Rights, Priveledges

and Responsibilities
of a Citizen
“The heaviest penalty for declining
to rule is to be rule by someone
inferior to yourself”
- Plato
 There are basically two types of persons
living within jurisdiction of the republic of
the Philippines:
(1) Citizens and (2) aliens
 Aliens are people who live within the territory of the
Philippines but “owe permanent allegiance to a foreign
country” (Ramirez 1969). They are not entitled to vote or run
for election. They have limited business capabilities, and
they cannot engage in professions like law and medicine,
among other restriction. But the State provides them
protection by extending the civil rights guaranteed by the
Constitution, provided that they also obey the laws of the
land and pay taxes ( Ramirez 1969).
 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 Philippine at the time of the
adoption of this Constitution;
– 2. Those whose father of mothers are citizens of the Philippines;
– 3. Those born 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.
There are two kinds of citizens based on the manner
by which citizenship is acquired:

1. Natural-born-citizen – 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
2. 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.
 Renunciation of your Filipino citizenship is a voluntary
act. Under the Citizenship Retention and Re-acquisition
Act of 2003, or Republic Act 9225, all Filipino citizens
who hold citizenship of another country are not deemed
to have lost their Filipino citizenship. When a
renunciation of your Filipino citizenship is required, such
as when you are obtaining a security clearance from the
government of the United States. Dual citizens who wish
to run for public office may also want to renounce their
Filipino citizenship to rid themselves of the dual political
obligations they have. Political refugees may also want to
declare a renunciation.
 The Oath of Allegiance (Filipino: Panunumpa ng
Katapatan) is an oath administered to and recited by
immigrants who wish to accede to the citizenship of
the Republic of the Philippines. The current oath,
based on the United States Oath of Allegiance, was
first enshrined in Commonwealth Act No. 473, the
Revised Naturalization Law of 1939, with the modern
version enshrined in Republic Act No. 9225, the
Citizenship Retention and Re-acquisition Act of 2003.
 A Filipino citizen who marries an alien foreigner 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 (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 the power to voice out their opinions, something that
aliens in the country cannot do.
Other rights are incorporated in other laws but for the
purposes of this discussion, this lesson will refer to the
constitution.

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 of life, (2) right to liberty, (4)
right to property (Defensor Santiago 2002
 The ff. are some of the rights
enumerated under Article III
● 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 and 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 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 researched
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.
 There are also two fundamental clauses
incorporated in the Bill of Rights. The first is the
“due process clause” which 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). The
second clause is the “equal protection clause” which
means that every person facing similar cases must
receive treatment under the law
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 priveledge. 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 purposes 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.

●
 CIVIL CODE OF THE PHILIPPINES CHAPTER 1:
Effects and Application of Laws

Article 9: No judge or court shall decline to render

judgment by reason of the silence,
obscurity or insufficiently of laws.

Article 11: Customs which are contrary to law,

public order or public policy shall not be
countenanced.

●
CIVIL CODE OF THE PHILIPPINES CHAPTER 1:
Effects and Application of Laws

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.
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: Any person who, contrary to law,

willfully or negligently causes damage to another,
shall indemnify the latter for the same.
CIVIL CODE OF THE PHILIPPINES CHAPTER 2:
Human Relations

Article 21: Any person who willfully causes loss of

injury to another in a 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, acquiries
or comes into posession of something at the latter
without just or legal ground, shall return the same
CIVIL CODE OF THE PHILIPPINES CHAPTER 2:
Human Relations

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
liable for indemnity if through the act or event he
was benefited.
CIVIL CODE OF THE PHILIPPINES CHAPTER 2:
Human Relations

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; and
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 expresses the
responsibilities of citizens more directly than how
they are stated in the Constitution. However, both
imply the same rights and responsibilies.