The Philippine Embassy in Washington has urged Filipino Americans to refrain from giving up their Philippine citizenship following the introduction of a new US Senate bill that seeks to abolish dual citizenship in the country.
The advisory was issued after Ohio Senator Bernie Moreno filed the Exclusive Citizenship Act of 2025 on Dec. 1, a proposed law that would ban dual citizenship if approved.
According to the embassy, all Philippine foreign service posts in the United States are closely tracking the bill and are advising the Fil-Am community to do the same—especially since renouncing Philippine citizenship is a permanent legal act.
To reassure the public, the embassy emphasized that lawmakers still need to thoroughly debate the measure, especially given its potential impact on major immigrant communities. It also noted that previous attempts to pass similar legislation in the US Congress never advanced.
The embassy further cited a 1952 US Supreme Court ruling affirming a person’s right to hold citizenship in more than one country, saying dual nationality has long been recognized under the law.
Nearly 5 million people in the US identified as Filipino in 2023, according to census data. In October alone, 226 Filipinos in Orlando became dual citizens after regaining their Philippine citizenship lost during US naturalization.
Sen. Moreno, himself an immigrant from Colombia, argued in his bill that an American’s loyalty must be “undivided,” emphasizing that becoming an American is a privilege that should require sole allegiance.
