Reginaldo, Danielle May M.

BSCA1-A1

NGEC 3

Reflection Paper: Citizenship

What is Citizenship? Citizenship is personal and more or less permanent membership in a

political community. It denotes possession within that particular political community of full civil and
political rights subject to special disqualifications such as minority. This status confers upon the
individual certain prerogatives which may be denied the alien. Thus, the citizen enjoys certain exclusive
rights, such as the rights to vote, to run for public office, to exploit natural resources, to operate public
utilities, to administer educational institutions, and to manage the mass media. Reciprocally, it imposes
the duty of allegiance to the political community.

In the same way, Black defines it as the status of one who, under the Constitution and laws of
the United States, or of a particular state, is a member of the political community, owing allegiance and
being entitled to the enjoyment of full civil rights

Philippine citizenship has always been valued and treasured by our Supreme Court that it once
described it as "not a cheap commodity. "Philippine citizenship is not a commodity or ware to be
displayed when required and suppressed when convenient," says another case Justice Melencio-Herrera
dubs it as "a priceless heritage, while Justice Cruz brands it as "a gift that must be deserved to be
retained."

Who are classified as Philippine citizens? Under the 1987 Philippine Constitution, Article IV,
Section 1, it states that 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 (4) Those who are naturalized in
accordance of law.

There are two generally recognized forms of acquiring Philippine citizenship. First, Filipino by
birth, jus soli or right of soil which is the legal principle that a person’s nationality at birth is determined
by the place of birth and jus sanguinis, right of blood is the legal principle that, at birth, an individual
acquires the nationality of his/her natural parent/s. The Philippine adheres to this principle. And Filipino
by naturalization which is the judicial act of adopting a foreigner and clothing him with the privileges of
a native-born citizen. It implies the renunciation of a former nationality and the fact of entrance into a
similar relation towards a new body politic.