SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL

First Semester S.Y. 2020-2021

MODULE 16
PHILIPPINE POLITICS AND
GOVERNANCE

Name: _______________________________ Date :__________

Grade/Section: ________________________ Week : 16
Track/Strand: _________________________

Lesson 15 CITIZENSHIP, CIVIL SOCIETY, AND POLITICAL

PARTICIPATION
WHAT IS THIS ALL ABOUT?
This chapter is concerned with the concept of citizenship in the Philippines. It tackles the
criteria on what a Filipino citizen is. Also, it is going to discuss the privileges, duties, and
responsibilities of being citizens of the Philippines. In this light, the lesson is discuss how a
citizen can politically participate through voting in any kind of suffrage and joining civil society
organizations. This the lesson emphasizes the importance of democratic participation making
the country better.

WHAT DO YOU EXPECT TO LEARN?

Content Standard:
 The learners demonstrate an understanding of citizenship, civil society,
and political participation.
Performance Standard:
 The learners propose a project on political engagement and youth
empowerment.
Objectives:
After the lesson, the learners should be able to:
1. articulate the definition of citizenship, civil society, and political participation; and
2. differentiate the various views on politics and political culture.

PRELIMINARY ACTIVITY

Write at least 5 observations about the Filipino as a citizen and their political culture.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

CITIZENSHIP
 What does it mean to be a citizen of a country? To answer this question, we should first
identify the difference between citizenship and nationality. If we talk about nationality, it refers
to a person who belongs to a group of people with a single culture. In other Words, nationality
can refer to the ethnicity or race of a person. Citizenship is not the same. Citizenship refers to a
person who belongs to a political community. It is a privilege given by one political community
to an individual person. The difference is that a national is not necessarily a citizen and vice-
versa. For example, let us say a person who is born a Filipino but decides to renounce his/her
citizenship to become an American citizen. The aforementioned person is a Filipino national but
is not a Filipino citizen because he/she renounced it already. In the same manner, he/she is not
an American national but he/she is an American citizen because he/she was granted with the
privilege of American citizenship. Thus, this would clarify our idea about the difference
between a national and a citizen.

In the determination of citizenship, there are two principles that must be considered - jus
sanguinis and jus soli. Jus sanguinis refers to the idea that the citizenship of a person is
determined by blood relations. It means that if your parents or at least one of them is a Filipino,
then, you are also a Filipino. Jus soli, on the other hand, refers to the idea that the citizenship of
a person is determined by the place of birth. In this light, your citizenship is determined on
where you were born. In the context of the Philippines, we follow the principle of jus sanguinis.
The United States of America, on the other hand, follows jus soli. In fact, the laws for citizenship
are different in each country. Consequently, there is a possibility for dual citizenship (even
multiple ones, depending on the situation).

Actually, there is no problem with dual or even multiple citizenships because this just
the result of conflicting laws. Analogously, this is just accidental. For example, it a Filipino
mother would give birth in the United States, the child would both be a Filipino (following jus
sanguinis) and an American (following jus soli) citizen. This will not become an issue unless the
Philippines and the United States of America will go into war. What is problematic is the
concept of dual allegiance. When we talk about allegiance, it refers to your loyalty to a certain
country. Since citizenship is a privilege given by a state to an individual, a person cannot be
loyal to two flags. It is the same principle when we say that you cannot serve two masters at the
same time. The reason is that dual allegiance is inimical to the national interest. Hence, if there
will come a time wherein you will have to choose between your citizenship, you must choose
one and lose the other. Otherwise, you might lose both.

In the context of the Philippines, citizenship here, as already mentioned, follows the
principle of jus sanguinis. A Filipino citizen has an advantage over the non-citizens in the
country. The advantage has something to do with the possession of political rights in the
country. When we say political rights, this refers to the right to vote and the right to run and be
appointed to public office. In this light, non-citizens cannot vote or even run for public position.
To determine who the Filipino citizens are, let us look at the 1987 Philippine Constitution.
According to Article IV, Section 1, the Filipino citizens are the following:

1. Those who are citizens of the Philippines at the time of the adoption of the Constitution.

2. Those whose fathers and mothers are citizens of the Philippines.

3. Those who are born before January 17, 1973, of Filipino mothers, who elect Philippine
citizenship upon reaching the age of majority.

4. Those who are naturalized in accordance with law.

The second qualification indicates the use of the principle of jus sanguinis. This would
mean that no matter where you were born, for as long as your father or mother is a citizen of
the Philippines, you are a Filipino citizen. With regards the third qualification, those who were
born before the January 17, 1973 of Filipino mothers are not automatically Filipino citizens. The
reason is that if you are born during the dates before January 17, 1973, the effective constitution
is still the 1935 Philippine Constitution. According to this previous constitution, female citizens
who marry aliens or foreigners automatically lose their citizenship and acquire the citizenship
of her husband. In this context, their child acquires the citizenship of the father unless he/she
chooses to become Filipino upon reaching the age of majority. Thus, those who were born
before this date of Filipino mothers and chose to become Filipinos at the age of majority are
considered natural-born Filipinos.

The last qualification would imply that there are two types of citizens in the Philippines.
The first one is the natural-born citizen. A natural-born citizen falls into the first three
qualifications. This is where a person did not undergo any process to perfect his/her
citizenship. Apparently, this means that at the moment of birth, he/she has perfect Citizenship.
The second type of citizen is called the naturalized citizen. This kind of citizenship usually
involves foreigners or aliens who underwent the process of naturalization to become Filipino
citizens. There are different forms of naturalization. Here are the different types of
naturalization:

1. Direct Act of Congress - this is where the Congress would come up with a resolution that
you will become a naturalized citizen of the Philippines.

2. Order of the Court - this is where an alien should apply for naturalization by fulfilling certain
requirements. This is a long process because you have to prove that you deserve Filipino
citizenship.

3. Administrative Naturalization - this is a form of naturalization wherein an alien must apply

for naturalization in an agency of the government (Department of Foreign Affairs). Again, the
foreigner must prove that he/she deserves naturalization as Filipino.

The main difference between the two types of citizens in the Philippines is that the
natural-born Filipino can run for public office on the national level. The naturalized Filipino can
vote but, has limitations on running for public office. In this light, this classification of citizens is
very important especially in the political processes happening in the Philippines.

Being citizens, it has been established in the previous discussion that we have political
rights as compared to non-citizens. These rights include the right to vote and the right to be
elected and appointed into public office. However, citizenship is not a one-way relationship. It
is a reciprocal one. Consequently, the citizens also have duties in relation to the state. The
following are the duties and responsibilities of a citizen to his/her state:

1. Follow the laws implemented by the state.

2. Defend the state in times of war.

3. Render civil service when required by the state.

4. Help the state and fellow citizens.

These duties and responsibilities are important for citizens because they are part of the
political community. Consequently, there may be some negative repercussions in the occasion
that you tail to perform your duties and responsibilities. For example, you can lose your
citizenship if you refuse to aid your country and countrymen in times of war or crisis. Here are
some other ways on how you lose your Filipino citizenship:

1. Renouncing your citizenship

2. Naturalization in another country.

3. Swearing allegiance to another country.

4. Deserter during war.

5. Serving in the armed forces of another country without permission.

6. Expatriation.
 Once you perform these activities, either voluntarily or involuntarily, you will lose your
Filipino citizenship. Analogously, you will lose your political rights in the Philippines.
However, in the case of wanting to regain citizenship, here are the ways to reacquire Filipino
citizenship

1. Repatriation - this is a process wherein you will apply to reacquire your "natural-born"
status. Hence, if you are repatriated, you will become a natural-born citizen once again.

2. Naturalization - this is a process wherein you will not become a natural-born citizen
anymore. You will be treated like a foreigner, thus, you will be considered a naturalized Citizen.

This discussion on citizenship is important for us because it will allow us to appreciate

our status as Filipino citizens. As mentioned earlier, as citizens of the Philippines, this gives us
the opportunity to participate in Philippine politics. Our next discussion will be on political
participation.

POLITICAL PARTICIPATION, CIVIL SOCIETY, AND SOCIAL MOVEMENTS

As citizens of the Philippines, we should not be apathetic to what is happening around

us. Sadly, a lot of Filipinos has continued to be such due to their lack of national sentiment. As
discussed, the political culture of the Filipinos has continued to shift from one characteristic to
another. We can be participant in one situation and passive on the next one. The reason is that
we base our participation on our interests. We cannot avoid this because we are rational beings
and self-interested but we should start changing our mindset. Thus, there is a need to develop
deep national sentiments to help our country and countrymen. Consequently, we should stop
thinking like individuals; we should start thinking like we belong to one community as citizens.
Analogously, we must stop thinking regionally (if I am Tagalog, I only care about the Tagalogs),
we must start thinking nationally. This is actually the very same problem Jose Rizal has
encountered during his time. He found this problem in Filipinos and blamed this problem as
the cause of the continuing slavery of the country. Hence, it is very important to recognize this
problem in order for us to find solutions. Admittedly, however, there is no clear solution to this
problem of nationalism. Maybe in the future, we can find a way to change this mindset.

Even if this is the case, Filipinos tend to be participative in the different political
processes happening in the country. The only problem is that there are still Filipinos who
choose not to care about the issues in the country. The following discussions would tackle the
different ways a citizen may participate in politics.

PARTICIPATION IN SUFFRAGE

Suffrage basically refers to the right to vote. As discussed earlier this is one of the
political rights a citizen acquires. If we talk about suffrage, there are different kinds. The first
one is elections. This is the process of choosing government officials. In the Philippines, we
follow the electoral system of "first-past-the-post." This system allows the candidate with the
most number of votes - whether it is the majority or not- to win the elections. The second type of
suffrage is plebiscite. Unlike elections, a plebiscite is held when we need to vote upon a certain
issue. Generally, a plebiscite is held when ratifying a newly drafted constitution. Another type
of suffrage is referendum. This happens when the law-making body in the Philippines would
allow the people to approve or reject a certain law. Of course, it should start with a proposal
coming from the people. The fourth type of suffrage is recall. This is actually the opposite of
elections. Instead of voting for a person to be in position, recall is conducted to remove a
government official from position. However, it should be noted that this only applies to the
local officials since national officials can only be removed by impeachment or by the order of
the Supreme Court. The last type of suffrage is the most democratic one - people's initiative.
This process allows the people to directly propose changes in the Constitution or laws.
However, this process is difficult due to the requirements for this to succeed. The signatures for
the people's initiative should reach twelve percent (12%) of the total no. of voters. Also, from
this 12%, the local legislative districts should be represented by three percent (3%) of the total
no. of voters per legislative district. Thus, it would be very difficult for a people's initiative to
succeed. As per the time of writing, there has been no known successful people's initiative
attempt.

Apparently, suffrage is the process wherein Filipinos are active in participating. More
particularly, Filipinos are always ready to participate in elections wherein they will cho0se their
leaders. For a citizen to participate in suffrage, here are the qualifications:

1. Citizen of the Philippines (Natural-born or Naturalized).

2. At least 18 years of age at the time of the election.

3. At least 1 year residency in the Philippines preceding the elections (national level).

4. At least 6 months residency preceding the elections in the area where a person would vote
(local level).

5. Not disqualified by law.

Noticeably, there is no literacy requirement because it is said to be discriminating for

those who failed to become educated. In this case, the Commission on Elections should devise
ways for the illiterates to be able to vote. Another missing qualification would be property
requirements. Again, this was not included because it would discriminate the poor. When it
comes to the disqualifications, here are the ways to be disqualified from elections:

1. Any person who is sentenced to be imprisoned, by final judgment, for at least one (1) year
(restored by pardon or automatically. restored after 5 years after serving his/her sentence).

2. Any person who judged (final judgment) by a competent court or tribunal of having
committed any crime of disloyalty (restored in accordance to law or automatically restored after
5 years after serving his/her sentence).

3. Insane or incompetent persons (e.g. a person intoxicated with alcohol).

These discussions would prove the importance of suffrage in a democratic society. We

can even argue that this is the lifeblood of a democracy. This is probably the reason why
Filipinos are eager in participating thru this process. However, there are more ways to
participate politically. An active participant in the Philippine society would entail membership
in social organizations that aim for change in the country. This will be the subject of the next
discussion.

PARTICIPATION IN CIVIL SOCIETY AND SOCIAL MOVEMENTS

Aside from being active in elections, citizens also have the choice to be active in civil
society organizations. Basically, civil society organizations are organizations that are not part of
the government and are non-profit ones. Another important characteristic of civil society is that
they use peaceful means in advocating change. Hence, groups who use violence cannot be
considered as part of civil society.

Usually, civil society organizations aim for change in society. They can also help the
government in performing its duty. Actually, they can be treated as a partner for achieving
development. There are at least three types of civil society organizations:

1. Social Movements - these are nationwide, or even international, groups that aim to promote
change. Most often than not, social movements are guided by a certain ideology which they use
as guiding principles in their endeavor for change. Moreover, social movements stand the test
of time since it can last for a long time. For example, the feminist movement is an example of a
social movement. This social movement advocates the change of society's perception towards
women. It aims to achieve equality among the genders.

2. Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) - these are formally organized organizations that

aim to change society using the funds given by private persons or corporations. An example of
this kind of civil society organization is the Red Cross. They use the funds they get to aid
different countries that are in trouble. Health assistance is usually given by this NGO.

3. Community Organizations- these are informal organizations that are formed in a certain
community. Basically, they form an organization because they have similar aims and
aspirations. For example, a group of farmers may come together to express their interests.
However, community organizations do not last long. When they achieve their goals, there is a
possibility that they be disbanded. Also, the lack of a formal organization does not assure
longevity. Filipino citizens should also participate in these kinds of organizations. This would
allow them to become more active and more relevant in society. Apparently, this would make
Philippine democracy healthier and more dynamic. Thus, it would be very important to become
active in these political organizations.

1. Political participation is an important ingredient in making democracies

work since it allows society to join the affairs of the state. Also, this allows
the people to give feedbacks and responses to the political system.
2. One way of participation is thru suffrage. Filipinos tend to equalize
political participation with this. Thus, Filipinos have high levels of
political participation in this aspect.
3. The other mean for participation would be joining civil society
organizations. This allows the people to aggregate and express their
interests. In this context, the Filipinos do not participate much in this kind
of political participation.

ASSESSMENT
I. Identify if the person in the following situation is a Filipino or not. Write FILIPINO or NOT
as your answers on the line before the number.

________1. Evangeline Glory is born in the Philippines with Filipino parents.

________2. Lucky is born in New York with Filipino parents.

________3. Jose pledged allegiance to the US during the war.

________4. Pepe was born before January 17, 1973 of American mother but, Filipino father.

________5. Grace renounced her Filipino citizenship.

________6. Ms. Gina married a Swedish national.

________7. Mr. Ong has undergone the process of naturalization.

________8. Luis served in the armed forces of other country.

________9. Geneva was expatriated.

________10. The application of Sherlyn for repatriation was approved.

II. Identify the term being describe in the following sentences. Write the answer on the line
before the number.

______________________________1. Organizations that aim to change society using the funds

given by person or organizations.

______________________________2. It refers to the idea that citizenship of a person is

determined by blood relations.

______________________________3. A kind of election which is held when there is an issue we

need to decide on.

______________________________4. This happen when the Law making body would allow the
people to approve or reject a certain law.

______________________________5. The minimum age that the person needs to reach before
he/she could register in election.

______________________________6. Informal organizations that are formed in a certain

community.

______________________________7. Organizations that are formed in a certain community.

______________________________8. The percentage of voting population in people’s initiative.

______________________________9. The process of choosing government officials.

______________________________10. The government agency which facilitates elections.

TEACHER’S FEEDBACK
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REFERENCE

Francisco, P. & Francisco, V. (2016). Philippine Politics and Governance for Senior High School.
Mindshappers Co., Inc., Intamuros, Manila.