NSTP Module 3-Duties and Responsibilities of A Citizen
NSTP Module 3-Duties and Responsibilities of A Citizen
Objectives:
At the end of the lesson, the students are expected to:
Introduction
The natural rights bestowed to the human person are inseparably connected to many
respective duties. Rights and duties find their source, their sustenance and their inviolability on
the natural law that grants and enjoins them. For example, the right of every person to life is
correlative to the duty of preserving it, the right to a decent standard of living with the duty of
living it becomingly, and the right to investigate the truth freely, with the duty of seeking it, and
if possessing it ever more completely and profoundly.
The following, among others, are some of the more important duties and responsibilities
of every citizen:
1. Love of Country
How does one express love of country? Many of our heroes, like Emilio Jacinto, and
unsung heroes have given up their lives to demonstrate the love for the country. Benigno
“Ninoy” Aquino Jr. said: “The Filipinos are worth dying for.” One does not need to die to show
love of country although one would not hesitate to do so in the event that it is necessary.
Love of country can be shown in many ways. By appreciating the customs, traditions,
languages and people. By paying taxes on time. By following traffic rules. By maintaining
clean surroundings. By helping those in need. By taking pride of being Filipino.
Filipinos must develop a sense of nationalism. To patronize one’s own products, speak
one’s own language. For centuries, we have been under colonial rule and the effects are telling.
We prefer foreign goods in the belief that they are superior products than ours. We prefer our
communications with English language. Our country is our extended self. It is our fulfillment of
our personality, the perfection of our individuality. Therefore, we must love it and harbor its
interest first foremost in our hearts.
Love of country is not only words but also deeds. In a situation where our national
existence or survival is threatened or in peril, where our sovereignty as people and Nation is
disrespected by unfair, deceptive and onerous treaties or agreements with other nations. As
citizens, it is our fundamental and honorable duty to defend our nation against any aggression
and exploitative relation. The State that we should protect consists of people, territory,
government and sovereignty.
Defending the State is a concrete manifestation of love of country. Hence love of country
should not be an occasional virtue to be exhibited. It must be constantly and permanently etched
in the hearts of every citizen so that it inspires them to serve and defend the country at all times
and at all cost.
Defending the State thus requires citizens to give voluntary service when needed. They
must fight for the existence and self-preservation of the state.
The Constitution is the cornerstone by which all other laws conform and to which all
persons’ including the president, must respect. If laws are inconsistent with the Constitution, the
latter governs and the former becomes void.
The 1987 Constitution, duly approved by the people, is the expression of the will of the
people. Every citizen has the duty to defend the Constitution, especially against those who wish
to emasculate the law for usurpation of power.
We need authority to lead us; it is necessary for the common good and the unity of the
State. When authority is exercised for the genuine development of the people or in accord with
the moral law, it must be respected and obeyed.
Citizens should cooperate with the people mandated to rein or run the government. It is
the duty of a citizen not only to see to it that he does not violate any law, ordinance, rule and
regulation but also to ensure that such laws are obeyed or observed by his fellow citizens.
Constituted authorities dispose their executions within the bounds of the law. The law is
the mass of obligatory rules established for the purpose of governing the relations of persons in
society. It is a norm of human conduct in social life established and imposed for the observance
of all.
The law is powerless without the cooperation of the citizens. Authorities or officers of
the law need citizens to prevent and be witnesses to crimes committed. Citizens should not
allow crimes to be committed under their noses without even lifting a finger to prevent its
execution. It is the duty of the citizens to ensure that officers of the law attend the enforcement
of the law and properly perform their duties.
Citizens should not tolerate or become accomplice to any wrong doing in the community.
They should take any step in looking towards the eradication of graft, corruption and criminality
in their community. A citizen must correct the distorted values that drive people to commit
illegal activities.
Cooperation with duly constituted authorities must always be geared toward the common
good. If laws and treaties are inconsistent or are unconstitutional, then the people have the
option not to cooperate with the authorities. Instead they have every reason to protest or petition
such laws.
True, citizens should in conscience obey constituted authorities but they are not
compelled to obey commands that are morally wrong. Authority must not be used contrary to
the moral law, especially when citizens are under oppression of public authority which over steps
its competence.
In society where every member has his own interest, there would inevitably be clashes.
Each one must not insist one’s rights at the expense of the other’s rights but must work for the
welfare of all.
A citizen must be imbued with the sense of awareness that his fellow citizens have the
same rights he has. He should not only be concerned about his rights but also about his
obligations to his fellow citizens.
In the exercise of rights and in the performance of duties, all citizens must act with justice
and give everyone his due and observe honesty and good faith. It is not permissible to abuse
one’s rights to prejudice others. For instance, it is not right for the owners of a company to fire
regular workers and then hire contractual workers in order to gain more profit at the expense of
the workers’ right to tenure. Although this is now the practice of many companies and
seemingly tolerated by government, this act is wrong and it violates workers’ rights.
Citizens’ rights are not an unrestricted license to do exactly as one pleases. These rights
must serve as means of enjoyment of our life. But these must be restrained under conditions
essential to the equal enjoyment of the same right by others.
Every citizen must work to assure himself and his family a life worthy of human dignity.
It is the nature of the human person to work. It is through hard, gainful and sustained work that
people and nations live and survive.
It is the duty of the State to ensure the promotion of employment opportunities to its
citizens. (See Article II, Section 9: and Article XIII, Section 3). But it is the responsibility of
every citizen to look for work. Every citizen has an obligation to be useful and be a productive
member of society because, first, work is his nature and source of his dignity and second, work is
his contribution to the development of the country/State.
It is the constitutional duty of every citizen to register and elect qualified citizens to
public office. This duty does not only mean registering and casting a vote. It includes the duty
of using mature and free judgment, conscience and analysis of the integrity and fitness of the
aspirants to lead the country and the people for genuine development when they hold public
office.
It is true that election today serve as mechanism to maintain and legitimize the leadership
of the elite, but we can put a stop to this by advocating political and electoral reforms to give
poor but qualified candidates chances to aspire for public office.
The Filipino people posses certain values, shared perceptions on what we hold dear, what
we regard as important to us. These sixteen values are enshrined in the Preamble of the 1987
Philippine Constitution. These are unity, patriotism, faith in the Almighty God, respect for life,
respect for law and Government, work, truth, justice, freedom, love, equality, peace, promotion
of the common good, concern for the environment, and order. These values of the Filipino
people serve as the guiding principles of our life as a nation and provide the underlying
framework for all the provisions of the Constitution. We can become good citizens by living in
accordance with these good citizenship values
For an adult, his basic values can be seen in his outward manifestations as well as in
decision-making. There is always a consistency in what he thinks and feels and what he says.
Every Filipino child needs to be helped to form his own values consistent with basic
Filipino values, if he is to grow into a citizen who is “maka-Diyos, maka-tao, maka-bayan at
maka-kalikasan.”
Lead them in doing the activity. As you journey, ask the other siblings or
parents to point out the best routes to follow, but ignore their suggestions.
Instead, deliberately wander off course and waste time. For example, you
might lead them into the parking lot and through a maze of cars, or stop to
smell some flowers. When they protest, just say: I’m the leader. I know
where I’m going.
When five minutes are up, lead them back to the room and say: Too bad. We
didn’t make it back in time so no one gets the plus 5. But that’s OK. We will
just try next time.
It states that there are certain traits that distinguish between leaders and followers.
Leaders generally seem to be sociable, persistent, self-confident and adaptable. However, which
of the traits relevant seems to depend on the requirements of the situation.
It was the first systematic efforts of psychologists to determine the traits of a good leader.
The researchers tried to compare the traits of those who emerge as leaders with those who did
not. They also attempted to compare traits of the effective leaders with those who are
ineffective. The researchers found out that even though that some people possesses the qualities
of a good leader they do not become one. The single most important factor related to the
managerial level and the manager’s supervisory skill is the usage in the appropriate situation.
Effective leader uses their skills to match the requirement of the situation at hand.
2. Behavior Era
This is where we would call the 3 categories of leadership styles:
When it became evident that traits did not really affects effective leadership researchers
shifted their focus on how the leaders behave. They have focused their attention at the two
leadership behaviors namely leadership function and leadership style. Leadership functions are
the group maintenance and task related activities that must be performed by the leader or
someone else, for a group to perform effectively. Leadership styles are the various patterns of
behaviors favored by leaders during the process of directing and influencing workers. It is
influenced by the forces in the manager, forces in subordinates and forces in the situation.
3. Contingency Era
The primary assumption of the contingency approach is that the personality, style, or
behavior of the leader that is effective will depend upon the requirements of the situation in
which the leader finds himself or herself.
2. Guiding and directing on a course, and as serving as a channel. A leader is someone who has
commanding influence.
2. It is about ordinary people who care. People who care enough to get extra ordinary things
done.
3. It is the capacity and will to rally men and women to a common purpose and the character
which inspire confidence.
Leadership Styles
Let us compare leadership styles. We can do this best by contrasting two opposite styles
of leadership: the authoritarian and the democratic (or participate) style.
shows certain characteristics and we can sum them up by saying that leaders falling under
this category:
I know best what is to be done here. After all, I am better trained, more experienced, and
better informed on the matter than anyone else here. The others in the group expect as much of
me. This is after all, my job as their leader. Because I cannot do everything myself, I need their
help, not their ideas and plans, to implement what needs to be done. I can take care of the
thinking, and I do more than my share of the doing too, but I shall need their help here. I
suppose I’ll have to listen to them. These days, they expect that much of me. But I don’t expect
to hear anything new. I’m quite confident that we will end up doing it my way. Of course, I’ll
handle the proceedings during the meeting and I’ll manage to control the pace of things as well.
After all, the agenda is mine and I’ve thought each point through already. I’ll also dispose of any
disputes that may arise, since the task is the thing that counts, and we can’t be held up by any
petty personal squabbles. That would be a sheer waste of time. Better that we all keep our
feelings to ourselves anyway.
As a member of this leader’s group, one might see things this way, whether one likes it or
not:
The leader is the real spokesman of the group. He usually does most of the talking and
all of the actual planning and only wants our approval and cooperation. In fact, his credentials
are good. He does have more experience and competence than I have and he seems to have our
best interests at heart. During the meetings, he doesn’t like to waste any time. While he’s not a
very personable man, he’s always ready to help any of us, whatever the hour and however
serious the problem.
In one way, I’m happy that the leader takes all the responsibility of the group upon
himself. That leaves me to do more or less what I want, just as long as I do the job he asks me to
do. And he is generous with his praise of my work – I guess, because this reflects well on his
leadership in the eyes of outsiders. But at the same time and probably for the same reason, he
comes down hard when we make mistakes or he feels that we have let him down. I sometimes
resent being so uninvolved and feeling so unimportant. I would like to speak out and even
disagree with the leader – for he is not right all the time, but I’m not sure how this would go over
with the others in the group. While we spend a lot of time talking about the boss and his ways
outside meetings, we tend to turn into lambs when he is around. I guess it is because we would
not like to hurt and upset him. So things keep going on in the usual way.
When we characterize the attitudes of such leaders in the following bit of self-talk:
I place a high value on sound and creative decisions that emerge from real understanding
and searching within a group of committed people who take their life together seriously. I listen
for, and try to elicit, ideas and opinions that differ from my own. I have clear convictions, but I
am also open to change in the face of sound ideas and reasoning.
I realize that, however, competent and experienced I am, I may not have all the
information needed, and definitely lack the experience of others in the group. I am always ready
to learn. When conflicts arise in the group, I do my best, with the group’s help, to identify the
issues involved and to uncover their resources. When aroused by someone or something, I try to
contain myself and stay in touch with whatever might be going on inside of me. I try to maintain
a sense of humor to keep things in perspective. I put a lot of energy into group work, because I
firmly believe in the effectiveness of teamwork.
As a member of this leader’s group, one might see things this way:
I find the other members of the group quite friendly and cooperative, including the leader
of the group. We all seem to have a common stake in what we are doing and in the group we
belong to. We have developed a true team spirit, along with initiative and creativity. We keep
looking for new better ways and our leader encourages us to do so.
As far as possible, we make decisions and set goals as a result of group consensus. We
all share in the success or failure. In our working together, as a group, we have experienced a
“circle of success” more than once.
That same group member might reflect on the circle of success this way:
- interdependent efforts from its members to find the best way to complete those tasks,
which in turn lead to
- a degree of shared success in achieving those targets, and this accomplishment leads
to
- confidence in the group’s potential and back to
- renewed commitment to the group and to its ongoing tasks. You like the atmosphere,
and you find your own role both interesting and rewarding.
This is a leader in name only. He fails to provide any direction for his group. Members are
left the responsibility of leading and directing.
After watching the film, the students will be required to submit a film review/reaction paper:
References
Andres, Tomas Quintin D. Community Development: A Manual, Quezon City: New day
Publishers, 1988.
Andres, T.Q.D. Risk Management and Disaster Control. Quezon City: Giraffe Books,
1999.
Boer, E., Jaspess H. and Prickaets G. We did not learn Human Rights from the Books;
The Philippines and Human Rights in the Period of 1986 to 1996, Quezon City: Claretian
Publications, 1996.
Claude, R.P. Education for Human Rights: The Philippines and Beyond, Quezon City:
University of the Philippines Press, 1996.
Constantino, R. The Filipinos in the Philippines and other Essays.Manila: Malaya Books,
1996.
De Leon, Hector. Philippine Constitution, 2002 ed., Quezon City: Rex Printing
Company, Inc., 2002.
Espiritu S.C., Lejano R.P., Peralta A.R., Ronquillo A.A., and Salcedo L.L. Social Issues.
Quezon City: Katha Publishing Co. Inc, 1999.
Gonzales, Vivian A. Values Integration and Promotion: A Civic Welfare Service, Los
Banos, Laguna: SIKAP/STRIVE, Inc., 1997.
Gorospe V.R. (2000). Forming the Filpino Social Conscience: Social Theology from a
Filipino Christian Perspective. Makati City: Bookmark.
Homan, Mark S. Promoting Community Change: Making It Happen in the Real World,
2nd ed., California: Brooks/Cole Publishing Company, 1999.
International Commission on J.P.I.C. Manual for Promoters of Justices and Peace, and
Integrity of Creation.Quezon City: Claretian Publications, 1998.
Jarapa S.Q., Perez R.P., and Segarra T.S. Current Social Issues. Manila: Rex Bookstore,
1997.