Duties and Obligations of Filipinos

7/28/2019 Duties and Obligations of Filipinos

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DUTIES AND OBLIGATIONS OF FILIPINOS

1. It is the duty of every Filipino to respect, honor, and give due accord to his Filipino heritage, patrimony, values and tradition.

2. It is the duty of every Filipino to contribute to the development, welfare, and nation-building of itscountry.

3. It is the duty of every Filipino to engage in gainful work to assure himself and his family a life worthyof human dignity.

4. Loyalty to the federal republic and national consciousness, aspirations, and ideals shall be asked fromevery Filipino citizen.

5. Every Filipino citizen is asked to uphold this Constitution, obey the laws of the land, pay taxes andduties, and to cooperate with the duly constituted authorities in the attainment and preservation of a justand orderly society.

6. Every Filipino citizen must give due honor to the Philippine flag, National Anthem, PhilippinePresident, and other national symbols and emblems.

7. It is the duty of every Filipino citizen to defend the national territory from aggressive invaders, protectthe sovereignty of its people, and preserve the continuity of a just, humane society and government.

8. It is the duty of every Filipino to report to the proper authorities all plots of terrorism, plans of rebellion, subversion, or insurrection toward the duly and legally acknowledge government, and other acts that will compromise the union and sovereignty of the federal republic.

9. It is the obligation of every Filipino, to report corrupt, dishonest, or fraudulent government officials to

the proper forum, courts and agencies. A Filipino shall not tempt or bribe government officials, stealfrom the coffers of the government, or escape or abandon his lawful responsibilities.

10. It is the responsibility of every Filipino to elect officials of government as a means of demonstratinghis personal ideals and aspirations for the motherland. Omission or abstention from this responsibilitymay indicate a persons renunciation of his right of suffrage. No fine or inappropriate or excessive

penalty shall be asked from him as reparation for his choice not to vote. People, who lost their socialright of suffrage, may reclaim such right in accordance of law.

An article on duties and obligations of Filipinos was present in the 1972 Constitution but absent in the1987 Constitution.

Philippine Bill of RightsThe Philippine Bill of Rights is in Article III of the 1987 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines.

Article III. Bill of Rights

Section 1. 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.

Section 2. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable


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searches and seizures of whatever nature and for any purpose shall be inviolable, and no search warrant or warrantof 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 besearched and the persons or things to be seized.

Section 3. (1) The privacy of communication and correspondence shall be inviolable except upon lawful order of thecourt, or when public safety or order requires otherwise as prescribed by law.

(2) Any evidence obtained in violation of this or the preceding section shall be inadmissible for any purpose in any proceeding.

Section 4. No law shall be passed abridging the freedom of speech, of expression, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and petition the government for redress of grievances.

Section 5. No law shall be made respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. Thefree exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and worship, without discrimination or preference, shall forever

be allowed. No religious test shall be required for the exercise of civil or political rights.

Section 6. The liberty of abode and of changing the same within the limits prescribed by law shall not be impairedexcept upon lawful order of the court. Neither shall the right to travel be impaired except in the interest of nationalsecurity, public safety, or public health, as may be provided by law.

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

be provided by law.

Section 8. The right of the people, including those employed in the public and private sectors, to form unions,associations, or societies for purposes not contrary to law shall not be abridged.

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

Section 10. No law impairing the obligation of contracts shall be passed.

Section 11. Free access to the courts and quasi-judicial bodies and adequate legal assistance shall not be denied toany person by reason of poverty.

Section 12. (1) Any person under investigation for the commission of an offense shall have the right to be informedof his right to remain silent and to have competent and independent counsel preferably of his own choice. If the

person cannot afford the services of counsel, he must be provided with one. These rights cannot be waived except inwriting and in the presence of counsel.

(2) No torture, force, violence, threat, intimidation, or any other means which vitiate the free will shall be usedagainst him. Secret detention places, solitary, incommunicado, or other similar forms of detention are prohibited.

(3) Any confession or admission obtained in violation of this or Section 17 hereof shall be inadmissible in evidence

against him.

(4) The law shall provide for penal and civil sanctions for violations of this section as well as compensation to therehabilitation of victims of torture or similar practices, and their families.

Section 13. All persons, except those charged with offenses punishable by reclusion perpetua when evidence of guiltis strong, shall, before conviction, be bailable by sufficient sureties, or be released on recognizance as may be

provided by law. The right to bail shall not be impaired even when the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus issuspended. Excessive bail shall not be required.


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

(2) In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall be presumed innocent until the contrary is proved, and shall enjoythe right to be heard by himself and counsel, to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation against him, tohave a speedy, impartial, and public trial, to meet the witnesses face to face, and to have compulsory process tosecure the attendance of witnesses and the production of evidence in his behalf. However, after arraignment, trialmay proceed notwithstanding the absence of the accused provided that he has been duly notified and his failure toappear is unjustifiable.

Section 15. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended except in cases of invasion or rebellionwhen the public safety requires it.

Section 16. All persons shall have the right to a speedy disposition of their cases before all judicial, quasi-judicial, or administrative bodies.

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

Section 18. (1) No person shall be detained solely by reason of his political beliefs and aspirations.

(2) No involuntary servitude in any form shall exist except as a punishment for a crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted.

Section 19. (1) Excessive fines shall not be imposed, nor cruel, degrading or inhuman punishment inflicted. Neither shall death penalty be imposed, unless, for compelling reasons involving heinous crimes, the Congress hereafter

provides for it. Any death penalty already imposed shall be reduced to reclusion perpetua.

(2) The employment of physical, psychological, or degrading punishment against any prisoner or detainee or the useof substandard or inadequate penal facilities under subhuman conditions shall be dealt with by law.

Section 20. No person shall be imprisoned for debt or non-payment of a poll tax.

Section 21. No person shall be twice put in jeopardy of punishment for the same offense. If an act is punished by alaw and an ordinance, conviction or acquittal under either shall constitute a bar to another prosecution for the same

act.

Section 22. No ex post facto law or bill of attainder shall be enacted.

Who are the Citizens of the Philippines?

A Filipino citizen may be considered natural-born or naturalized citizen. Both statuses bestow upon theindividual certain privileges and exclusive rights such as the rights to vote, to run for public, etc. which maybe denied the foreigner.

NATURAL-BORN FILIPINO

Art. IV, sec. 2 of the 1987 Constitution defines the NATURAL-BORN Filipino citizens as:

1. Those who are citizens of the Philippines at the time of the adoption of this (1987) Constitution

2. those whose fathers OR mothers are citizens of the Philippines and

3. those born before January 7, 1973, of Filipino mothers, who elect Philippine citizenship upon reaching theage of majority.
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Even if the child is born to an alien father and a Filipino mother, the Filipino citizenship of the mother will

bestow natural-born Philippine citizenship upon the child PROVIDED his birth occurred on or after January17, 1973 (date of ratification of the 1973 Constitution), otherwise he followed the citizenship of the alien fatherand acquired at best only an inchoate Philippine citizenship which he could perfect by election upon attainingmajority age. EXCEPT if he is born out of lawful wedlock, in which case, he will be considered a Filipino byvirtue of his mothers citizenship.

In addition, only natural-born citizens are allowed to hold constitutional offices such as the office of thePresident; Senators; Members of the House of Representatives; Members of the Supreme Court; and theChairman and Commissioners of the Constitutional Commissions (Civil Service Commission, COMELECand the Commission on Audit).

NATURALIZED FILIPINO

Naturalization takes place either voluntarily by complying both the substantive and proceduralrequirements of the general naturalization law or by operation of law. This process may be direct orderivative.

Under the Commonwealth Act 473, a foreigner who is not married to a Filipino but seeks to acquirePhilippine citizenship is required to have lived in the Philippines for a continuous period of NOT LESS thanten (10) years. The said period shall be reduced to five (5) years if he is being married to a Filipino. Otherprescribed qualifications pertain to the age, moral, occupational, language and educational qualifications of the petitioner.

However, naturalization shall be subject to the Rule of Reciprocity, hence, the alien petitioner must proveby evidence that the laws of his country grant Filipinos the right to be naturalized.

HOW TO BE A GOOD CITIZEN

Human beings are used to living under laws and patterns that are dictated to us by society, but following those patterns does not make us good citizens. To be a good citizen first you have to be a good person. By that I mean that

you have to be full of values, principles, ethics, etc. When joining all these aspects together you will find out thatthere is nothing else to be needed.

One important aspect for being a good citizen is to help people. All around us, we can see there are always people inneed for our help. Our job as good citizens is to help those kinds of people. When talking about the people that needour help, I am not only talking about the poor ones, but also the pregnant woman who cannot carry a heavy packageor the old man that cannot cross the street. Remember that little actions make the difference.

Another important thing we have to remember for being a good citizen is to have an active participation in our community. There are a lot of ways we can do that. When elections come for voting for the governor, we have to bein the line ready to give our vote. When there is a gathering of our neighborhood for deciding about the maintenanceof the streets, we have to be there to tell our point of view.

The last recommendation for being a good citizen is the respect toward the people that live around us. We have toremember that as we have rights, they have them too. Respect is one of the most important bases when living in asociety. We all have freedom, but it is restricted to certain point. We cannot consider a killer or thief good citizens asthey have violated that restriction.

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Duties and Obligations of Filipinos