Parents unknown: A study of foundlings and their citizenship

• Main Authors: Castillo, Marc Christian E., Gonzales, Aryana Marie G.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2016
• Subjects: Abandoned children > Legal status, laws, etc > Philippines; Citizenship > Philippines
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_bachelors/6090
• Institution: De La Salle University

As the 2016 presidential elections is on its way, a number of people have lined up and filed their candidacy for presidency. The essence of public administration lies within the citizenship. The holding of a public office requires absolute allegiance and public trust. According to the 1987 Philippine Constitution, no person may be elected president unless he or she is a natural born citizen of the Philippines. 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. However, is an abandoned child not knowing his/her parents' identity a natural-born citizen of the Philippines? This legal research will delve into an analysis of the natural-born clause in the 1987 Philippine Constitution as well as the international instruments such as the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the International Convention on the Civil and Political Rights in determining, whether or not a foundling is a natural-born Filipino citizen.