Metro Manila, Philippines – The Philippine Embassy in Washington on Saturday urged the Filipino-American community to exercise caution before giving up their Philippine citizenship, following the introduction of a new US bill seeking to end dual-citizenship.
“Our Philippine Foreign Service Posts in the United States are closely monitoring the bill and advise the Filipino-American community to do the same and exercise caution in renouncing their citizenship,” the embassy said in a statement.
“Renunciation of Philippine citizenship is an irreversible legal action,” it added.
The embassy said that the proposed measure has yet to be enacted as a law and points out the possibility of it not proceeding depending on the Congress’ decision.
“It will go through several stages of lengthy deliberation,” it said. “US lawmakers will have to carefully consider the provisions of the bill, given its possible significant impact on major immigrant groups in the country.”
Senator Bernie Moreno, an Ohio Republican, proposed the bill which would require Americans to exclusively be US citizens.
Under the current US law, Americans are allowed to be dual citizens provided the other country permits it.
For Filipinos, the Philippine Republic Act 9225 or Dual Citizenship Law states that natural-born Filipino citizens who became a naturalized citizen of another country can reacquire Philippine citizenship if they are at least 18 years old.
The embassy noted that previous challenges to dual and multiple citizenship in the US had not materialized.
The agency also encouraged Filipino-Americans to reach out to the Philippine embassy in Washington or consulate near them for further questions.
