MODULE 10

SUFFRAGE

Module Introduction

We have learned from the previous chapters that people do not usually govern
themselves directly. Sovereignty is exercised through duly elected and appointed public
officials who, as public servants, are accountable to the people. Their acts, if within the
scope of their delegated powers, are, in effect, the acts of the people. Technically
speaking, actual sovereignty is exercised by the people through the electoral process.
The popular will is best expressed when electoral process is free, clean, and honest, on
the basis of universal suffrage and through secret vote. Since we are a representative
democracy, the free and true expression of the people’s sovereignty is of great
importance.

Learning Objectives

At the end of the discussion of this chapter, the students are expected to:

1. know the meaning of suffrage and its scope;

2. determine the theories underlying suffrage; and
3. understand how suffrage is exercised in the Philippines.

Definition of Suffrage

Suffrage is derived from the Latin word suffragium, meaning "voting tablet", and
figuratively "right to vote". In that context, it is also called political franchise or simply
the franchise. In most democracies citizens or subjects above the voting age can normally
vote in its elections. Resident aliens can vote in some countries and in others exceptions
are made for citizens of countries with which they have close links (e.g. some members
of the Commonwealth of Nations, and the members of the European Union).1

In the Philippines, suffrage is referred to as the right and obligation to vote of

qualified citizens in the election of certain national and local officers of the government
and in the decision of public questions submitted to the people.2 The body of people who
exercise this right is called the “electorate” and it is only from their mandate that their
chosen representatives in government can exercise political authority.

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Scope of Suffrage

1. Election – Strictly speaking, it is the means by which the people choose their
officials for definite and fixed periods and to whom they entrust, for the time
being as their representatives, the exercise of powers of the government.
2. Plebiscite – It is the name given to a vote of the people expressing their choice for
or against a proposed law or enactment submitted to them. In the Philippines, the
term is applied to an election at which any proposed amendment to, or revision, of
the Constitution is submitted to the people for their ratification. (Art. XVII, Sec.
2). Plebiscite is likewise required by the Constitution to secure the approval of
the people directly affected before certain proposed changes affecting local
government units may be implemented. (Art. X, Sections 10, 11 and 18).
3. Referendum – It is the submission of a law or part thereof passed by the national
or local legislative body to the voting citizens of a country for their ratification or
rejection. (Art. VI, Sec. 32). It is a device used by the people to prevent the
implementation of an unwise or bad law.
4. Initiative – It is the process whereby the people directly propose and enact laws.
Amendments to the Constitution may likewise be directly proposed by the people
through initiative.
5. Recall – It is a method by which a public officer may be removed from office
during his tenure or before the expiration of his term by a vote of the people after
registration of a petition signed by a required percentage of the qualified voters.
(Art. X, Sec.3)3

Theories of Suffrage

According to W. J. Shepard, there are five (5) basic theories of suffrage namely:

1. Suffrage as an Attribute of Citizenship – this theory was adopted by the ancient

Greeks and emphasizes the idea that only citizens of the city-state had the right to
exercise suffrage.
2. Suffrage as a Vested Privilege – according to this theory, only the rich who
owned properties had the vested right and privilege to vote for their public
officials. Thus, suffrage was premised on the economic status of the voter –
which the voter who was a rich landowner had a greater stake to protect than
those who did not own property. In modern democracies, suffrage can be given
or withheld by the lawmaking power subject to constitutional limitations. It
should be granted to individuals only upon the fulfillment of certain minimum
conditions deemed essential for the welfare of society.
3. Suffrage as an Abstract or Natural Right – under this theory, suffrage is an
inherent right endowed upon man by God. It is an innate right that man exercises
when he becomes an adult regardless of his qualifications or disqualifications.

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 4. Ethical Theory – the exercise of suffrage under this theory makes an asset to this
community for its main objective is to improve not only his personality, but also
mold him in the matrix of responsible citizenship.
5. Suffrage as a Government Function – this theory presupposes that suffrage is a
function of government.. It is the government that prescribes certain qualifications
of an individual qualified to vote. Sometimes, the theory is otherwise called as
“legal theory” because the prescriptions are provided by the Constitution and the
law.

Aside from the list of theories of W. J. Shepard, Peel and Roucek provided for
another list of theories of suffrage. These theories are more or les similar with that of
Shepard’s.

1. Individualistic Theory – this theory emphasizes suffrage as a right conferred upon

an individual for his own good. It springs from personal integrity and dignity. It
considers that the right to vote is a part of natural law and therefore inherent in the
individual.
2. Collectivist Theory – according to this view, suffrage is not a right but a function
of the government which is performed for the interest of the state or the whole
community.
3. Dualistic Theory – this theory commingles the individualistic and collectivist
theories of suffrage. Modern democracies subscribe to the view that the voters
exercise the franchise as a legal right not only for their own good but also for the
common welfare. The government, on the other hand, takes in to account the
individual voter in relation to the whole electorate and prescribes the
qualifications for the exercise of suffrage which is usually based on citizenship,
age, residence and literacy. In this way, the electorate is an institution that
promotes good government.4

Suffrage in the Philippines

The concept of suffrage developed in two parallel and complementary lines in the
Philippine law. Along one line, suffrage started as a statutory right, evolved into a
constitutional right, and, in the 1973 Constitution, took the form of an obligation. The
obligation has been removed by the 1987 Constitution.

Along another line, it started as a right belonging only to the male ilustrado, then
it was given to the literate woman, and finally became a right even of the unlettered
eighteen year old. Attempts in the 1986 Constitutional Commission to disenfranchise the
illiterates failed. At present, the exercise of suffrage in the Philippines is clearly
enshrined under Article V of the 1987 Constitution. Sections 1 and 2 of Article V
encapsulate the specific provisions dealing with the qualifications, prohibitions, and
system for the exercise of suffrage in the country.5

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 Section 1. Suffrage may be exercised by all citizens of the Philippines not
otherwise disqualified by law, who are at least eighteen years of age, and who
shall have resided in the Philippines for at least one year and in the place
wherein they propose to vote for at least six months immediately preceding
the election. No literacy, property, or other substantive requirement shall be
imposed on the exercise of suffrage.

The abovementioned provision clearly provides for the qualifications that must be
met by an individual in the Philippines for him / her to be able to exercise his / her right
of suffrage. He / She must be:

1. a citizen (male or female) of the Philippines;

2. not otherwise disqualified by law;
3. at least eighteen (18) years of age; and
4. have resided in the Philippines for at least one (1) year and in the place wherein
he / she proposes to vote for at least six (6) months preceding the election.

Citizenship Qualification

The Philippine constitutional provision is not only an assertion of a citizen’s right

to vote and his right to participate in the process of government to assure that it derives
its powers from the consent of the governed; it is primarily an exclusion of non-citizens
from suffrage. Aliens are denied participation in government. Suffrage should be
granted to individuals only upon the fulfillment of certain minimum conditions deemed
essential by the government for the welfare of the society.

Persons Disqualified to Vote

The Constitution says that suffrage may be exercised by citizens “not otherwise
disqualified by law.” While the enumeration of the qualifications is made exclusive by
the Constitution itself, the legislature is at the same time given the power to prescribe
disqualifications. Disqualifications must be understood as grounds for the forfeiture of
the right of suffrage. Suffrage, like any other civil or political right, or even citizenship
itself, may be lost. As to who are disqualified to vote, the law enumerates them as
follows:
1. Any person who has been sentenced by final judgment to suffer imprisonment
for not less than one (1) year, such disability not having been removed by
plenary pardon or granted amnesty. But such person shall automatically re-
acquire the right to vote upon expiration of five (5) years after service of
sentence;

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 2. Any person who has been adjudged by final judgment by competent court or
tribunal of having committed any crime involving disloyalty to the duly
constituted government such as rebellion, sedition, violation of the anti-
subversion and firearms laws, or any crime against national security, unless
restored to his full civil and political rights in accordance with law. Such
person shall likewise automatically regain his right to vote upon expiration of
five (5) years after service of sentence; and
3. Insane or incompetent persons as declared by competent authority.6

Age Qualification

To be a qualified voter, one must be eighteen years of age. When is a person

eighteen years of age? By the civil law method of reckoning, one is eighteen on one’s
eighteenth birthday. The right to register as a voter, exists even before one’s eighteenth
birthday, provide one will be eighteen on the day of voting.

Residence Qualification

Section 1 of Article V of the 1987 Constitution requires that the voter “shall have
resided in the Philippines for at least one year and in the place wherein they propose to
vote for at least six months immediately preceding the election”. The term “residence” as
used in the election law is synonymous with “domicile,” which imports not only the
intention to reside in a fixed place but also personal presence in that place, coupled with
conduct indicative of such intention.7 In order to acquire a domicile by choice, there
must concur (1) residence or bodily presence in the new locality, (2) an intention to
remain there, and (3) an intention to abandon the old domicile.8

Section 2. The Congress shall provide a system for securing the secrecy and
sanctity of the ballot as well as a system for absentee voting by qualified
Filipinos abroad.

The Congress shall also design a procedure for the disabled and the
illiterates to vote without the assistance of other persons. Until then, they
shall be allowed to vote under existing laws and such rules as the
Commission on Elections may promulgate to protect the secrecy of the ballot.

System for Securing Secrecy and Sanctity of the Ballot

It is essential to insure that the voters shall exercise their right freely,
“uninfluenced by threats, intimidation or corrupt motives” and “to secure a fair and
honest count of the ballots”. To accomplish this aim, Congress is directed by the highest
law of the land to provide a system for securing the secrecy and sanctity of the ballot.

System for Absentee Voting by Qualified Filipinos Abroad9

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 Section 2 extends the right of suffrage even to Filipinos abroad provide they
possess all the qualifications mentioned therein and none of the disqualifications
provided by law.

1
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suffrage
2
De Leon, Hector S., Textbook on the Philippine Constitution (2002 Edition, Manila:
Rex Bookstore, Inc.), p.139
3
De Leon, Hector S., Textbook on the Philippine Constitution (2002 Edition, Manila:
Rex Bookstore, Inc.), p.140
4
Ayson, Florentino G. and Dolores Aligada-Reyes , Fundamentals of Political Science
(2000 Edition, Mandaluyong City, Philippines: National Bookstore), pp. 162-165
5
Bernas, Joaquin S., the 1987 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines: A
Commentary, (1996 Edition, Manila: Rex Bookstore, Inc.) pp. 577-578
6
The Omnibus Election Code of the Philippines (B.P. 881), Sec. 118
7
Nuval v. Guray, 52 Phil. 645
8
17 Am. Jur., Sec. 16, pp. 599-601
9
Bernas, Joaquin S., the 1987 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines: A
Commentary, (1996 Edition, Manila: Rex Bookstore, Inc.) pp. 597-598