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| by: juandelacruz@twitter.com |
Wordweb Dictionary denotes citizenship as “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”. Going to Municipal Civil Registrar to be registered is not
just simply as that to become a good citizen. It is a yoke that you need to
carry with, because a good citizen is a person with duty for the advancement of
our country.
The Philippine citizenship is based upon the
principles of jus sanguinis and therefore descent from a parent who is a
citizen or national of the Republic of the Philippines is the primary method of
acquiring Philippine citizenship. This is contrasted with the legal principle
of jus soli where being born on the soil of a country, even to foreign parents,
grants one citizenship.
According to Article IV Section1 of 1987 Philippine
Constitution the following are citizens of the Philippines:
(1) Those who are citizens of the Philippines at
the time of the adoption of this
Constitution. The citizens referred to be those considered Filipino citizens at
the time of the effectivity of the present Constitution on February 2, 1987.
(2) Those whose fathers or mothers are citizens of
the Philippines. The Philippines follows the principle of jus sanguinis. In
determining the citizenship of the child, Filipino mothers are placed on equal
footing with their husbands.
(3) Those born before January 17, 1973, of Filipino
mothers, who elect Philippine citizenship upon reaching the age of majority.
Under the 1935 Constitution, a child born of a Filipino mother, who was married
to a foreigner, is born an alien and remains an alien during his minority until
he elects Philippine citizenship.
(4) Those who are naturalized in accordance with
law. Those who are not Filipino citizens at birth may become citizens by
Naturalization which is a voluntary method of acquiring citizenship by
renouncing his former citizenship and embracing a new one.
According
to the Department of Tourism about 6.2 million tourists visited Philippines in
the first quarter of the year, and 18% of these tourists wanted to live
permanently here in the Philippines for the following reasons: from the friends
they have made, to the stunning beaches, to the great business opportunities
living in one of the fastest growing economies in the world, and the
hospitality shown by the citizens living here.
Is there a law or a section in the Philippine
Constitution that they can utilize in order to grant their wish—which to become
one of the Filipino citizens? They are lucky, for our Constitution; foreigners
have chances to concede their desires under Revised Naturalization Law. What
you need to do is just to comply the requirements according to the Section 2 of
the Revised Naturalization Act of the Philippines to acquire citizenship by
naturalization.
Last Presidential election, it is well known what the
line of attacks is: that Senator Poe is not a natural born citizen, a
requirement for one to become President, because she is a foundling. Because of
her citizenship she almost forfeited her candidacy in the Presidency.
Under our 1987 Constitution, “no person may be
elected President unless he [or she] is a natural-born citizen of the
Philippines…” In her background, she was born in the year 1968. She was
registered in the local registrar office in Iloilo, and was adopted by Mr. and
Mrs. Fernando Poe Jr. Because we do not know who her father or mother is, her
detractors now claim that Senator Poe cannot be presumed to be a citizen of the
Philippines. There is actually no distinction made in this regard between a
natural-born and one that is not natural-born citizen, because no such
distinction can be made.
In my humble opinion, I consider the questions regarding
the citizenship of the senator as an attack against all foundlings, adopted
children, and families. This is repulsive to me because instead of comforting
those, these distractors criticized them. Is it a personal fault that a person
is a founding or an adopted child? I think it’s not. With the descriptions above, she was a natural-born citizen to
me, and they just used this condition of her to grab her down from the
candidacy. On the other hand, I see the danger; the criticisms about her
residence bring to all overseas Filipinos, migrant workers and dual citizens
alike. Instead of giving them honor, we criticized them. Overseas workers are
essential to us for they contribute much to our economic growth.
Gratefully, she wasn’t disqualified to continue her
political campaign for the charges thrown to her were considered as "baseless"
petition.
"I laud the Court in affirming my status, and
in effect all other foundlings in the country, as natural-born Filipinos, with
full rights to serve the nation. I sincerely hope that this will put the issue
to rest, and that all foundlings be given due recognition each of us
deserves," Grace Poe said.
Here, it was proven that citizenship really
matters, especially if you are enthusiastically wanted to serve your country. Citizenship
is not only for document transactions, as what I’ve said it is a yoke that you
need to carry with. Citizenship implies, reciprocally, a duty of allegiance on
the part of the members and duty of protection on the part of the state. It is
your right and obligation to do so, because we are in the democratic nation and
there can be no daily democracy without daily citizenship.
