Philippine Constitution Article IV (Citizenship)

• Citizenship denotes membership of a permanent character in a political community. A citizen of a state

is one who owes allegiance to it and is correspondingly entitled to its protection.

SECTION 1. The following are citizens of the Philippines:

(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, 1973, of Filipino mothers, who elect Philippine citizenship upon
reaching the age of majority; and

SECTION 2. Natural-born citizens are those who are citizens of the Philippines from birth without having to
perform any act to acquire or perfect their Philippine citizenship. Those who elect Philippine citizenship in
accordance with paragraph (3), Section 1 hereof shall be deemed natural-born citizens.

SECTION 3. Philippine citizenship may be lost or reacquired in the manner provided by law.

SECTION 4. Citizens of the Philippines who marry aliens shall retain their citizenship, unless by their act or
omission they are deemed, under the law, to have renounced it.
SECTION 5. Dual allegiance of citizens is inimical to the national interest and shall be dealt with by law.

Methods of Acquiring Citizenship

(1) Citizenship by Birth

A.1. Jus sanguinis – the principle of determining a person’s citizenship through one or both of their
parents’ citizenships. It means the “right of blood” and is also referred to as the principle of descent.
A.2. Jus soli – under this principle a child’s citizenship is determined by the place of birth.

(2) Citizenship by Naturalization

• Naturalization refers to an act whereby person acquires a citizenship different from that person’s
citizenship at birth The Philippine law on citizenship adheres to the principle of jus sanguinis

Naturalization

• Foreigners under certain provisions of Article XII of the 1987 Constitution on National Economy and
Patrimony cannot own land or invest in stock equity of corporations engaged in certain nationalized
economic activities. As foreigners, they do not enjoy the political and civil rights of a Filipino citizen.
• But, can foreigners become citizens of the Philippines? The answer is in the affirmative. Foreign
nationals can be naturalized and eventually become Filipino citizens.
• Naturalization signifies the act of formally adopting a foreigner into the political body of a nation by
clothing him or her with the privileges of a citizen. Under current and existing laws, there are three
ways by which an alien may become a citizen by naturalization:
(a) administrative naturalization pursuant to Republic Act No. 9139;
(b) judicial naturalization pursuant to Commonwealth Act. No. 473, as amended, and
(c) legislative naturalization in the form of a law enacted by Congress bestowing Philippine
citizenship to an alien.
Administrative Naturalization

• provided for under Republic Act 9139, otherwise known as “The Administrative Naturalization Law
of 2000”. The applicant must be a foreigner who was born, who studied and has resided in the
Philippines since birth and must be at least 18 years old at the time of filing the petition.
• The application process is commenced by f ling a verified petition with the office of the Special
Committee on Naturalization (SCN) at the Of be of the Solicitor General. The petition is then published
once a week for three consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation. The petition will be
furnished to pertinent government agencies like the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), the Bureau
of Immigration (BI), the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) for clearance and lack of derogatory
record on the petitioner. The SCN, who has the power to approve or deny the petition is composed of
the (1) Solicitor General as Chairman, (2) the Secretary of Foreign Affairs or his duly authorized
representative and (3) the National Security Adviser as members.
• If a foreigner made a significant contribution to the public life in the Philippines, he or she may apply
to become naturalized citizen of the Philippines through legislative naturalization. Legislative
naturalization is done through an act of Congress which is composed of the House of the
Representatives and the Senate of the Philippines.

Legislative Naturalization,

• Filipino citizenship may be acquired by any interested foreigner who has made the said significant
contribution as mentioned above when a naturalization bill has been f led by any member or the House
of the Representatives or the Senate of the Philippines.
• Thus, the legislative naturalization has to undergo the requirement of three readings on separate days
in the house of Congress where it originates. In other words, if the naturalization bill was fled or
sponsored by a member of the House of Representatives, is has to pass the three readings on separate
days in the House of the Representatives. Same goes should the bill was file or originated from the
Senate of the Philippines.
• If the naturalization bill successfully passed the said three readings and was subsequently approved by
an affirm vote of the majority of the members present, said naturalization bill will be transmitted to
the other house of Congress which is the Senate of the Philippines (or to the House of Representatives
as the case may be) for the same legislative process, that is three readings on separate days.
• Should there be no problem between the versions of the naturalization bill from the two houses, copies
of the bill will be transmitted to the President of the Philippines for his signature and approval.
Thereafter, the bill now becomes a law. The foreigner applicant is now considered a naturalized
Filipino citizen who is to enjoy same rights and responsibilities of a fellow Filipino citizen after the
publication of the naturalization law, oath taking and the issuance of a Certificate of Naturalization by
the Bureau of Immigration.

Judicial Naturalization

• governed by Commonwealth Act 473, otherwise known as the “Revisec Naturalization Lawas
amendec. The judicial naturalization may be fled by a foreigner applicant in the Regional Tral
Court where he has resided for at least one year before the filling of his petition
What are the qualifications for judicial naturalization?

The law says any person having the following qualifications may become a citizen of the Philippines by
naturalization:

a. He must be at least 21 years of age at the date of hearing,

b. Her must have resided in the Philippines for a continuous period of not less than 10 years,
c. He must be of good moral character and believes in the principles underlying the Philippine
Constitution, and must have
d. Conducted himself in a proper and rand irreproachable manner curing the entire period of f his
residence in the Philippines in
e. Proper at curing the entire relation with the constituted government as well as with the community in
which he is li living:
f. He must own a real estate in the Philippines or must have some known lucrative trade, profession, or
lawful occupations
g. He must be able to speak and write English or Spanish and any of the principal Philippine languages,
and
h. He must have enrolled his minor children in schools where Philippine history, government and civics
are part of the curriculum

However, the requirement of ten (10) years of continuous residence as mentioned above may be reduced
to five (5) years for any applicant it or petitioner having any of the following qualifications:

a. Having honorably held office under the Government of the Philippines,

b. Having established a new industry or introduced a useful invention in the Philippines; Being
married to a Filipino woman;
c. Having been engaged as a teacher in the Philippines in a public or recognized private school for
not less than two (2) years. Take note that the school must not have been established for the
exclusive instruction of children of persons of a particular nationality or race,
d. Having been born in the Philippines.
e. In addition, the applicant must, one year prior to the fling of the petition before the court, file a
Notice of Intent to acquire Philippine Citizenship with the Office of the Solicitor General. Said
Notice of Intent may be dispensed with, if the applicant was born or studied his primary and
secondary education in the country or resided in the Philippines continuously for thirty (30) years.

Duties and Obligation of a Citizen

1. To be loyal to the Republic.

2. To defend the State.
3. To contribute to the development and welfare of the State.
4. To uphold the constitution and obey the laws.
5. To cooperate with the duly constituted authorities. 5
6. To exercise rights responsibly and with due regard for the rights of others.
7. To engage in gainful work.
8. To register and vote.