INQUIRER Sports

MANILA, Philippines ? The Supreme Court has affirmed the Filipino citizenship of a former professional basketball player.

In a 16-page decision, the high court, through Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio, affirmed the Sept. 30, 2005 decision of the Court of Appeals, which ruled that Mike Pennisi was a Filipino citizen.

?To sustain the Court of Appeals that the evidence presented before the [Bureau of Immigration] BI and the DoJ [Department of Justice]?.have more probative value and must prevail,? the court said.

Among the evidence presented was the certified true copy of Mike Pennisi?s birth certificate indicating the birthplace of his mother, Anita Tomeda Quintos, as Philippines. Mike, who was born on March 13, 1965 in Queensland, Australia, has since left the country.

Other documents show that Mike?s mother Anita is a Filipino when she married his father Australian Alfio Pennisi. One of the documents is the certified true copy of the July 14, 1999 letter of the Australian Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs stating that as of said date, Anita T. Quintos has not been granted Australian citizenship.

Records showed that in 1999, Pennisi filed a petition for recognition as Filipino citizen before the Bureau of Immigration (BI) to make him eligible to play at the Philippine Basketball Association, the country?s play-for-pay league.

The BI granted the petition the following year but which the DoJ disapproved, prompting Pennisi to submit additional documents. The BI again granted the order, which the DoJ affirmed that time.

Following the BI and DoJ decisions, Pennisi was then drafted and played for the Red Bull.

In 2003, the Senate committee on games, amusement and sports and on constitutional amendments jointly submitted a report asking, among others, the BI to conduct summary deportation proceedings against several Filipino-foreign PBD players, including Pennisi, based on the affidavits of a barangay (village) captain and a barangay treasurer that the supposed Filipino parents of these Filipino-foreign players have no records to prove their citizenship.

In 2004, the BI issued summary deportation order against these players, including Pennisi.

But Pennisi elevated the matter to the appellate court and won.