List of naturalized Filipino citizens

The following is a list of notable Filipinos who have acquired Philippine citizenship through naturalization. In contrast, natural-born Filipinos, are individuals who have one or both parents who were Philippine citizens at the time of the birth of that individual.[1][2]

List

The following is a list of people who acquired Filipino citizenship through naturalization.

Name Born Origin nation Naturalized Notes
Andray Blatche 1986  United States 2014
(Republic Act No. 10636)		 American-born player who played for the Philippines men's national basketball team.
Justin Brownlee 1988  United States 2023
(Republic Act No. 11937) 		American-born player who played for the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel of the Philippine Basketball Association.
Marcus Douthit 1980  United States 2011
(Republic Act No. 10148)		 American-born player who played for the Philippines men's national basketball team.[3]
Chip Engelland 1961  United States – American-born coach who was a member of the Philippine national basketball team under the sponsorship of Northern Cement Corporation that captured the 1985 Jones Cup Championship.
Francis Burton Harrison 1873  United States 1936
(Commonwealth Act No. 79)[4]		 Former Governor-General of the Philippines and U.S. House of Representatives member.
Jessie Lichauco 1912  Cuba
 United States		 2013
(Republic Act No. 10356)		 Cuban-born American philanthropist.
Aleksandr Korovin 1994  Russia 2024
(Republic Act No. 12115) 		Russian-born pair figure-skater; partner of Isabella Gamez
Angelo Kouame 1997  Senegal 2021
(Republic Act No. 11543)		 Senegal-born player who played for the Ateneo Blue Eagles basketball team and plays for the Philippines men's national basketball team.[5][6]
Kulas
(Kyle Jennermann) 		1987/1988  Canada 2023
(Republic Act No. 11955) 		Canadian-born vlogger who often covers Filipino travel and culture content.
Basel Manadil 1993  Syria 2019 Syrian vlogger who runs the YouTube channel The Hungry Syrian Wanderer which documents his experiences in the Philippines.[7]
Bienvenido Marañón 1986  Spain 2021
(Republic Act No. 11570)		 Spanish-born footballer.[8][9]
Bruce McTavish 1939/1940  New Zealand 2018
(Republic Act No. 11161)		 New Zealand-born boxing referee.
Ronnie Nathanielsz 1935  Sri Lanka 1973
(Presidential Decree No. 192)		 Sri Lankan-born sports journalist, commentator and analyst[10]
Hans Smit 1958  Indonesia 2016
(Republic Act No. 10914)		 Football coach who was born in Indonesia but grew up in the Philippines.[11]
Akiko Thomson 1985  United States 1985
(Presidential Decree No. 1983)		 American-born swimmer who grew up in the Philippines and took part in the Summer Olympics.[12]
Peter Leslie Wallace 1939  Australia 2015
(Republic Act No. 10685)		 Australian born Businessman.[13][14]
George J. Willmann 1897  United States 1975
(Presidential Decree No. 740)		 American Jesuit priest who had resided in the Philippines since 1936.[15]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Who are natural-born Filipinos?". Embassy of the Philippines in Norway. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  2. ^ "The Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines". 1987. Article IV, Section 1 – via Official Gazette of the Philippine Government.
  3. ^ "Douthit now a naturalized Filipino". ABS-CBNNews.com. Retrieved March 16, 2011.
  4. ^ "An Act Declaring the Honorable Francis Burton Harrison, Former Governor-General of the Philippines, a Citizen of the Philippines, and Conferring Upon Him All the Rights, Duties, Privileges and Prerogatives of Filipino Citizenship". Commonwealth of the Philippines. October 26, 1936. Retrieved October 26, 2024.
  5. ^ "Ange Kouame's naturalization now official". ABS-CBN News. May 18, 2021. Retrieved May 18, 2021.
  6. ^ AN ACT GRANTING PHILIPPINE CITIZENSHIP TO KAKOU ANGE FRANCK WILLIAMS KOUAME (PDF) (act RA-11543). Republic of the Philippines, Congress of the Philippines, Metro Manila, Eighteenth Congress, Second Regular Session. May 18, 2021.
  7. ^ Severo, Jan Milo (June 17, 2021). "Vlogger 'The Hungry Syrian Wanderer' is now a proud Filipino citizen". The Philippine Star. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  8. ^ Lopez, Virgil (July 7, 2021). "Duterte signs law granting Filipino citizenship to football player Bienvenido Marañon". GMA News. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
  9. ^ del Carmen, Lorenzo (July 7, 2021). "Bienvenido Maranon becomes a Filipino citizen". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
  10. ^ "Presidential Decree No. 192 : Granting Philippine Citizenship to Ronald Fredrick William Nathanielsz". The LawPhil Project. Arellano Law Foundation. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
  11. ^ "Indon football coach gets Filipino citizenship". Manila Bulletin. July 31, 2016. Retrieved August 7, 2016.
  12. ^ Carandang, Justin Kenneth (June 7, 2023). "Why Akiko Thomson chose to compete for the Philippines". GMA News. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
  13. ^ "Peter Wallace now a full-fledged Filipino". Philippine Daily Inquirer. October 4, 2015.
  14. ^ "Republic Act No. 10685". officialgazette.gov.ph. September 28, 2015.
  15. ^ Ocampo, Yen (July 31, 2014). "Cause for naturalized Filipino priest ongoing". CBCP News. Archived from the original on September 4, 2014. Retrieved November 22, 2014.