A citizen meets the qualifications stated under Section 1, Article IV of the 1987 Philippine Constitution,

which are:

(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 with law.

Two kinds of citizens based on the manner by which citizenship is acquired:

Natural Born Citizens- Filipino citizens from birth without having to perform any act to acquire
citizenship, as well as those who chose Filipino citizenship in accordance with paragraph 3 of Section 1,
Article IV; and

Naturalized citizens- aliens who became citizens through naturalization or the legal act of adopting alien
and giving him the rights that belong to natural- born citizens.

Citizenship can be acquired (Section 1 [4],Article IV) but it can also be lost in special circumstances such
as, but not limited to, express renunciation of citizenship, and subscribing to an oath of allegiance to a
foreign country, and becoming a naturalized citizen of another country.

A Filipino citizen who marries an alien or foreign retains his/her Filipino citizenship unless circumstances
will prove that he/she renounced his/her Filipino citizenship.

While aliens have limited rights, a citizen of the country enjoys all the rights and privileges provided
under the law. One of the important rights enjoyed by the citizens is the right of suffrage or the right to
vote and run for elections(provided that the citizen is qualified to participate in the elections as provided
by law). This means that citizens are capable of participating in the government, that they have power to
voice out their opinions, something that aliens in the country cannot do.

Under the Philippine Constitution, Article III (Bill of Rights) of the 1987 Constitution provides the basic
rights of Filipino citizens. All the provisions in Article III can actually be divided into three " fundamental
rights" of the citizens, namely,

(1) Right to life

(2) Right to liberty, and dreamstime.

(3) Right to property (Defensor-Santiago 2002).

The following are some of the rights enumerated under Article III. Take time to read the others.
Section 2. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects against
unreasonable searches and seizures of whatever nature and for any purpose shall be inviolable, and no
search warrant or warrant of arrest shall issue except upon probable cause to be determined personally
by the judge after examination under oath or affirmation of the complainant and the witnesses he may
produce, and particularly describing the place to be searched and the persons or things to be seized.

Section 7. The right of the people to information on matters of public concern shall be recognized.
Access to official records, and to documents and papers pertaining to official acts, transactions, or
decisions, as well as to government research data used as basis for policy development, shall be
afforded the citizen, subject to such limitations as may be provided by law.

Section 9. Private property shall not be taken for public use without just compensation.

Section 14. (1) No person shall be held to answer for a criminal offense without due process of law.

Section 17. No person shall be compelled to be a witness against himself

Two fundamentals clauses incorporated in the Bill of Rights.

1. Due process clause- gives every citizen the right to be notified and heard in court before any of his or
her rights" be reduced or affected by any action of the state" (Defensor- Santiago 2002).

2. Equal protection clause- every person facing similar cases must receive similar, although not
necessarily identical, treatment under tha law (Defensor- Santiago 2002).

The 1987 Constitution does not directly enumerate the responsibilities of a citizen. But the provisions of
the law actually provide us with the attached responsibility of each right and privilege. For example,
under Section 1 of Article 3:

No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, nor shall any person
be denied the equal protection of the laws.

Applied to one's self, you have the right to life, liberty, or property as with everyone else and others
must respect your right. But the law is for everyone, thus your classmates, teachers, family members,
and neighbors have those rights so you must also respect them in this sense.

Another general law of the country is the Civil code of the Philippines. For the purpose of this lesson, we
will refer to the Preliminary Title Part of the Civil Code. Some of the Provisions of the civil code are the
following:

CIVIL CODE OF THE PHILIPPINES CHAPTER 1:

 Effects and Application of Laws

Article 3: Ignorance of the law excuses no one from compliance therewith;

Article 4: Rights may be waived, unless the waiver is contrary to law, public order, public policy, morals,
or good customs or prejudicial to a third person with a right recognized by law;

Article 9: No judge or court shall decline to render judgment by reason of the silence, obscurity or
insufficiency of laws;

Article 11: Customs which are contrary to law, public order or public policy shall not be countenanced;

Article 15: Laws relating to family rights and duties, or to the status, condition and legal capacity of
persons are binding upon citizens of the Philippines, even though living abroad;

Article 16: Rea property as well as personal property is subject to the law of the country where it is
situated;

CIVIL CODE OF THE PHILIPPINES CHAPTER 2:

Human Relations

Article 19. Every person must, in the exercise of his rights and in the performance of his duties, act with
justice, give everyone his due, and observe honesty and good faith.

Article 20. Every person who, contrary to law, wilfully or negligently causes damage to another, shall
indemnify the latter for the same. Article 21. Any person who wilfully causes loss or injury to another in
manner that is contrary to morals, good customs or public policy shall compensate the latter for the
damage.

Article 22. Every person who through an act of performance by another, or any other means, acquires or
comes into possession of something at the expense of the latter without just or legal ground, shall
return the same to him.

Article 23. Even when an act or event causing damage to another's property was not due to the fault or
negligence of the defendant, the latter shall be liable for indemnity if through the act or event he was
benefited.

Article 26. Every person shall respect the dignity, personality, privacy and peace of mind of his neighbors
and other persons. The following and similar acts, though they may not constitute a criminal offense,
shall produce a cause of action for damages, prevention and other relief:

(1) Prying into the privacy of another's residence;

(2) Meddling with or disturbing the private life or family relations of another; (3) Intriguing to cause
another to be alienated from his friends; (4) Vexing or humiliating another on account of his religious
beliefs, lowly station in life, place of birth, physical defect, or other personal condition.

Here we notice that the civil code express the responsibilities of citizens more directly than how they are
stated in the Constitution. However, both imply the same rights and responsibilities.