Philippine Politics and Governance

Lesson 9: Citizenship

Concept of Citizenship
Citizen
A member of a democratic community who enjoys full civil and political rights and is accorded protection inside
and outside the territory of the State. Citizens may be regarded by all nations either born in their territories or
born of their citizens, or it could be both.

Citizenship

It denotes membership of a citizen in a political society which membership implies, reciprocally, a duty of
allegiance on the part of the members and duty of protection on the part of the state. The status of a person
recognized under the custom or law as being a legal member of a sovereign state or part of a nation.

A person may have multiple citizenships and a person who does not have citizenship of any state is said to be
stateless. Nationality is often used as a synonym for citizenship in English – notably in international law –
although the term is sometimes understood as denoting a person's membership of a nation.

Acquisition of Citizenship
● Involuntary method
By birth because of blood relationship (jus sanguinis) or place of birth (jus soli). Membership in a
nation is largely involuntary; that is most people initially become citizens of the nation and subject to its
rules without any deliberate choice or conscious act.
● Voluntary method
By naturalization – Naturalization as cited by De Leon (2014) is the act of formally adopting a
foreigner into the political body of the state and clothing him with the rights and privileges of citizenship.
It is a voluntary method of acquiring citizenship by renouncing his former citizenship and embracing a
new one.

Obligation of Citizens
1. Loyalty or have a sense of patriotism
2. Obeys laws
3. Participation in political processes

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 on January 17, 1973, of Filipino mothers who elect Philippine citizenship upon reaching the
age of majority; and
4. Those who are naturalized in accordance with law

Natural – Born Citizens

Are those who are citizens of the Philippines from birth without having perform any act to acquire or
perfect their Philippine citizenship
Philippine citizenship may be lost or reacquired in the manner provided by law.

Two ways of Losing Citizenship

1. Voluntarily
a. By naturalization in a foreign country
b. By express renunciation of citizenship
c. By supporting the constitution and laws of a foreign country
d. By rendering service to the armed forces of a foreign country
 2. Involuntarily
a. By the cancelation of his certificate of naturalization by the court
b. By having been declared as a deserter in the Philippine armed forces in the time of war

Ways of Reacquiring Citizenship

a. By the repatriation of deserters of the Philippine armed forces
b. By a direct act of the Congress
c. By naturalization

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.

The Dual allegiance of citizens is inimical to the national interest and shall be dealt with by law. (Note: What
section 5 prohibits is not dual citizenship but dual allegiance)

Dual Citizenship
This is the situation in which a person simultaneously owes, by some positive act, loyalty to two or more states.
It arises because our laws cannot control laws of other countries on citizenship.

Republic Act No. 9225

Citizenship Retention and Re-acquisition Act of 2003

Natural born citizens of the Philippines who have lost their Philippine citizenship because of their naturalization
as citizens of a foreign country are at this moment deemed to have re-acquired Philippine citizenship upon taking
the oath of allegiance to the Republic.

Can citizenship be lost?

The general rule , as purported, is that citizen may lost their citizenship in a particular state by becoming
naturalized in another state. The loss of citizenship of an individual may be voluntary or involuntary. The
voluntary giving up of one citizenship is referred to as expatriation.
The voluntary losing of one’s citizenship may , under the statutory laws Of the Philippines, on the following
grounds, by: naturalization to another country ( which includes the marriage of a woman to a foreigner), with
the conveyed renunciation of one’s citizenship, by subscription oath of allegiance of a foreign country, or by
rendering services in the armed forces of a foreign country.
The same citizenship can be acquired though it has been lost. This practice it's called Repatriation . In the
Philippines, Those citizens who have been naturalized in another state do another state may again the former
Filipino citizenship by naturalization Or by the direct act of the Congress, which partner implies taking the
necessary oath of allegiance the Republic and registering such in the civil registry (Zulueta, 1996).
Could there be a dual citizenship?
The embassies of the Republic of the Philippines generally allow all natural born Filipinos who have lost
their citizenship due to naturalization to another country to file for the retention and reacquisition of Philippine
citizenship.
As provided in RA 9225, former natural born Filipino citizen who acquired foreign citizenship through
naturalization are deemed not absolutely lost their Philippine citizenship. The former may acquire their Filipino
citizenship by taking an oath of allegiance to the Republic of the Philippines
Those who opt to we acquired their Philippine citizenship shall enjoy full civil and political rights subject
to conditions under the existing laws of the Philippines. Dual citizenship may acquire land and properties, practice
of profession or engage in business, and stay in the Philippines for as long as they want to become citizens of
the Republic. As such, they are subject to the payment of taxes and the fulfillment of their obligations in
accordance with existing laws applicable to the citizen during their stay in the country.
 Lesson 10: Elections and Political
Parties in the Philippines

Overview
All political parties, organizations and all people should abide by the constitution and laws without any
exception. They must all act in accordance with the constitution and laws.
This lesson focuses suffrage and political parties as political practices in State. Political parties and
elections play a vital role in political analysis in developed and developing countries in analyzing democratization
and democratic political regimes.

Suffrage
Suffrage may be exercised by all citizenship of the Philippines not otherwise disqualified by law, who are
at least eighteen years of age, and who shall have resided in the Philippines for at least one year and in the
place wherein they propose to vote for at least six months immediately preceding the election.(Article V, Sec. 1,
of the Philippine Constitution )

Meaning of Suffrage
• It is the right and obligation to vote of qualified citizens in the election of public officers.
• It is not all absolute needless to say that it is an enjoyment of all other rights.
Views of Suffrage
1. A mere privilege- suffrage is not a natural right but merely a privilege to be given or withheld by the
law
2. A political right – suffrage enables a citizen to participate in the process of government

Some Theories on Suffrage

1. The Natural Right Theory – This theory claims that the right to vote is a natural and inherited right to
every citizen. The state was created by the people deliberately and hence all the people have a natural
right to take part in the affairs of the government.
2. The Legal Theory – According to this theory, suffrage is not natural, but political right granted by the law
of the state. Voting is a public function.
3. The Ethical Theory – The ethical theory considers the right to vote as a means of self-expression of the
individual in political affairs. Suffrage provides for the development of the human personality.

Scope of Suffrage
1. Election – means by which people choose their official
2. Plebiscite - is the vote of the people expressing their choice for or against a proposed law submitted to
them.
3. Referendum – is the submission of a law passed by the legislative body to the people for their ratification
or rejection.
4. Initiative – is a method in which people directly propose and enact laws
5. Recall – a method by which an elective local official may be removed from office during his tenure

ELECTION
• It is the principal means by which the citizens of the country vote and select certain officials to represent
them in the administration of the government. It may be local or national.
• An election is a formal decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual to hold
public office.
• Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operated
since the 17th century

HISTORY OF ELECTION
• Beginning during the Spanish Colonial Period there were a few attempts nationally of electing local
officials. Once the Spanish colonial government was replaced by the American colonial Insular
Government. following the Spanish–American War, and the First Philippine Republic defeated in the
 Philippine–American War, there were multiple elections held throughout peaceful areas of the country for
provincial and local officials.
• During the First Philippine Republic an attempt was made to elect a national congress but the Republic
did not control the Philippines and so no nationwide election could be held. The first fully national election
for a fully elected legislative body was in 1907 for the Philippine Assembly, the elected half of the
bicameral Philippine Legislature during the American Colonial Period.

TYPES OF ELECTION
1. General Election – are those held for the purpose of electing national and local officials simultaneously
2. National Elections – are those conducted to elect the President, Vice President and members of
Congress
3. Local Elections – those held for purpose of selecting officials in the region, provinces, cities and
municipalities
4. Special Elections – held on a date different from that of regular elections.

VOTERS
• Republic Act 8189 “Voters Registration Act of 1996”
• A citizen, in order to be qualified to exercise his right to vote, in addition to the minimum requirements set
by fundamental charter is obliged by law to register.

Age Qualification
This is based on the assumption that under a certain age, human beings have the maturity, experience,
education and sense of judgment that will enable them to vote with a reasonable degree of intelligence.

Residence Qualification
This is to give reasonable period within which a person can familiarize himself with the needs and
conditions and the personalities of the nation and locality.

Persons disqualified to vote are:

● Those who have been sentenced to suffer imprisonment for not less than one year
● Those who committed any crime involving disloyalty to the government such as rebellion and sedition.
● Those declared as insane or incompetent person

Absentee Voting System

Filipinos who, by force of circumstances, have temporarily work and reside abroad but maintain their
love and loyalty to their native land are still part of our Republic; they are also affected by the quality of public
officials and policies of the government.

Types of Votes
1. One man One Vote – Under this provision every other is entitled to one and only one vote. The voter
can cast his vote for any candidate.
2. Open Ballot – Under this system, the voters raise their hands to support a candidate. In the legislative
assemblies and the parliament, when motions and bills are introduced the speaker puts it for voting.
Members who support raise their hands on that basis, the speaker declares the bill passed or defeated.
3. Secret ballot – In this system the voter casts his vote for a candidate, without the knowledge of another
person. A citizenship can exercise his franchise without fear. In polling station, an enclosure is provided
for him to mark his vote and put the ballot in the ballot box. The ballots are mixed and nobody can identify
the right vote polled by any voter. This method is adopted in the most of the countries in the election to
their legislature.
SOME RULES GOVERNING ELECTIONS IN THE PHILIPPINES
• The supervision of the elections in the Philippines is under the charge of the Commission on Elections or
COMELEC.
• In the process of supervising the conducts of elections, the COMELEC is guided by the rules governing
elections as stated in the provisions of Republic Act No. 7166

Elections on Campaign Period – campaign period for the President, Vice President and Senators is 90 days
before the day of election and 45 days before the day of election for members of the House of Representatives.
Nomination and Selection of Official Candidates – even the period for political conventions for the purpose of
forming political parties and nominating official is fixed by legislation

Filing of Certificate of Candidacy – the certificate of an individual running for national elections is required to
be filed a the main office of the COMELEC not later than the day prior to the beginning to the campaign period.

Precincts and Polling Places – every barangay is required to have at least one election precinct, with each
precinct having not more than 300 votes

Registration of Voters – it is held on the 15th Saturday prior to the day of election for those who are to reach
18 years or before the day of election and for those qualifies to cast their vote but not included in the list of voters.

Common Poster Area – the COMELEC is empowered to designate common poster areas in the barangay
where candidates can post their election propaganda announcing their candidacy

Official Watchers – every political party and candidate is entitled to one watcher in every polling place and
canvassing center.

Board of Election Inspectors – is constituted by a chairman and two members who are permanent public-
school teachers.

Board of Canvassers – in every province, city and municipality, a board of canvassers are constituted and is
composed of provincial election supervisor

Party System
It is referred to as the interactions of parties with each other (Roskin et.al., 2012). The party system is not
equated to parties because a party system is seen as macro perspective whereas parties are micro perspective
just focusing on the particular party. It could be said that the life of political system depends upon the kind of
party system it has. It describes a relatively sound system of political party and voter alignments, electoral rules,
and policy priorities that dominate a Democratic political system’s electoral process for some delimited period.

Classification of Party System

1. The two- party system
This is the system wherein the major political parties alternates with each other in the exercise of political
power
2. The multi-party system
⮚ More than two political parties fight in an election, and no single party gets the majority control of
power.
⮚ Parties may become identified as either “leftist”, “rightist”, or “center”, parties depending upon the
tendency of their political views.
3. The one party system
⮚ Only one political party holds power either because it towers above the others or because it
suppresses all other groups
Note: The only choices left to voters are
a. To decide whether or not to vote
b. To vote “yes” or “no” for the designated candidate
c.
Political Party
⮚ An organization that seeks political power by electing people to office so that its positions and
philosophy become public policy
⮚ A political organization that aims to attain and maintain political power within government usually
by participating in electoral campaigns

CHARACTERISTICS OF A POLITICAL PARTY

1. Has an organized structure with lines of authority and power distribution.
2. Seek to attract popular support in the form of votes.
3. Seeks political power directly thru electoral method
4. Prepared to support a candidate and fight for victory in an election. (to gain power)

Lesson 11: DECENTRALIZATION AND

LOCAL GOVERNANCE
Local Autonomy
➢ It refers to “self-governing”, which also the granting of more powers, authority, responsibilities and
resources by the national government to local government units in order to be self-reliant and active
partners.
Decentralization
➢ It is the transfer of power and authority from central institution to lower or local levels of a government
system.
Forms of Decentralization
a) Devolution. It is the transfer of power and authority from the national government to local
government units (LGUs).
b) Deconcentration. It is the transfer of power, authority or responsibilities or the discretion to
plan, decide and manage from central to local levels
c) Debureaucratization. It is the transfer of some public functions and responsibilities, which
government may perform, to private entities or non-government organizations (NGOs).
Devolved Functions to LGUs
1. Community-based forestry 6. Field health and hospital services
2. School building programs 7. Telecommunications
3. Social welfare services 8. Tourism
4. Public works 9. Housing
5. Agricultural extension
Devolved Regulatory Powers
1. Reclassification of agricultural lands 5. Enforcement of environmental laws
2. Inspection of food products and quarantine 6. Enforcement of national building code
3. Operation of tricycles 7. Processing and approval of subdivision plans
4. Establishments of cockpits
5.
Composition of the Local Government
1. Province – intermediate unit is providing supervision to the municipalities and component cities
2. Cities and Municipalities – basic unit if the local government
3. Barangay – sub-municipal unit, provides face-to-face interaction among the people.

Functions and Powers of heads of Local Government

1. Exercise general supervision and control over programs
2. Enforce all laws and ordinance and the exercise of its corporate powers
3. Initiate and maximize the generation of resources and revenues
4. Ensure the delivery of basic services and the provision of adequate facilities
5. Exercise such other powers and perform such other duties and functions as may be prescribed by law.
The different levels of Philippine Local Government

1. Province
• Provinces are generally larger cities. They are at the intermediate level between the national
government and the cities and municipalities.
• A province supervises have municipalities and component cities under it.
• it is a political subdivision Through which the national government vendors services to the people
• a province is also tasked to evenly distribute resources to each municipality end component cities
• It is headed by a governor
• The provincial legislative body is known as Sangguniang Panlalawigan
• The governor, vice-governor, sangguniang panlalawigan Are elected by the voters of the
municipalities and component cities comprising the province.

2. City and Municipality

• the cities and municipalities are the basic unit of local governments.
• essential services, such as primary health care, lighting of streets, collection and disposal of garbage,
construction of the local roads, and operation of public markets, are directly provided by this local
government units.
• A city is given more taxing power then the municipality to sustain its operation which is larger. On the
other hand the operation of municipality are simply error so that it has less taxing power than a city.
• Cities and municipalities are headed by Mayors. The Local legislative body for a city is known as the
Sangguniang Panglungsod while the lawmaking body of a municipality is Sangguniang Bayan

Classification of Cities

Highly urbanized cities

Autonomous from the province
They meet the population and income requirement in the Local Government Code
Residence on highly urbanized city cannot vote for the provincial government

Component cities
It is geographically part of province and it's under the administrative supervision of the later

Income Classes of Provinces, Cities and Municipalities

CLASS Income (In Million Pesos)

Provinces Cities Municipalities
First 450 or more 400 or more 55 or more
Second 360 or more but less 320 or more but less 45 or more but less
than 450 than 400 than 55
Third 270 or more but less 250 or more but less 35 or more but less
than 350 than 320 than 45
Fourth 180 or more but less 160 or more but less 20 pipe or more but
than 270 than 240 less than 35
Fifth 90 or more but less 80 or more but less 15 or more but less
than 180 than 160 than 25
Sixth below 80 below 80 below 15

Barangay
• It is a sub municipality unit.
• It makes close interaction Among the people in the community.
• Its primary function to support the services being rendered by the city and municipality
• The LupongTagapamayapa received complaints barangay residence of the same barangay and tries to
find a way amicably.