CITIZENSHIP AND SUFFRAGE

FILIPINO CITIZENS (Article 4, 1987 Constitution) 1. Those who are citizens of the Philippines at the time of the adoption of the 1987 Constitution; 2. Those whose fathers or mothers are citizens of the Philippines. (This is an egalitarian provision of the 1987 constitution recognizing the equality of women with men); 3. Those born before January 17, 1973 of Filipino mothers, who elect Philippine citizenship upon reaching the age of majority (natural-born citizens); 4. Those who are naturalized in accordance with law. Natural-born citizens are those who are citizens of the country from birth without having to perform any act to acquire or perfect their Philippine citizenship.

NATURALIZATION is an act of embracing Philippine citizenship.

Qualifications for Naturalization under Commonwealth Act No. 475: 1. The applicant must be at least 21 years old on the date of the hearing of the petition; 2. He must have resided in the Philippines for a continuous period of not less than 10 years; 3. He must be of good moral character and believes in the basic principles of 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;

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He must own real estate in the Philippines worth not less than Php 5,000 or must have some known lucrative trade, profession or lawful occupation; He must be able to speak and write English or Spanish and any of the principal Philippine languages; He must have enrolled his minor children of school age in a public school or private school recognized by the government where Philippine history, civics are taught or prescribed as part of the school curriculum, during the entire period of his residence in the Philippines required of him prior to the hearing of his petition for naturalization as Philippine citizen.

Disqualifications 1. Persons opposed to organized government or affiliated with any organization or group of persons who uphold and teach doctrines opposing all organized governments.

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Persons defending or teaching the necessity or propriety of violence, personal assault, or assassination for the success and predominance of their ideas; Polygamists or believers in the practice of polygamy; Persons convicted of crimes involving moral turpitude; Persons suffering from mental alienation or incurable contagious disease; Persons who during the period of their residence in the Philippines have not mingled socially with Filipinos, or who have not evinced a sincere desire to learn and embrace the customs, traditions and ideals of the Filipinos; Citizens of nations with whom the Philippines is at war, during the period of such war; and Citizens or subjects of a foreign country whose laws do not grant Filipinos the right to become naturalized citizens.

The Steps Involved in the Naturalization Process 1. Filing of a sworn declaration of intention 1 year prior to the filing of petition for naturalization; 2. Filing and hearing of the petition in the Regional Trial Court of the province in which the petitioner resided at least 1 year immediately preceding the filing of the petition; 3. Oath of allegiance. The RTC would issue an order allowing the petitioner to take his oath of allegiance in open court and authorizing the issuance of the naturalization certificate if it finds that the applicant: a. Has not left the Philippines during the intervening time; b. Has dedicated himself continuously to a lawful calling or profession; c. Has not been convicted of any offence or violation of government promulgated rules; and d. Has not committed any act prejudicial to the interests of the nation or contrary to any Government announced policies.

Grounds for the cancellation of the Naturalization Certificate 1. 2. The certificate was obtained fraudulently or illegally; Leaving the Philippines within 5 years following the issuance of the certificate to reside permanently in his native country or some foreign country; The petition is made on an invalid declaration of intention; The minor children failed to graduate from public or private high school through the fault of their parents; The naturalized citizen has allowed himself to be used as dummy in violation of the legal or constitutional provisions. Philippine citizenship may be lost or reacquired in the manner provided by law.

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NOTE: Dual allegiance of citizens is inimical to the national interest. This provision of the constitution covers those who embraced Philippine citizenship but still they retain their allegiance to their mother countries. Dual allegiance is not necessarily dual citizenship. SUFFRAGE is the right to vote in political elections. Article V of the 1987 Constitution: Suffrage may be exercised by all citizens of the Philippines not otherwise disqualified by law, who are at least 18 years of age and who shall have resided in the Philippines for at least 1 year and in the place wherein they propose to vote for at least 6 months immediately preceding the election. No literacy, property or other substantive requirement shall be imposed on the exercise of suffrage. (It is a right)

Illiterates are allowed to register and vote. Absentee voting for qualified Filipinos abroad is authorized under the 1987 Constitution. The mere running for public office does not mean renunciation of ones green card.

Individual Motives For Political Participation 1. Attitudes are tendencies or predispositions of individuals to act positively or negatively toward a situation, idea or another person. These are therefore un-verbalized feelings. 2. Beliefs are shared ideas about how the world operates that cannot be proved or disproved by ordinary means. These motivate our political behavior when we think they represent truth. Beliefs are held more consciously than attitudes.

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Opinions are convictions that a certain thing is probably true. They are different with beliefs in that (1) citizens who hold an opinion are less certain of its truth than those who hold a belief. In political arena, where complete information is often extremely difficult and costly to acquire, most of us rely heavily on our opinions in deciding about our own behavior and in judging that of others. (2)Opinions are more likely to have a normative content. Interests are identifiable personal stakes in a decision or the outcome of an event. Values are broad, abstract, shared standards of what is right, desirable and worthy of respect.

Note: Most people base all their political decisions on a complex blend of attitudes, beliefs, opinions, interests and values.

Modes of Individual Participation (Lester Milbrath and ML Goel) 1. Apathetic Inactives: No Participatory activity, not even voting. 2. Passive Supporters: vote regularly, attend patriotic parades, pay all taxes, exhibit love of country 3. Contact Specialists: Contact local, state and national officials on particular problems. 4. Communicators: keep informed about politics, engage in political discussions, write letters to newspaper editors, send support or protest messages to political leaders. 5. Party and Campaign Workers: work for party or candidate, persuade others how to vote, attend meetings, give money to party or candidate, join and support a political party, serve as party candidate. 6. Community Activists: work with others on local problems active membership in community organizations, contact officials on social issues.

7. Protesters: join in public street demonstrations, protest vigorously if government does something morally wrong, attend protest meetings, refuse to obey unjust laws.