History

Aristotle gave the earliest concept of citizenship sometime in 384 to 322 B.C. when he described the “citizen” as “a man who shared in the administration of justice and in the holding of an office.”[1] Aristotle saw its significance to determine the constituency of the “State”, which he described as “being composed of such persons who would be adequate in number to achieve a self-sufficient existence.”[2] The concept then grew to include “one who would both govern and be governed, for which qualifications like autonomy, judgment and loyalty could be expected. Citizenship was seen to deal with rights and entitlements, on the one hand, and with concomitant obligations, on the other.”[3] In its ideal setting, a citizen was active in public life and fundamentally willing to submit his private interests to the general interest of society.[4]

The concept of citizenship went through changes over the centuries. In the 18^th century, the concept was generally limited to civil citizenship, “which established the rights necessary for individual freedom, such as rights to property, personal liberty and justice.”[5] Its meaning expanded during the 19^th century to include “political citizenship, which encompassed the right to participate in the exercise of political power.”[6] The 20^th century saw the next stage of development of social citizenship wherein the emphasis was on “the right of the citizen to economic well-being and social security.”[7] The idea of citizenship has gained recognition in the modern welfare state as it developed in Western Europe. “An ongoing and final stage of development, in keeping with the rapidly shrinking global village, might well be internationalization of citizenship.”[8]

            During the Spanish regime, there was no such term as “citizen of the Philippines” to call the political status of the native inhabitants. As a conquered country, the native inhabitants of the Philippines were designated as “Spanish subjects” or “subjects of Spain”. For church purposes and as mentioned in church records, the natives were called as “indios” – a term "indicative of the low regard by the Spaniards towards the native inhabitants of the Archipelago.”[9]

            It was only during the American occupation in the Philippines where there was an official recognition of the native inhabitants as citizens.

When the Philippines was ceded to the United States of Amercica by Spain, pursuant to the treaty of Paris on December 10, 1989, the political status of the native inhabitants of the Phiippine Islands had to be determined by the Congress of the United States of America. Pending legislation by Congress on the subject, it was held that native inhabitants of Porto Rico (as well as those of the Philippine Islands) sojourning abroad might be registered as such in the legations and consulates of the United States, and were when so registered entitled to “official protection” “in all matters were a citizen of the United States similarly situated would be entitled thereto,” care being taken to have it appear that they were “protected as native inhabitants of Porto Rico (or Philippine Islands as the case may be) and not as citizens of the United States.”[10]

            On the other hand, the term “citizen of the Philippines” was first defined in the Philippine Bill of 1902 or the Philippine Organic Act of 1902 (otherwise known as the Act of Congress of the United States) on 01 July 1902. This was the first time when such term began to appear in the statute books of the United States and the Philippines. The term “Filipino” was first used by Governor-General William H. Taft in his message where he mentioned the phrase “The Philippines for the Filipinos.”[11]