ARTICLE IV- CITIZENSHIP

ARTICLE IV
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.
Section 2. Natural-born citizens are those who are citizens of
the Philippines from birth without having to perform any
act to acquire or perfect their Philippine citizenship. Those
who elect Philippine citizenship in accordance with
paragraph (3), Section 1 hereof shall be deemed natural-
born citizens.
Section 3. Philippine citizenship may be lost or reacquired in
the manner provided by law.

Section 4. 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.

Section 5. Dual allegiance of citizens is inimical to the national

interest and shall be dealt with by law.
 DEFINITON OF TERMS
CITIZENSHIP- membership of a citizen in a political society, which
membership implies, reciprocally, a duty of allegiance on the
part of the member and duty of protection on the part of the
state.
CITIZEN- member of a democratic community who enjoys full civil
and political rights.
MONARCHIAL STATE- called subject
ALIEN- is a citizen not of the country where he lives, but of another
country.
RESIDENT-ALIENS- popularly called “foreigners” or aliens passing
through its territory of their persons and properties.
EXPATRIATION- voluntary loss or renunciation of one’s nationality.
REPATRIATION- taking the oath of allegiance to the Republic of the
Philippines
 WAYS OF ACQUIRING CITIZENSHIP:

1. INVOLUNTARY method- by birth or by place of birth

(natural-born)
A. JUS SANGUINIS- by blood relationship
B. JUS SOLI OR JUS LOCI- by place of birth

2. VOLUNTARY method- by naturalization (naturalized)

NATURALIZATION- act of formally adopting a foreigner into

the political body of the state and clothing him with the
rights and privileges of citizenship.
There are two classifications of naturalization: the individual
and group naturalization.

INDIVIDUAL NATURALIZATION- When an alien wishes to

acquire citizenship of a country other than his own, he does
so by the process of individual naturalization. This process is
done either-by the court or by the lawmaking body.

By Judicial Process. When naturalization is by judicial process,

the foreigner is required to possess certain prescribed
qualifications based especially on age, residence in the state
where he seeks citizenship, willingness to obey the laws and
the constitution, good moral character, literacy and other
requirements.
 THE PROCEDURE FOR PHILIPPINE NATURALIZATION
CONSISTS OF THE FOLLOWING STEPS:

1. Filing of a declaration of intention one year prior to the filing

of the petition with the Office of the Solicitor General. The
following, however, are exempt from filing the declaration of
intention:
a. Those born in the Philippines and have received their
primary and secondary education in public or private schools
recognized by the Government and not limited to any race or
nationality.
b. Those who have resided in the Philippines for 30 years or
more before the filing of the petition, and enrolled his
children in elementary and high schools recognized by the
government and not limited to any race or nationality.
 c. Widow with minor children of an alien who has declared
his intention to become a citizen of the Philippines and dies
before he is actually naturalized.
2. Filing of the petition, accompanied by the affidavit of two
credible persons, who are citizens of the Philippines and
who personally know the petitioner, as character witnesses.
3. Publication of the petition
4. Actual residence in the Philippines during the entire
proceedings
5. Hearing of the petition
6. Promulgation of the decision
7. Hearing after two years. During the two-year probation
period, applicant should not leave the Philippines; should
dedicate himself continuously to a lawful calling or
profession; should not have been convicted of any offense
or violation of rules; and should not have committed an act
prejudicial to the interest of the nation or contrary to any
Government-announced policies.
8. Oath-taking and issuance of the certificate of naturalization.
THE COURT PROCESS MAY CONSIST OF THE FF. STEPS:
1. An alien who is of majority age and wishes to be
naturalized shall file a declaration of intention to become a
citizen before a court. This declaration is necessary to
ascertain the sincerity of the foreigner to become a citizen.
2. After a waiting period prescribed by the law, the alien shall
file his petition for naturalization before the court.
3. The court shall hear the petition for naturalization. Under
this procedure, the foreigner is required to appear before
the court together with his witnesses. During the hearing,
other persons may appear to oppose the petition for
naturalization. After an exhaustive investigation, and the
judge is convinced that the alien has fulfilled all the
requirements prescribed by law, then the next step follows.
4. After having taken an oath of allegiance, he becomes a new
citizen and, therefore, is entitled to the rights and privileges
of citizenship. There are certain exceptions, however, where
the naturalized citizen cannot be elected to a national office,
like that of president and prime minister, or member of the
national lawmaking body, or be appointed as judge.
By Legislation. Individual naturalization is also acquired through
the lawmaking body.
In the Philippines, Congress may simply enact a law directly
conferring upon a foreigner Filipino citizenship. Ex. Gen.
Douglas MacArthur
Pursuant to Presidential Letter of Instruction no.270, dated
April 11,1975 as amended by Presidential Decree No.491,
dated December 29,1976, deserving aliens desiring to
become Filipino citizens were naturalized w/o passing
through the court. A special committee composed of the
Solicitor General, the Deputy Secretary of Foreign Affairs and
the Director-General of the former National Intelligence
Service Authority (NISA) was created to receive, consider and
submit recommendations on applications of aliens for
naturalization .
 INDIVIDUAL NATURALIZATION IN THE U.S.A.
1. An alien who is eighteen years of age or above may declare
before a federal or state court his intention to become an
American citizen, first in getting himself a job or to prove in
any other way that he intends to be a citizen of the United
States;
2. The alien-applicant must file a petition with the proper court
which he must do when he reaches the age of 18. He must
also be a resident of the United States for a continuous
period of five years;
3. He is ordered to appear before the court for an examination
to answer questions about American government. If he
passes the examination, he takes the fourth step;
4. The alien-applicant takes an oath of allegiance to the
government of the United States which makes him a citizen.
GROUP NATURALIZATION- GROUP OR COLLECTIVE
NATURALIZATION

Citizens of territories of a colonizer-state may be collectively

naturalized as citizens of the colonizer-state by means of a
treaty, joint resolution, or by a statute. For example, Texas
naturalized collectively in 1845 as American citizens by a
joint resolution of the American Congress. People of
Louisiana, Alaska, and Florida naturalized collectively by
treaty and Hawaii, Guam, Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands by
special statute.
 LOSS OF CITIZENSHIP
1. VOLUNTARY
a. by naturalization in a foreign country
b. by express renunciation of citizenship
c. by subscribing to an oath of allegiance to support the
constitution of foreign country
d. by rendering service to, or accepting commission in the
armed forces of a foreign country

2. INVOLUNTARY
a. by cancellation of his certificate of naturalization by the
court
b. by having been declared by competent authority , a
deserter in the Philippine Armed Forces in time of war.
 REACQUISITION OF LOST PHILIPPINE CITIZENSHIP

1. by NATURALIZATION

2. by repatriation of deserter of the Armed Forces of the

Philippines

3. by direct act of the Congress of the Philippines

FOR APPLICATIONS FILED IN THE PHILIPPINES