UNIT IV

RIGHTS, PRIVILEGES, AND

RESPONSIBILITIES OF A
Lesson
CITIZEN 15
1. Aliens
People who live within the territory of the
Philippines but “owe permanent allegiance
to a foreign country” (Ramirez, 1986). They
have limited rights under the Constitution
but the state still offers them protection and
certain privileges in exchange of their taxes
and adherence to the laws of the country.
2. Citizen
having affiliation to a country, which entails the person
to enjoy the rights and privileges that the laws of the
country provide but also places the responsibility to
observe and respect the laws and institutions of that
country. Citizenship can be acquired (section 1 [4],
Article IV) but it can also be lost in special
circumstances such as, but not limited to, express
renunciation of citizenship, and subscribing to an oath
of allegiance to a foreign country, and becoming a
naturalized citizen of another country.
3. Two Kinds of Citizens:

a. Natural-born citizen
Filipino citizens from the birth without having to
perform any act to acquire citizenship, as well as those
who chose Filipino citizenship in accordance with
paragraph 3 of Section 1, Article IV.
 b. Naturalized citizens
aliens who became citizens through naturalization or
the legal act of adopting aliens and giving them the
rights that belong to natural – born citizens.
4. Two fundamental clauses in the
Bill of Rights:
a. Due process clause
which gives every citizen the right to be notified and
heard in court before any of his or her rights “be
reduced or affected by any action of the state”
(Defensor- Santiago, 2002)
 b. Equal protection clause
which means that every person facing similar cases
must receive similar, although not necessarily
identical, treatment under the law (Defensor-Santiago
2002).
TIPS
1. Have a copy of the 1987 Philippine
Constitution especially Article III as well as a
copy of the Civil Code s especially Chapter 2.
They are also accessible online. Although
Provisions from these laws are enumerated in the
work text, it is always good to have full copy of
the Constitution and the Civil Code both for
academic and personal use.
2. Always bear in mind to balance the teaching of
rights, privilege, and responsibilities of a citizen.
A danger also lies in focusing too much on
protecting one’s own rights that the person
forgets that others also share the same rights and
privilege. Responsibilities practice of one’s rights
and privilege must be reiterated.
3. In the discussion of rights, privilege, and
responsibilities as well as the idea of freedom
and democracy, limit your time per issue raised
so that you will not be stuck in one issue
especially if there seems to be no consensus as to
be answer. Be a facilitator as much as possible,
withholding for the mean time your opinion on
the matter. Let the students present their
arguments but ensure that civility and rationality
is still followed during the discussion, as some
A citizen meets the qualifications stated under Section 1, Article
IV of the 1987 Philippine Constitution, which are.

[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, 1937, of Filipino
mothers, who elect Philippine citizenship upon
Reaching the age of majority; and
[4] Those who are naturalized in accordance with law.
There are two kind of citizen based on the manner by which
citizenship is acquired.
1. NATURAL-BORN CITIZENS
 Filipino citizen from birth without having to perform any
act to acquire citizenship, as well as those who chose
Filipino citizenship in accordance with paragraph 3 of
section 1, Article IV; and
2. NATURALIZED CITIZENS
 aliens who became citizens through naturalization or the
legal act of adopting alien and giving him the rights that
belong to natural-born citizens.
 Citizenship can be acquired (Section 1 [4], Article IV) but
it can also be lost in special circumtances such as, but not
limited to, express renunciation of citizenship, and
subscribing to an oath of allegiance to a foreign country, and
becoming a naturalized citizen of another country.

A Filipino citizen who marries an alien or foreigner

retains his/her Filipino citizenship unless circumtances will
prove that he/she renounced his/her Filipino citizenship.
While aliens have limited rights, a citizen of the country
enjoys all the rights and privilege provided under the law.
One of the important rights enjoyed by the citizens is the
right of suffrage or the right to vote and run for elections
(provided that the citizen is qualified to participate in the
elections as provided by law). This means that citizen are
capable of participating in the government, that they have
the power to voice out their opinions, something that aliens
in the country cannot do.
Other rights are incorporated in other laws but for the
purpose of this discussion, this lesson will refer to the
Constitution.
 Under the Philippine Constitution, Article III (Bill of
Rights) of the 1987 Constitution provides the basic rights of
Filipino citizens. All the provisions in Article III can
actually be divided into three “fundamental rights” of the
citizens, namely (1) right to life, (2) right to liberty, and (3)
right to property (Defensor-Santiago 2002).
 LESSON 2:
AVOIDING PLAGIARISM
SAME CASES YOUTH
ENGAGEMENT
Hutter (2008) identified a typology of
youth civic engagement in her study on
young people’s civic engagement in
East Asia and the Pacific. The youth’s
community service and volunteering
come in a variety of ways:
Formal, long-term service
 20 hours per week of service for three months
or longer

Part-time volunteering
 anything less than formal, long term service
but more than two hours per week for two
months.
Occasional volunteering
 anything less than the above
Service-learning
 a teaching method that enriches learning by
engaging students in meaningful service to
their schools and communities. Young people
apply academic skills in solving real-world
issues in linking established learning
objectives with community needs. This can be
either school or [non-school] based

International
Volunteering
 volunteers offer services to communities in
countries other than their own
Mutual aid
 providing assistance and support to others
within the same community or social group;
the distinction between the volunteer and the
beneficiary may be less clear

Occasional volunteering
 representation to, and lobbying of, government
bodies to monitor government policies,
services and programs.
Advocacy and
campaigning change legislation
 raising public consciousness or working to

Youth media
 video, radio, film, newspaper, or other [forms]
or media production [being-utilized] by young
people; audience may be other young people
or adults
Social entrepreneurship
 creating innovative solutions to social
problems by designing products or offering
Leadership training and
practice mechanisms for learning and exercising
leadership skills, including workshops as well
as participation in volunteer activities
 World Bank figures show that almost 50% of the world’s
population is comprised of the youth (ages 15-24), commonly
referred to as the youth bulge, which presents challenges and
opportunities to countries with a young population like the
Philippines (SPW/DFID-CSO) Youth Working Group, 2010).
The problem with looking at the young population as a
challenge or as reserves for the future working force of the
country is that this approach is passive and can be detrimental.
All must realize, even the youth themselves, that (1) the youth
have assets like strength, the capability to learn more, and their
eagerness; and (2) the youth collectively can be an asset to be
both the local and national government if they are to be
involved in more meaningful activities (SPW/DFID-CSO):
 Involving the youth does not mean inviting them, giving
them something, providing lectures, or merely enlisting them
down as members. Programs and activities must induce youth
participation which is divided into four aspects (Bhatnagar and
Williams 1992 in SPW/DFID-CSO Youth Working Group,
2010):
Information sharing
 This is not merely giving lecture or handing
off fliers but informing with the goal of
facilitating collective and/or individual action.
Consultation
 Public or private organization will consult with
the youth on certain issues and will take their
point of view in the process of decision-
making , actions, and advocacies of the
organization.
Decision-making
 The youth are not only asked for their opinion
but they are enabled to share the responsibility
to decide on certain issues that may directly or
indirectly affect them.

Initiating action
 The youth themselves take the initiative. In
such cases, other organizations must provide
support to the youth , but only as guides and
not to take over the youth groups.
 There are, however, certain issues and concerns that must
be overcome in order for the youth to participate and develop
their potential. Some of these issues are poor education
system, lack of support groups, social inequality, poverty, and
other cultural factors. Minimizing or eliminating the effects of
these factors must not depend only on other age or social
groups. As stated above , the youth can initiate actions
themselves for their peers.
Here are some of the practices or organizations
that can be created by the youth:
1. Support group for those who are bullied;
2. Support group for other youth and children with
disabilities;
3. Environmental protection activities such as tree
planting;
4. With their knowledge of mass media and other
technology, they can create blogs and pages for
information dissemination on certain issues. They
can also be critical in reporting abuses of power;
5.Collective action and input for donations to their
school or community;
6.Create programs such s sports training, hiking, and
biking groups to engage other youth in more
meaningful activities; and
7.Coordination with other groups to provide more
manpower in certain activities.
The youth may find more ways other than the
abovementioned activities to help in the
development of their communities as well as
nation.