could make up for the potential revenue losses of the government which has offered to waive at least P80 billion in taxes from the sale and purchase of the non-performing assets.

Recto said the bill ensured equal application of the law since any person can buy a foreclosed property and avail of the same tax incentives being granted to the SAMCs. – Sammy Santos