1. NATURALIZATION; VOUCHING WITNESS; FAILURE TO STATE THAT PETITIONER IS NOT IN ANY WAY DISQUALIFIED, DOES NOT RENDER AFFIDAVIT DEFECTIVE. —The failure of the witness to state in his affidavit that the petitioner is not in any way disqualified under the provisions of the Naturalization Law, does not render said affidavit defective because the sweeping allegation that petitioner had all the necessary qualifications to be a Filipino citizen, necessarily carried with it the assertion that petitioner is not in any way disqualified under the provisions of the law.

The Government has appealed to this Court from a decision of the Court of First Instance of Davao, granting the petition for citizenship of Simeon Tan Lim. There is no dispute as to the facts of the case which are summarized by the lower Court as follows:jgc:chanrobles.com.ph

"In compliance with the Naturalization Law, the petitioner Simeon Tan Lim had filed with the Solicitor General his declaration of intention to become a Filipino citizen on January 22, 1954, one year before he filed this petition on January 25, 1955 (which was published in the Official Gazette and newspaper in accordance with the provisions of law).

During the hearing of this special case and in order to prove his good moral character and his standing in the community, the petitioner presented as his witnesses Dr. Juan Belisario and Dr. Jos