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 Blatche1986United States2014
(Republic Act No. 10636)
American-born player who played for the Philippines men's national basketball team.
Justin Brownlee1988United States2023
(Republic Act No. 11937)
American-born player who played for the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel of the Philippine Basketball Association.
Malick Diouf1999Senegal2026
(Republic Act No. 12318)
Senegalese-born player who played for UP Fighting Maroons in the UAAP.
Marcus Douthit1980United States2011
(Republic Act No. 10148)
American-born player who played for the Philippines men's national basketball team.[3]
Chip Engelland1961United 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 Harrison1873United States1936
(Commonwealth Act No. 79)[4]
Former Governor-General of the Philippines and U.S. House of Representatives member.
Jessie Lichauco1912Cuba
United States
2013
(Republic Act No. 10356)
Cuban-born American philanthropist.
Aleksandr Korovin1994Russia2024
(Republic Act No. 12115)
Russian-born pair figure-skater; partner of Isabella Gamez.
Angelo Kouame1997Côte d'Ivoire2021
(Republic Act No. 11543)
Ivorian-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)
1987/1988Canada2023
(Republic Act No. 11955)
Canadian-born vlogger who often covers Filipino travel and culture content.
Basel Manadil1993Syria2019Syrian vlogger who runs the YouTube channel The Hungry Syrian Wanderer which documents his experiences in the Philippines.[7]
Bienvenido Marañón1986Spain2021
(Republic Act No. 11570)
Spanish-born footballer.[8][9]
Elizabeth Means2002United States2026
(Republic Act No. 12319)
American-born player who played for Westminster (UT) Griffins in NCAA Division II.
Bruce McTavish1939/1940New Zealand2018
(Republic Act No. 11161)
New Zealand-born boxing referee.
Ronnie Nathanielsz1935Sri Lanka1973
(Presidential Decree No. 192)
Sri Lankan-born sports journalist, commentator and analyst.[10]
Hans Smit1958Indonesia2016
(Republic Act No. 10914)
Football coach who was born in Indonesia but grew up in the Philippines.[11]
Akiko Thomson1985United States1985
(Presidential Decree No. 1983)
American-born swimmer who grew up in the Philippines and took part in the Summer Olympics.[12]
Peter Leslie Wallace1939Australia2015
(Republic Act No. 10685)
Australian-born businessman.[13][14]
George J. Willmann1897United States1975
(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.