Gabby Lopez did not renounce his US citizenship - Manila Times author

Photo of Gabby Lopez and a copy of his US passport obtained by Manila Times

A Manila Times article claimed that ABS CBN Corp. Chairman Emeritus Eugenio Gabriel “Gabby” Lopez 3rd did not renounce his US citizenship when he became chairman of the company.

It said that obtained documents showed that Lopez even renewed his passport.

“The Manila Times obtained documents from the Bureau of Immigration attesting that Lopez never considered his US citizenship a legal impediment to his taking charge of a media entity, which by law must be fully Filipino-owned.” It said

Manila Times also claimed that the birth certificate of Lopez showed that it was issued by the Registry Division of Boston in Massachusetts. It listed his birth date as Aug. 13, 1952 and his birthplace as Boston.

The document was said to be issued and applied on Aug. 13, 1971, by the Registry Division of the City of Boston under registry number 14229 and signed by Boston City Registrar William J. Kane.

The article also claimed that it took 14 years for Lopez to decide on becoming a Filipino citizen.

In a two-page letter to Immigration when he applied for Filipino citizenship, Lopez stated:

“I am respectfully requesting for recognition as a Filipino citizen and the issuance of a Certificate of Recognition pursuant to the rules of the Bureau of Immigration. My full name is Eugenio Gabriel Lao Lopez III. I am presently the holder of an American (United States of America) passport and an American citizen under US laws by virtue of my being born in Boston, Massachusetts on August 13, 1952.”

“Since my birth and up to the present, I have not expressly or impliedly renounced my Filipino citizenship by any act or deed. My American citizenship is by virtue of birth and not by naturalization. I have not rendered service in the armed forces of a foreign country and neither have I even been a deserter of the armed forces of the Philippines,” Lopez said.

The said birth certificate of Gabby Lopez via Manila Times

The application was said to be approved by then-Justice Secretary Hernando B. Perez through a 2nd Endorsement letter dated Aug. 6, 2001 under Recognition No. 00-051.

In 2002, thru then, Immigration Commissioner Andrea Domingo issued Identification Certificate No. 0069 recognizing Lopez as a Filipino citizen.

Further, the author added that even if Lopez acquired a Filipino citizenship, records show that from 1986 up to the time he applied to become a Filipino citizen, he’s been extensively using his US passport as he travels.