CITIZENSHIP

& SUFFRAGE
CHRISTIAN G. DOMINGO, MCJ, CST
INSTRUCTOR
 COVERAGE

• Basic Concepts
• Requisites of Citizenship
• Acquisition of Citizenship
• Loss and Reacquisition of
Citizenship
 OBJECTIVES

• Discuss the basic concepts.

• Identify the Requisites of
Citizenship.
• Discuss the Acquisition of
Citizenship.
• Discuss how citizenship may be
lost and reacquired.
 CONCEPT OF CITIZENSHIP
• CITIZENSHIP came from the Greeks during the
golden age of Plato and Aristotle. As understood by
the Greeks, citizenship was a membership in the
political community – the city – state of a body of
individuals who were entitled to participate in
political activities and in public affairs.

• Today CITIZENSHIP is defined as membership of an

individual in a political community enjoying political
and civil rights. The individual who enjoys these
rights is called citizen.

• A citizen is distinguished from an alien in that the

alien is a citizen not of the country where he lives
but of another country. The alien enjoys civil rights
but not political rights in the country. He cannot, for
example, vote or hold an elective office.
 REQUISITES OF A FILIPINO CITIZENSHIP
• Those who are citizens of the Philippines at the
time of the adoption of the 1987 Constitution.
• Those whose fathers or mothers are citizens of
the Philippines.
• Those born before January 17, 1973, of Filipino
mothers, who elect Philippine citizenship upon
reaching the age of majority.
• Those who are naturalized in accordance with
law.
 Modes of Acquisition of Citizenship
1. CITIZENSHIP BY BIRTH

a. Principle of Jus Sanguinis – literally refers

to the law of blood.
b. Principle of Jus Soli – literally refers to the
law of soil.

2. CITIZENSHIP BY NATURALIZATION
Naturalization is the formal adoption of an
alien into the political body of a nation
vesting upon him most of the rights and
privileges of a citizen.
 Modes of Acquisition of Citizenship
a. INDIVIDUAL NATURALIZATION – when an alien wishes to acquire citizenship of a
country other than his own, he does so by the process of individual naturalization.
b. BY JUDICIAL PROCESS – when the foreigner is required to posses certain prescribed
qualifications based especially on age, residence in the state where he seeks
citizenship, willingness to obey the laws and the constitution, good moral character,
literacy and other requirements.
c. BY LEGISLATION – individual naturalization is also acquired through the lawmaking body.
By means of a statute a foreigner becomes a citizen of the country because of the noble
contribution to the development and welfare of the state, the lawmakers may waive
some of the required qualifications for naturalization in favor of the alien –petitioner as
an exception.
d. GROUP NATURALIZATION – citizens of territories of colonizer-state may be collectively
naturalized as citizens of the colonizer-state by means of treaty, joint resolution, or by a
statute.
 Procedures for Philippine Naturalization
1. Filing of a declaration of intention one year prior
to the filing of the petition with the Office of the
Solicitor General. The following are exempted
from filing;

a. Those born in the Philippines.

b. Those who have resided in the Philippines for 30
years or more before the filing the filing of the
petition.
c. Widow with minor children of an alien who has
declared his intention to become a citizen of the
Philippines and dies before he is actually
naturalized.
 Procedures for Philippine Naturalization

2. Filing of the petition, accompanied by the

affidavit of two credible persons, who are citizens
of the Philippines and who personally know the
petitioner as character reference.
3. Publication of the petition.
4. Actual residence in the Philippines during the
entre proceedings.
5. Hearing of the petition.
6. Promulgation of the decision.
 Procedures for Philippine Naturalization
7. Hearing after two years. During the two-year
probation period, applicant should not leave the
Philippines; should dedicate himself continuously
to a lawful calling or profession; should not have
been convicted of any offense, and should not
have committed an act prejudicial to the interest
of the nation or contrary to any Government-
announced policies.

8. Oath-taking and issuance of the certificate of

naturalization.
 Loss of Citizenship
When a citizen gives up or loses his citizenship, the act is called expatriation.

By naturalization in a foreign country.

By expressed renunciation of citizenship, in which the case repudiates in
writing his citizenship.
By service in the armed forces of another country.
Declaration by a competent authority of being a deserter from the armed
forces of his country.
By cancellation of the certificate of naturalization for cause.
By subscribing to an oath of allegiance to support the constitution and laws
of a foreign country upon attaining 21 years of age.
 Reacquisition of Citizenship
• By Naturalization

• By Repatriation – lost citizenship may also be

reacquired by repatriating one’s self and taking
an oath of allegiance to the state.

• By Legislation – reacquisition of citizenship

may also be by direct act of national legislature.
SUFFRAGE & THE
ELECTORAL
PROCESS

CHRISTIAN G. DOMINGO, MCJ, CST

INSTRUCTOR
 COVERAGE

• Basic Concepts
• Theories of Suffrage
• Qualifications to exercise suffrage
• The Electoral Process
• Classifications of Election
• Nominations & Registration of Voters
• Other Institutions of Direct Democracy
 OBJECTIVES

• Discuss the basic concepts.

• Identify the Requisites of
Citizenship.
• Discuss the Acquisition of
Citizenship.
• Discuss how citizenship may be
lost and reacquired.
 SUFFRAGE
• An institution of political democracy originated from
Greeks. It was in the Greek city-state of Athens
wherein an assembly of citizens regularly met to
choose their leaders.
• An element of modern democracy.
• A right conferred by law to a certain designated
group of people who are entitled to select their
public officers and to decide fundamental public
issues.
• Electorate are the body of people who exercise the
right of suffrage and it is only from their mandate
that their chosen representatives in government can
exercise political authority.
 THEORIES OF SUFFRAGE
 SUFFRAGE AS AN ATTRIBUTE OF CITIZENSHIP
This theory was adopted by the ancient Greeks where
an assembly of citizens regularly met to choose their
leaders.

 SUFFRAGE AS A VESTED PRIVILEGE

This theory originated during the middle ages.
Accordingly, only the rich who owned property
especially the landed gentry, had the vested right and
privilege to vote for their public officials. Thus, suffrage
was premised on the economic status of the voter –
that the voter who was rich landowner had a greater
stake to protect than those who did not own property.
 THEORIES OF SUFFRAGE
 SUFFRAGE AS AN ABSTRACT OR NATURAL RIGHT
Under this theory, suffrage is an inherent right endowed upon man by God. It is
an innate right that man exercises when he becomes an adult regardless of his
qualification or disqualifications.

 THE ETHICAL THEORY

The exercises of suffrage under this theory makes man an asset to this
community for its main objective is to improve not only his personality but also
mold him in the matrix of responsible citizenship.

 SUFFRAGE AS A GOVERNMENT FUNCTION

This theory presupposes that suffrage is a function of government. It is the
government that prescribes certain qualifications of an individual qualified to
vote. These qualifications pertain to certain requirements based on citizenship,
age, residence and literacy.
 QUALIFICATIONS FOR THE EXERCISE
OF SUFFRAGE
1. CITIZENSHIP – it is required that the voter must be a citizen of his state.

2. RESIDENCE – it is also necessary that must have a legal residence in

certain electoral area or in the place where he propose to vote within the
state.

3. AGE – it is also required that the voter must be of majority age.

4. LITERACY - in many democracies, one of the qualifications of the voter is

that he must be literate enough to be informed of the issues and
qualifications of candidates so that he can better discharge of his
responsibilities as a voter.
 THE ELECTORAL PROCESS
• ELECTION is considered one of the most
exciting and dramatic phases of the democratic
process.

• ELECTION is an act of expressing a voter’s

choice among political candidates for a public
office. These act of selecting public official is
the final phase of the electoral process which
involves the nominating process, registration
and election day procedures, and the last
minute maneuverings before the final balloting.
 CLASSIFICATION OF ELECTION
• DIRECT ELECTION – an act of selecting public
officials by direct votes of the people. It maybe
local if held for the purpose of choosing local
officials and maybe national if held for the
purpose selecting the national officials.

• INDIRECT ELECTION – an act of choosing public

officials by the representatives of the people
like prime minister in a parliamentary state.
 NOMINATION PROCESS
1. NOMINATION BY PARTY CONVENTION
A political party convention is an assembly or gathering of selected party
delegates who perform the important job of nominating the official
candidates of the party for the elective offices in the government.

2. NOMINATION BY PARTY CAUCUS

The party caucus is composed of the officers and leading members of the
political organization. The nomination made by these small groups of
leaders are then presented to the electorate in the opening campaign.
Sometimes the nominations are submitted into the party convention and
confirmed to give them the semblance of popular approval.
 NOMINATION PROCESS
1. NOMINATION BY PRIMARY ELECTION
Nominations are made by the voters at a popular election similar to general
election.
2. NOMINATION BY PETITION
Without any political party involvement, a good responsible citizen who is
believed to be possessing sterling qualities of a leader maybe nominated by a
petition signed by a necessary percentage of voters. Ex. The Presidency of
Corazon Aquino on a snap election of about 2million petitioners.
3. NOMINATION BY THE CANDIDATE
A candidate who does not belong to a party nominates himself for a certain
public office by announcing his official candidacy at a political meeting with
the people. Ex. Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile who filed his certificate of candidacy for
President of the Philippines as an independent with the COMELEC.
 REGISTRATION OF VOTERS
• One of the major steps in the voting
process which is given with due attention
in order to insure an incorruptible election.
• It is the process of preparing the list of
qualified voters. It is necessary to prevent
fraudulent voting.
• In the Philippines, it is the Commission on
Election which the authorized body
responsible for the proper administration
of elections.
 The Election Day Balloting
• The most crucial phase of the whole electoral process
because it is in this activity that the registered voters
act as political sovereigns, the supreme judges who
make a supreme decisions as to who will win or lose
the elections.
• The primary responsibility of the COMELEC is to see to
it that elections should be free, clean and honest.
• These election bodies enforce election laws, which
provide punishment against those who tamper with
the ballot or commit other violations regarding
registration, keeping the ballots, counting the votes,
certification of the returns, election expenditures of
the candidates, politicking by civil servants, election
bribery, etc.
 Other Institutions of Direct Democracy

Other than elections, there are other institutions of direct democracy.

Most popular among these democratic institutions are

 INITIATIVE
 REFERENDUM
 RECALL
 PLEBISCITE
 Other Institutions of Direct Democracy
 INITIATIVE
It used as a means of overcoming the indifference or apathy of the
members of legislative body for refusing to enact legislation which is
popularly endorsed by the people.
A. DIRECT INITIATIVE – the proposed law is submitted directly to the
electorate for enactment.
B. INDIRECT INITIATIVE – a group citizens drafts a statute or a
constitutional amendment, if these draft is approved by a required
percentage of the people, then it is submitted to the legislature for
enactment.
 Other Institutions of Direct Democracy
 REFERENDUM

A device used by the people to prevent the implementation of an unwise or bad

law.
It becomes operational only if a petition is signed by a required percentage of the
people which requires the law to be submitted to the electorate for their
approval or rejection at any time between the passage of the statute by the
legislature and its implementation.
Under the 1987 constitution, referendum refers to the process adopted by the
people local government unit to approve or reject an ordinance passed by a local
council.
 Other Institutions of Direct Democracy
 RECALL

A system by which an elective official is removed by popular vote before the end
of his term. An elective official who becomes abusive during the first six months
of his term may be subject of a recall. A petition signed by a certain percentage of
the qualified voters may force the submission of the question of recall to the
people for decision.
The 1987 constitution directed the National Assembly to create a local
government code which provided a system of removing abusive local elective
officials.
 Other Institutions of Direct Democracy
 PLEBISCITE

Another political instrument employed by the people to ratify or reject

constitutional amendments or proposed laws.
It is institutionalized in the constitution and has the effect of legitimizing the
outcome.
 End of Presentation

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