Term [Highlight]

• General ways of acquiring citizenship: Involuntary method, Voluntary method.
• Involuntary method - by birth, because of blood relationship or place of birth
• Voluntary method - by naturalization.
• Citizens of the Philippines include:

  • Those who were citizens at the time of the adoption of the Constitution
  • Those whose fathers or mothers are Filipino citizens
  • Those born before January 17, 1973, to Filipino mothers, who elect Philippine citizenship upon reaching the age of majority
  • Those who are naturalized in accordance with law
• Jus sanguinis - blood relationship is the basis for the acquisition of citizenship. The children follow the citizenship of the parents or one of them.
• Jus soli or jus loci - place of birth serves as the basis for acquiring citizenship. A person becomes a citizen of the state where he is born irrespective of the citizenship of the parents.
• Citizens by birth:

  • Jus sanguinis
  • Jus soli or Jus loci
• Kinds of citizens under the constitution

  • Natural-born citizens
  • Citizens at the time of the adoption of the new constitution
  • Citizen through election
  • Naturalized citizens
• Natural-born citizens - Who at the moment of their birth are already citizens of the Philippines, and Do not have to perform any act to acquire his/her Philippine citizenship.
• Citizens at the time of the adoption of the new constitution - Refer to those who are considered citizens of the Philippines under the 1973 constitution at the time of the adoption of the new constitution.
• Citizen through election - Refers to those born of Filipino mothers before January 17, 1973 who, upon reaching the age of majority, elect Philippine citizenship.
• Naturalized citizens - Refers to those who were originally citizens of another country, but who, by an intervening act, have acquired new citizenship in a different country.
• Loss of citizenship

  • Voluntarily
  • Involuntarily
  • Re-acquisition of lost Philippine citizenship
• Philippine citizenship may be voluntarily lost through naturalization, renunciation, oath of allegiance to a foreign country, or serving in a foreign country's armed forces.
• Involuntary loss of citizenship can occur through court cancellation of naturalization or being declared a deserter by authorities during war.
• Three ways an individual can regain lost Philippine citizenship: through the standard process of naturalization, via repatriation specifically for former members of the Philippine armed forces who deserted and for women who lost their citizenship due to marriage to a foreigner after their marital status ends (which is facilitated by simply taking an oath of allegiance and registering it), and through a direct act of the Congress of the Philippines.
• 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.
• Suffrage - The right and obligation to vote for qualified citizens in the election of certain national and local officers.
• Suffrage - This also includes participation in the decision of public questions submitted to the people.
• Suffrage is considered a mere privilege that the lawmaking power can grant or withhold, subject to constitutional limits, and should only be given to individuals meeting minimum conditions essential for society's welfare.
• Suffrage as a political right that allows every citizen to participate in government to ensure its powers are derived from the consent of the governed.
• Nature of Suffrage

  • A mere privilege
  • A political right
• Scope of Suffrage

  • Election
  • Plebiscite
  • Referendum
  • Initiative
  • Recall
• Election - People choose their officials for definite and fixed periods and to whom they entrust the exercise of governmental powers.
• Plebiscite as a vote by the people to express their choice for or against a proposed law or enactment, often constitutionally required for changes directly affecting them.
• Referendum - The submission of a law or part thereof by the national or local legislative body to the voting citizen for their ratification or rejection.
• Initiative - A process whereby the people directly propose and enact laws.
• Recall - 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.
• Qualifications of voters

  • A citizen of the Philippines
  • Not otherwise disqualified by law
  • At least (18) years of age; and
  • Have resided in the Philippines for at least (1) year and in the place wherein he proposes to vote for at least (6) months preceding the election.
• 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 the secrecy and sanctity of the ballot

  • Untrammeled exercise of the right to vote
  • Voting by disabled and illiterate
• Three categories of people disqualified from voting: those sentenced to imprisonment for at least one year, those convicted of crimes involving disloyalty to the government or against national security, and those declared insane or incompetent by a competent authority.