CHAPTER VII

CITIZENSHIP
 CITIZENSHIP
– Is a term denoting membership of a
citizen in a political society, which
membership implies, reciprocally, a duty
of allegiance on the part of the member
and duty protection on the part of the
State.
CITIZEN is a person having the title of the
citizenship.
 Citizenship And Citizen Distinguished
From Nationality And National
From the point of view of International law
“citizenship” and “citizen” do not exactly mean
the same as “nationality” and “national.” The
national of a State include not only its citizens
who enjoy full civil and political privileges but
also all others who are not its citizens, but
because they owe allegiance to it, are not
regarded as aliens. While all citizens of a State.
 Meaning of Subject and Alien
Citizen – is a member of a democratic community who
enjoys full civil and political rights. In Monarchial
State, He is often called Subject.

Alien – is a citizen of a country who is residing in or

passing through another country. He is popularly
called “foreigner.” He is not given the full rights to
citizenship but is entitled only to receive protection as
to his person or property.
General Ways of Acquiring Philippine Citizenship

1. Involuntary Method – by birth, because of

blood relationship or place of birth.

2. Voluntary Method – by naturalization, except

in case of collective naturalization of the
inhabitants of a territory which takes place
when it is ceded by one state to another as a
result of a conquest or treaty.
 What are the Modes of Acquiring
Philippine Citizenship?
1. Filipino By Birth/ Natural Born Filipino
a. Jus Soli (right of soil) which is the legal
principle that a person’s nationality at birth is
determined by the place of birth (e.g. the territory
of a given state)

b. Jus Sanguinis (right of blood) which is the legal

principle that, at birth, an individual acquires the
nationality of his/ her natural parent/s. The
Philippine adheres to this principle.
2. Filipino by Naturalization/ Naturalized Citizen

• - which is the judicial act of adopting a

foreigner and clothing him with the
privileges of a native-born citizen. It
implies the renunciation of a former
nationality and the fact of entrance into a
similar relation towards a new body.
 Classification of Filipino Citizens
(Art IV, Section 1, Philippine Constitution)

1. Those who are citizens of the Philippines at the

time of the adoption of this Constitution;
2. Those whose fathers or mothers are citizens of
the Philippines;
3. Those born before January 17, 1973, of Filipino
mothers, who elect Philippine citizenship upon
reaching the age of majority; and
4. Those who are naturalized in accordance with
law.
 Ideals Policy on Neutralization
The policy on neutralization should be
guided by our national interest. Perhaps the
ideal is that only those who have come to
love the country, who have integrated
themselves into the citizenry and who can
contribute to the development of the nation
should be conferred citizenship by
naturalization.
 Naturalization
– It is the act of formally adopting a
foreigner into the political body of the
state and clothing him with the rights
and privileges of citizenship. It implies
the renunciation of a former
nationality and the fact of entrance to
a similar relations towards a new body
politic.
 Nature of Naturalization
An alien does not have a natural, inherent
or vested fight to be admitted to a citizenship
in a state. Citizenship is a matter of grace,
favor or privilege which a sovereign
government may confer on, or withhold from,
an alien or grant to him under such conditions
as it sees fit without the support of any
reason whatsoever.
 Citizenship in our republic be it ever most
powerful nation if the world, Can take such
citizenship for granted or assume it as a matter
of right. In view of the above principles, the rule
is that in case of doubt concerning the grant of
citizenship, such doubt shall be resolved in favor
of the state and against the applicant for
naturalization.
 Three Ways of Acquiring by Naturalization
1. By judgment of the court. – The foreigner who wants to
become a Filipino citizen must apply for naturalization with the
proper Regional Trial Court.
2. By direct act of congress. – In this case our law-making
body simply enacts an act directly conferring citizenship or a
foreigner.
3. By administrative proceeding
Under R.A. No.9139 (Jan, 8, 2001), Known as the
administrative naturalization law of 2000,”aliens born and
residing in the Philippines may be granted Philippine citizenship
by administrative proceedings before a special committee on
naturalization. The petition for citizenship shall be filled with the
committee which has the power to approve, deny or reject
application as provided in the law.
Who May Qualify As Philippine Citizen By Naturalization Under The
Revised Naturalization Act?

Under Section 2, CA 473 or the Revised Naturalization Law the applicant

must possess the following qualifications:
1. He must be not less than twenty-one years of age on the day of
the hearing of the petition;

2. He must have resided in the Philippines for a continuous period of

not less than ten years;

3. He must be of good moral character and believes in the principles

underlying the Philippine Constitution, and must have conducted
himself in a proper and irreproachable manner during the entire
period of his residence in the Philippines in his relation with the
constituted government as well as with the community in which he is
living.
 4. He must own real estate in the Philippines worth not less
than five thousand pesos, Philippine currency, or must have some
known lucrative trade, profession, or lawful occupation;

5. He must be able to speak and write English or Spanish and

any one of the principal Philippine languages;

6. He must have enrolled his minor children of school age, in

any of the public schools or private schools recognized by the
Office of Private Education of the Philippines, where the
Philippine history, government and civics are taught or prescribed
as part of the school curriculum, during the entire period of the
residence in the Philippines required of him prior to the hearing
of his petition for naturalization as Philippine citizen.
 Who Are Not Qualified To Apply For Naturalization Of
The Revised Naturalization Law?
Under Section 4 of the Revised Naturalization Law, the following
persons cannot qualify for Philippine Citizenship:

1. Persons opposed to organized government or affiliated with any

association or group of persons who uphold and teach doctrines
opposing all organized governments;

  2. Persons defending or teaching the necessity or propriety of

violence, personal assault, or assassination for the success and
predominance of their ideas;

   3. Polygamists or believers in the practice of polygamy;

  
• 4.   Persons convicted of crimes involving moral turpitude;

   5. Persons suffering from mental alienation or incurable

contagious diseases;

   6.   Persons who, during the period of their residence in the

Philippines, have not mingled socially with the Filipinos, or who
have not evinced a sincere desire to learn and embrace the
customs, traditions, and ideals of the Filipinos;

   7.   Citizens or subjects of nations with whom the United States

and the Philippines are at war, during the period of such war;

   8.   Citizens or subjects of a foreign country other than the

United States whose laws do not grant Filipinos the right to
become naturalized citizens or subjects thereof.
 LOSS OF CITIZENSHIP
A Filipino citizen may lose his citizenship in any of the
following ways:
1. Voluntarily.
a. by naturalization in foreign country
b. by express renunciation of citizenship;
c. by subscribing to an oath of allegiance to support the
constitution and laws of a foreign country;
d. by rendering service to, or accepting commission in
the armed forces of a foreign country ( except under
certain circumstances).
The voluntary lost or renunciation of one’s nationality is
called EXPATRIATION. In time of war, however, a Filipino
citizen cannot expatriate himself.
2. Involuntary
a. by cancellation of his certificate of
naturalization by the court: and
b. by having been declared by competent
authority, a disaster in the Philippine armed force
in the time of war.
 What Are The Grounds For Reacquiring Lost
Philippine Citizenship?
Reacquisition of lost Philippine citizenship. Citizenship
may be reacquired:
1. by naturalization provide the applicant
possesses none of the disqualifications provided
in the naturalization law.
2. by repatriation – affected by merely taking the
necessary oath of allegiance to the Republic of the
Philippines and registering the same in the proper
civil registry.
3. by direct act of the congress of the Philippines.
 Retention And Reacquisition Of
Citizenship

Filipinos aboard may now acquire dual

citizenship. R.A. No. 9225, the “Citizenship
Retention and Re-acquisition Act of 2003”
(approved August 29, 2003), declares it the
policy of the State that all Philippines citizens
who become citizens of another country shall be
deemed not to have lost their Philippines
citizenship under the conditions of the Act.
 The Oath of Allegiance

"I,________________, solemnly swear that I will

support and defend the Constitution of the Republic
of the Philippines and obey the laws and local
orders promulgated by the duly constituted
authorities of the Philippines, and I hereby declare
that I recognize and accept the supreme authority
of the Philippines and will maintain true faith and
allegiance thereto, and that I impose this obligation
upon myself voluntarily without mental reservation
or purpose of evasion."
 Derivative Citizenship

The unmarried child, whether legitimate,

illegitimate or adopted, below 18 of age, of
those who re-acquired Philippines citizenship
upon affectivity of the Act shall be deemed
citizens of the Philippines.
 Civil and Political Rights and Liabilities
Those who shall retain of re-acquire Philippine
citizenship under the Act shall enjoy full civil and political
rights and be subject to all attendant liabilities and
responsibilities under the existing laws of the Philippines
and the following conditions:

1. Those intending to exercise their right of suffrage

must meet the requirement under Section 1, Article V
of the Philippine Constitution, RA 9189 otherwise
known as “ The Overseas Absentee Voting Act of 2003
and other existing Laws.
 2. Those seeking elective public office in the
Philippines shall meet the qualifications for holding
such public office as required by the Constitution and
existing laws and, at the time of the filing of the
certificate of candidacy, make a personal and sworn
renunciation of any and all foreign citizenship before
any public officer authorized to administer an oath;
3. Those appointed to any public office shall
subscribe and swear to an oath of allegiance to the
Republic of the Philippines and its duly constituted
authorities prior to their assumption of office: Provided,
That they renounce their oath of allegiance to the
country where they took that oath;
4. Those intending to practice their profession in the
Philippines shall apply with the proper authority for a
license or permit to engage in such practice; and
5. That right to vote or be elected or appointed to any
public office in the Philippines cannot be exercised by,
or extended to, those who:
a. are candidates for or are occupying any public
office in the country of which they are naturalized
citizens; and/or
b. are in active service as commissioned or non-
commissioned officers in the armed forces of the
country which they are naturalized citizens.
 What Is The Effect Of Marriage Of A
Citizen To An Alien?
1. Under Section 4, a Filipino citizen who marries an
alien does not automatically lose his or her citizenship,
even if his or her nationality was granted by his or her
husband’s or wife’s country. 
2. Only by their act or omission are they deemed under
the law to have renounced their citizenship such as taking
an oath of allegiance to a foreign country. 
3. If a Filipino woman marries an alien and acquires her
husband’s citizenship, she will possess two citizenships,
Philippine citizenship and that of her husband.
 What is an Allegiance?
Allegiance is loyalty owed by a person to his state.
Section 5 prohibits more particularly naturalized Filipinos
from practicing what is called “dual allegiance” declaring
it inimical to national interests. Note that what Section 5
prohibits is not dual citizenship but dual allegiance of
citizens.
Dual citizenship arises because our laws cannot
control laws of other states on citizenship but dual
allegiance can be a matter of personal choice or decision.
 What Are The Duties And Obligation Of The Citizens?

1. To be loyal to the republic.

By loyalty, we mean faith and confidence in the
republic and love and devotion to the country. The
citizen must be proud of his country, its customs,
traditions, language, and institutions. He must share in
its glories and feel sad in its misfortunes. It is the “home
of our people, the seat of our affections and the source
of our happiness and well-being.”
2. To defend the state.
Men may differ and do differ on religious beliefs and
creeds, government policies, the wisdom and validity of
laws, even the correctness or judicial decisions and
decrees, but in field of love of country, national unity,
and patriotism, they can hardly afford to differ for these
are matters in which they are mutually and vitally
interested, for to them they mean national existence or
survival as a nation or national extinction.
3. To contribute to the development and
welfare of the state.
The development and welfare of the state
should be the concern of every citizen for he will
be the first to enjoy the benefits thereof.
Anything that affects him, individually and
personally. He is affected by its ills and disorder,
growth and stability.
4. To uphold the constitution and obey the
laws.
The Constitution is the expression of the sovereign
will of our people. It is the shrine for all the hopes and
visions for our nation. Laws are enacted in accordance
with it for the good of all. It is therefore the duty of
every citizens to defend and respect the constitution
and obey the laws. If the people would disregard them,
the government would collapse, and this would mean
lawlessness and the disintegration of the social order.
The constitution contains provisions designed to insure
that is the accord.
5. To cooperate with duly constituted authorities.
The larger interest of the group and the nation that he
must serve necessarily involve his own. And he would be
recreant to the claims of citizen should take care that in his
daily life he does not that interest if he did not actively
concern himself with the affairs of his government. It is not
enough for example that a citizen should take care that in his
daily life he does not violate any of the multitudinous rules.
Regulations and ordinance of the states. He must also to it that the
laws are observe by the whole community. That the officers of the
laws attends to their enforcement and properly perform their duties
supine and passive inaction is worse than actual and flagrant
infringement of the laws of the land. In the letter case, the laws itself
provides a remedy and administer a corrective measure to the erring
individual.
 6. To exercise rights responsibly and with due
regard for the rights of others.
Society is composed of men, each with
interest of his own. In the course of life, the
interest of man conflict with those of many
others. Amidst the continuous clash on interest,
the ruling social philosophy should be that, in the
ultimate social order, the welfare of every man
depends upon the welfare of all.
7. To engage in gainful work.
Employment is not the obligation solely of the
state. Every citizen should consider it his own
responsibility and should strive to become a
useful an productive member of society to
assure not only himself but, perhaps, more
important, his family a life worthy of human
dignity.
8. To register and vote.
Suffrage is both a privilege and a duty which
every qualified citizen must perform. This is
through suffrage that the will of the people is
expressed. The quality of public official of the
government, depend, direct or indirectly, upon
the voters.