House panel OKs grant of Filipino citizenship to JAZA’s Colombian wife
The House Committee on Justice on Thursday, September 2, unanimously approved the granting of Filipino citizenship to Elizabeth Eder Zobel de Ayala, a Colombian socio-civic entrepreneur, and wife of Ayala Corp. Chairman and CEO Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala.
In a report by the Manila Bulletin, the justice panel chaired by Leyte Rep. Vicente “Ching” Veloso approved House Bill No. 9376 that sought to declare Elizabeth a Filipino through legislative naturalization and grant her all the rights and privileges as well as the duties and obligations under the Philippine Constitution and existing laws.
Elizabeth was born in Cali, Colombia but has been living in the Philippines and engaging in worthwhile programs that seek to uplift the living conditions of Filipino women and children since she married JAZA in 1987.
A true advocate of children’s education, Elizabeth was a founding board member of the Museo ng Pambata and the ‘Sa Aklat Sisikat Foundation,’ a literacy program that addressed the declining functional literacy rates in public school students in the country. She also helped establish the Center for Asian Philanthropy and Society.
During the deliberation of the bill authored by 34 congressmen led by House Majority Leader and Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, representatives from the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG), the Bureau of Immigration (BI), and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) interposed no objection as there are “no derogatory records on the citizenship applicant.”
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