Losing land, losing ties

            This guest post is from Regent Law 3L Alyssa Danielle Isberto:

Citizenship is not required to own land in the U.S. Unfortunately, this is not the case in the Philippines. Non-Philippine citizens are prohibited from owning land in the Philippines. This law comes as a problem for those who are heirs of land in the Philippines but are not Philippine citizens. This is currently an issue that I am dealing with. All my family is in the Philippines, with the exception of my mom who is in Chicago. My grandpa owns a lot of land in the Philippines that he wants to pass down to his children and grandchildren, but my mom and I are not Philippine-citizens. My mom renounced her citizenship when she became a U.S. citizen a couple years ago, and I am a natural-born citizen. Therefore, the only way to properly inherit our land in the Philippines is by becoming Philippine citizens (which is why we are currently in the process of attaining our dual citizenship).

Though a foreigner cannot inherit land, non-Philippine citizens are allowed to legally own a residence. According to the Philippine Condominium Act, non-citizens are also allowed to own condominium units so long as 60% of the building is owned by Filipinos. For those who want to own a house, they would have to do so through a long-term lease agreement with a Filipino landowner. One can also purchase property through a corporation so long as the property is 60% owned by Filipino citizens.

There are pros and cons to this law. While it helps ensure Philippine land is not bought up by foreigners wanting to take advantage of the country’s natural resources, the detriment is that it breaks up families in a mobile global culture. Close to 2 million Filipinos leave the Philippines to find work elsewhere. This is either because they are unable to find any jobs back home or because there are better opportunities in another country. Many overseas Filipino workers end up denouncing their citizenship from the Philippines to attain citizenship in their new home country. This means they no longer are allowed to own land in their home country, where most of their family likely still resides. 

Overall, this causes issues in inheriting land and holding on to familial ties and ancestral homes. Family restoration is hindered by laws that do not allow international family members to inherit real property.