The Department of Justice said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. cannot appoint foreign nationals to become independent directors of the Maharlika Investment Corporation.

This was according to a seven-page legal opinion penned by Justice Undersecretary Raul Vasquez, saying it believes that independent directors of MIC must be citizens of the country in order to be eligible, citing several provisions of the 1987 Constitution.

Clear and unequivocal

The DoJ said,“It is significant to note that above-quoted provisions of the Constitution is clear and unequivocal that with the requirement of utmost and undivided allegiance to the State and the Constitution, only Filipino citizens may become public officers and employees of the Philippine government.”

“On the contrary, a foreign national does not owe any allegiance to the Philippines and its Constitution. Hence, we are of the opinion that foreign nationals cannot be legally appointed by the President as an independent director,” it added.

The legal opinion was issued by the DoJ upon the request of Senior Undersecretary and Head Presidential Management Staff Elaine Masukat on whether a foreign national or a dual citizen may be appointed by the president.

Natural-born

On the other hand, the DoJ said that a natural-born Filipino citizen with dual citizenship at birth may be appointed as an independent director without needing to renounce his foreign citizenship.