Is it a mere ignorance of the law or just Malacanang’s nasty habit of violating it?

Deputy Presidential spokesperson Gary Olivar must immediately renounce his American citizenship or quit his Malacanang job.

Otherwise, both Mr. Olivar and the Office of the President, the appointing authority, are guilty of violating the provisions of Republic Act 9225 or the Dual Citizenship Law.

Mr. Olivar cannot continue serving as Malacanang deputy spokesperson and hold on to his US citizenship since Section 5 of the Dual Citizenship law clearly provides that a dual citizen who accepts an appointive or elective position in the Philippine government must first renounce his foreign citizenship before assuming office.

Mr. Olivar cannot have his cake and eat it to. He must proceed to the US Embassy on Roxas Boulevard and renounce his US citizenship. If he cannot do that, then he has no choice but to immediately resign as deputy presidential spokesman.

I should know. I wrote Dual Citizenship law as a member of the the 12th Congress.

On Wednesday last week, Malacañang assured the public that Olivar was a Filipino citizen even as it admitted that he was also a citizen of the United States of America.
Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita explained that Olivar was a holder of dual Filipino and US citizenship. He claimed that under RA 9225, Olivar did not need to renounce his foreign citizenship to be considered a Filipino citizen.

However, Ermita did not mention the requirements of Section 5, paragraph 3 of the Dual Citizenship Law which states: “Those appointed to any public office shall subscribe and swear to an oath of 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.”

I am not questioning Mr. Olivar’s capability to perform his task as a presidential spokesman. What I am saying is that everybody must follow the law. The rule of law must prevail and it does not matter whether you are rich or poor, powerful or otherwise. Just because Mr. Olivar is the alter ego of the President does not give him the right not to follow the law like everyone else should.

Recall that I authored the “Dual Citizenship Law” during the 12th Congress to establish a procedure for former Filipinos who have become naturalized citizens of other countries to re-acquire Philippine citizenship without affecting their current citizenship status.
However, let me explain that those aspiring to seek public office, both elective and appointive, must renounce their oath of allegiance to the foreign country where they acquired this second citizenship.

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

Allow me to refresh your memory. Aside from the Dual Citizenship Law, I was also one of the principal authors of the Overseas Absentee Voting Law which granted millions of Filipino workers abroad the right to vote during national elections. Both laws were enacted during my term as Senate President.

The writer, Frank Drilon, served as Senate President, Justice Secretary, Labor Secretary and Executive Secretary, spanning 22 years in public service. He was a bar topnotcher and a staunch advocate of reforms in the judiciary. He is the national chairman of the Liberal Party (LP) and its leading senatorial candidate in the May 2010 elections.