Citizenship Notes 15

WEEK15: LESSON XI - CITIZENSHIP

A. MEANING OF CITIZENSHIP: THE CITIZEN AND NON-CITIZEN

Definition of Citizenship

Citizenship is a term denoting membership of a citizen in a political society. This membership implies a duty of allegiance from the member and a duty of protection from the State.

A citizen is a person having the title of citizenship, 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 compose the political community.

Essential Elements of Citizenship

A citizen must have:

  1. Membership in the state.
  2. Social and political rights.
  3. Sentiment of devotion to the state.

Distinction Between an Alien and a Citizen

A citizen enjoys civil and political rights in their own country, whereas an alien typically does not enjoy the same political rights, though they may have some social rights depending on the government's policies.

B. TRADITIONAL AND MODERN VIEWS OF CITIZENSHIP

Traditional Views on Citizenship (State-Centric)

The concept of citizenship is often traced back to the ancient Greek city-states (polis). Citizenship in ancient times was closely tied to the community, with obligations deeply connected to everyday life.

Ancient Greece

According to historian Geoffrey Hosking, the concept of citizenship in ancient Greece arose from an appreciation for freedom. The fear of enslavement was a central motivating force for the development of the Greek sense of citizenship.

  • Citizenship in the polis was marked by exclusivity. Inequality of status was widespread; citizens had a higher status than non-citizens (women, slaves, or barbarians).
  • Being an active citizen in the community was considered essential to being truly human. Aristotle stated: "To take no part in the running of the community's affairs is to be either a beast or a god!"
  • Citizenship was based on obligations to the community rather than rights from the community. This wasn't a problem due to strong affinity with the polis. Citizens saw obligations to the community as an opportunity to be virtuous.
  • In Athens, citizens were both ruler and ruled; political and judicial offices were rotated, and citizens had the right to speak and vote in the political assembly.
Roman Empire

In the Roman Empire, citizenship expanded from small-scale communities to the entire empire. Granting citizenship legitimized Roman rule over conquered areas.

  • Roman citizenship shifted from political agency to a judicial safeguard and expression of rule and law. Equality under the law, civic participation in government, and the idea that "no one citizen should have too much power for too long" were carried forward from Greek ideas.
  • Citizenship in Rome reflected a struggle between the upper-class patricians and the lower-order plebeian class.
  • Roman citizenship was understood as a person "free to act by law, free to ask and expect the law's protection, a citizen of such and such a legal community, of such and such a legal standing in that community."
Middle Ages

During the European Middle Ages, citizenship was usually associated with cities and towns, mainly applying to middle-class folk. Titles like burgher, grand burgher, and bourgeois denoted political affiliation and identity in relation to a particular locality, as well as membership in a mercantile or trading class.

Renaissance

During the Renaissance, people transitioned from being subjects of a king or queen to being citizens of a city and later a nation. Each city had its own law, courts, and independent administration. Being a citizen often meant being subject to the city's law and having some power to choose officials.

Modern Views on Citizenship

Modern citizenship respects political participation but usually through systems of political representation. Modern citizenship is often more passive, with action delegated to others. Citizens are aware of their obligations to authorities and that these bonds limit their actions.

Liberal-Individualist Conception

Citizens should have entitlements necessary for human dignity. It assumes people act for enlightened self-interest. Citizens are sovereign, morally autonomous beings with duties to pay taxes, obey the law, engage in business transactions, and defend the nation but are essentially passive politically, with their primary focus on economic betterment. The state exists for the benefit of citizens and must respect and protect their rights, including civil rights and political rights.

Civic-Republican Conception

Emphasizes man's political nature and sees citizenship as an active process, not a passive state or legal marker. It is concerned that government will interfere with popular places to practice citizenship in the public sphere. Citizenship means being active in government affairs.

Participatory Citizenship

Participatory citizenship involves active engagement at local, state, or national levels to address social issues relevant to the community by understanding how government systems work and participating in community-based initiatives.

Ways Citizens Can Participate
  • Looking for information in newspapers, magazines, and reference materials and judging its accuracy.
  • Voting in local, state, and national elections.
  • Participating in a political discussion.
  • Trying to persuade someone to vote a certain way.
  • Signing a petition.
  • Wearing a button or putting a sticker on the car.
  • Writing letters to elected representatives.
  • Contributing money to a party or candidate.
  • Attending meetings to gain information, discuss issues, or lend support.
  • Campaigning for a candidate.
  • Lobbying for laws that are of special interest.
  • Demonstrating through marches, boycotts, sit-ins, or other forms of protest.
  • Running for office.
  • Holding public office.
  • Serving the country through military or other service.
  • Disobeying laws and taking the consequences to demonstrate that a law or policy is unjust.

Should Citizens Participate?

While many citizens do not actively participate in government, some believe it is a responsibility. Deciding whether to participate and how much time to spend requires thinking about the purpose of government, the importance of individual rights, and satisfaction with the government's performance.

C. PRINCIPLES OF CITIZENSHIP

1. The Principles of Jus Soli and Jus Sanguinis

Citizenship at birth in the United States is conferred automatically. There exists no universal nationality rule. While some nations adhere to the principle of jus soli-- citizenship by the place of one's birth, others embrace the principle of jus sanguinis -- citizenship by descent, or blood relationship. A number of nations, including the United States and the United Kingdom, have adopted a combination of the two principles.

Jus soli was a tenet of the common law of England. Jus sanguinis was the rule of civil law countries in Europe which determined an individual's citizenship at birth by the citizenship of his or her parents. The concept of nationality based upon blood took hold in Europe during the French Revolution.

2. Dual Nationality/Citizenship

Because different countries have different rules for conferring citizenship, an individual can be a citizen of more than one nation. Dual nationality can arise through naturalization. Dual nationality is not without problems. Citizenship normally implies allegiance to only one country, so dual citizens may face conflicts of loyalty.

Despite the potential problems of dual nationality, a growing number of countries recognize this status. The increasing acceptance of dual nationality reflects changes in the nature of immigration.

D. FILIPINO CITIZENSHIP: ART.4 CITIZENSHIP

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

(4) Those who are naturalized in accordance with law.

TYPES OF CITIZENSHIP

1. Citizenship by Birth
  • a. By birth a.k.a Jus soli. It means you’re an automatic citizen if you were born in the Philippines soil or territory.
  • b. By blood a.k.a. Jus sanguinis. You are a citizen if any of your parents is a Filipino citizen on your birth date according to the Philippine Nationality Law.
  • c. that person was born on or after October 15, 1986 and at least one parent was a Philippine citizen on the birth date;
  • d. or that person was born on or after January 17, 1973 and both parents were Philippine citizens on the birth date or the person elected Philippine citizenship pursuant to the provisions of the 1935 Constitution;
  • e. or that person was born on or after May 14, 1935 and the father was a Philippine citizen or, if the father was not, the mother was a Philippine citizen and the person elected Philippine citizenship pursuant to the provisions of the 1935 Constitution;
  • f. or that person was born on or after August 29, 1916 and prior to May 14, 1935 and at least one parent was an inhabitant and resident of the Philippine Islands and a Spanish subject on April 11, 1899, or that person was an inhabitant and resident of the Philippine Islands and a Spanish subject on April 11, 1899, except in certain specific cases.
2. Citizenship by Naturalization

a) This is a judicial act of adopting a foreigner and granting him the privileges of a native-born citizen.

b) He/she must not be less than twenty-one (21) years of age on the day of the hearing of the petition;

c) He/she must have resided in the Philippines for a continuous period of not less than ten (10) years;

d) He/she must be of good moral character and believes in the principles underlying the Philippine Constitution, and must have conducted himself in a proper and irreproachable manner during the entire period of his residence in the Philippines in his relation with the constituted government as well as with the community in which he is living;

e) He/she must own real estate in the Philippines worth not less than five thousand (5000) pesos, Philippine currency, or must have some known lucrative trade, profession, or lawful occupation;

f) He/she must be able to speak or write English or Spanish or anyone of the principal languages;

g) He/she must have enrolled his minor children of school age in any of the public or private schools recognized by the Bureau of Public Schools of the Philippines where Philippine history, government and civics are taught or prescribed as part of the school curriculum, during the entire period of the residence in the Philippines required of him prior to the hearing of the petition for naturalization as Philippine citizen

3. Citizenship by Marriage (jure matrimonii)

Many countries fast-track naturalization based on the marriage of a person to a citizen. Countries which are destinations for such immigration often have regulations to try to detect sham marriages, where a citizen marries a non-citizen typically for payment, without them having the intention of living together.

MODES OF ACQUIRING CITIZENSHIP

Modern law recognizes three distinct modes of acquiring citizenship:

  1. jussanguinis – acquisition of citizenship on the basis of blood relationship;
  2. jussoli – acquisition of citizenship on the basis of place of birth;
  3. naturalization – the legal act of adopting an alien and clothing him with the privilege of a native-born citizen. Basic Philippine law follows the rule of jussanguinis and provides for naturalization.