TOPIC: Good Citizenship
THE GOOD CITIZENSHIP VALUES
(Based on the 1987 Philippine Constitution)
1. FAITH IN THE ALMIGHTY GOD
• Be God-fearing and live according to His will.
Deepening Points
• “Faith can move mountains” If faith in God worked miracles for us during our EDSA I experiences, it
can also work in our everyday lives.
• The kind of faith we professed at EDSA I was one that drove us into action (faith in action). Our Faith,
which moved us to act, was the single biggest factor that made EDSA I work, one that indeed “moved
mountains”.
• Faith in the Almighty is an innate trademark Filipino value. All of us have it.
• When the country was plunged into shock and misery brought about by the devastation of the 1991
earthquake, Filipinos consoled themselves and lifted each other’s spirit by crying sincere tears, a symbol
of their bearing each other’s pains, and by praying together with an extraordinary faith to get through
such a calamity. Such an attitude clearly defines the Filipinos’ unique regard for the value of faith in the
Almighty. • We should take pride in our faith and use it to improve our lives. More than ever, our faith
as a people has proven to be stronger and more meaningful. We even face the prospect of sharing our
faith with those who actually introduced it to us in the first place.
• Our faith is a call to conversion: turning away from graft and corruption, indolence, our desire for
convenience rather than hard work, growing adherence to materialism at the expense of the loss of our
values and integrity, and our sense of helplessness when confronted with adversity.
• We should learn how to pray from our hearts, not merely by our lips. We pray for more God-
centered leaders who assume authority in the context of genuineservices. We pray because without
God we can do nothing.
2. RESPECT FOR LIFE
• Recognize the absolute value of human life and the human dignity of every person
Deepening Points
• Every person’s life is a precious gift, no individual has the right to harm or destroy it.
• Terrorism is to be condemned in the most absolute terms because it shows complete contempt for
human life and can never be justified. (Social Doctrine of the Church #514)
• Human life must be respected, protected and preserved from the moment of conception.
• “Our body is God’s temple”, we should take care of it and regard it as sacred.
TOPIC: Good Citizenship
• We should uphold and recognize each other’s dignity as a persons and grow to appreciate each other’s
worth because there exist in the human person sufficient qualities and energies, a fundamental
goodness.
• God’s decision to make man in his image and likeness gives the human being a unique dignity that
extends to all generations and throughout the entire earth. (Social Teaching of the Church #428)
• Every person is a gift in himself and deserves the opportunity to realize and share his own giftedness
to society without fear of harm and persecution.
• Every person is safeguarded by basic human rights and is responsible for the rights of others.
• A just society can become a reality only when it is based on respect for the transcendent dignity of the
human person.
• Every person should be given the opportunity and freedom to lead a values based and purpose-driven
life.
3. ORDER
• Respect the human rights of one another and comply with your duties and responsibilities.
Deepening Points
• Order is putting everything in its right place.
• God is our number one value, foremost priority, and source of all our motivations and inspirations
Some simple ways of prioritizing or putting things in order include the following:
• Cleanliness and proper arrangement of things, belongings, living quarters, and workplace, time
management (faithfully following an established routine/schedule), budgeting and expense allocation,
resources management, prioritization/sorting of activities according to level of importance or urgency,
and goal setting.
• In doing first things first in the light of effecting change in our country, change/transformation should
begin with us before it can proceed to a broader scale. The determination to develop the value on a
wider scale towards national development should then evolve into a collective resolve by every citizen
to live out the value and allow it to pervade into our people’s consciousness and culture.
• Learn to be orderly in your work by establishing a system and routine.
• One of the advantages of being disorderly is that one is constantly making exciting discoveries.
• The value of order ensures all citizens of security (in the form of order established by laws), peace
(when order is maintained by law enforcement agencies of the government and other sectors of
society), harmony (as a result of the social contract borne out of the implications of the law and basic
TOPIC: Good Citizenship
understanding of ethics and values) and progress (as the value of order constantly seeks to promote
efficiency and effectiveness in a person’s work, job or routine).
• Disorder triggers situations of panic, unrest, confusion, havoc, chaos, and anarchy.
• Order is so essential to us that we even have to follow a particular order in loving God, country and
family.
• Basic values like diligence and cleanliness stem from the value of orderliness.
• Order entails the discipline of the mind, emotion and action. Some virtues/values that may be
required when one wish to develop the value of Order are prudence, temperance, discipline, humility,
diligence, patience and resilience.
• God follows order in the first story of creation (Cf. Gen. 1)
4. WORK
• Be diligent and earn an honest living; do not engage in crime and corruption.
Deepening Points
• The family is simultaneously a community made possible by work and the first school of work within a
home, for every person.
• Man is destined to work, it is in his nature. But he must see to it that he works to make a life not just a
living. He must find time for relaxation.
• Discuss the Filipino culture of and with regard to, the following: kapit sa patalim, ningas-kugon,
manana habit, pwedeng-pwede na, bahala na.
• Job and Work must be defined and differentiated.
• Achievement is getting things done well while activity is a matter of merely staying busy. Avoid acting
like busy bodies doing nothing.
• Our country will progress if every Filipino puts value in honest hard work. Our character is our fate.
• Every Filipino should strive towards self-reliance.
• Learn to invest your God-given talents in your work, for work is God’s provision to prosperity.
• “Don’t settle for mediocrity, aim for excellence”.
• Well done is better than well said-Benjamin Franklin
• Do your best and God will take care of the rest.
• Pray and work: Pray as if everything depended on God and work as if everything depended on you.
• “Living within your means is spending less than what you earn”.
TOPIC: Good Citizenship
• Living within one’s means is a key element of success and progress as it encourages the values of
discipline, frugality, prudence and the virtue of temperance.
• Things done in haste will usually end in waste. Small deeds done are better than many things planned.
What counts in the end is not the volume of work but the love that we put into our work.
5. CONCERNS FOR THE FAMILY AND FUTURE GENERATIONS
• Look after the welfare of your family and future generations.
Deepening Points
• The future of humanity passes by way of the family.
• Our family is threatened daily by many issues that tend to destroy its sanctity, unity and harmony.
• We should be vigilant and possess the resolve to always value our family as our most precious gift
after our own lives.
• A family is strengthened by the love, understanding and mutual respect among its members.
• A family is the best place of refuge, strength, inspiration, example and source of love for today’s youth
at risk and couples whose values and virtues are challenged daily by the ways of the world of
covetousness and materialism.
• More than ever, as parents, we should work harder to teach and guide our children in the ways of
good values and responsibility as they are more vulnerable to negative influences brought about by the
advent of high technology and materialism which gives them freer access to activities that potentially
undermine their good values and virtues.
• Giving due respect to our elders and caring for them is a testament of our enduring value of respect
for our family as people and confirms our love and deference to the people from whose lives and labor
we owe our own;
• Our family is worth more than any worldly gain.
• Make it a point to spend “quality time” with your family as this will unite you more closely and bind
you in understanding and love
• The family can survive the challenges of the times only if it is armed with sound principles and values
that promote love and life: Responsible parenthood.
TOPIC: Good Citizenship
6. LOVE
• Look after the good welfare of one another.
Deepening Points
• Love is the value from which the other values that form a good person develop.
• Love is a decision here, now and forever.
• Love is a commitment to action, an intellectual and thoughtful decision.
• Love entails responsibility, sacrifice and service; it is simply doing good for others. If love is real it
never stops reaching out.
• Real Love is one that shares, trusts, cares, respects, accepts and forgives.
• Love is the key to our nation progress. It will encourage our people to be committed to serve and be
concerned for each other’s well-being, making true the pledge of mamamayan muna bago
sarili…mamamayang hindi makasarili.
• A giant step to national progress is national reconciliation not national resolution. Reconciliation is
focused on relation while resolution is focused on problem. What lasts in the end is relation of love.
• Love cures people-both the ones who give it and the ones who receive it (KarlMenninger)
• The Law of Love surpasses every other law.
• The true measure of love is, loving without measure.
• Love ‘till it hurts no more.
• Love is a gift from God and God himself. He who lives in love lives in God.
• The new commandment of love is the fundamental law of human perfection, and consequently of the
transformation of the world. (cf. Mt. 22:40)
• The commandment of mutual love, which represents the law of life for God’s people, must inspire,
purify and elevate all human relationship and in society and in politics. (Social Doctrine of the Church #
33)
TOPIC: Good Citizenship
7. FREEDOM
• Assert your right to be able to do the right things.
Deepening Points
• Freedom is the power to act or not to act, and so to perform deliberate acts of one’s own.
According to Dr. Jose P. Rizal, “Nations win their freedom by deserving it, by loving what is just, what is
great to the point of dying for it.”
• The value of Freedom is never without the virtue of responsibility.
• Freedom is a gift freely given, thus, it should be something freely shared.
• Freedom without responsibility results to anarchy.
• Freedom should be practiced with a clear understanding of its bounds, a sense of discipline and the
virtue of charity.
• A man worst difficulties begin when he is able to do, as he likes.
• Our sense of Freedom should lead us to love our fellowmen, understand their plight and do what is
good and right while avoiding what is wrong and evil.
• The dream of freedom is not just of one man but should be of every human heart.
• The fruit of freedom is cultivated by a people’s genuine sense of cooperation and desire to be
responsible for their actions for the benefit of the common good and common destiny.
• The basis of freedom lies in the individuality of human person who is capable of thinking, caring and
relating with other human beings.
• Freedom is the highest sign in man of his being made in the divine image, and consequently, is a sign
of the sublime dignity of every human person.
8. PEACE
• Live and work together in harmony; avoid violence as a way of settling disputes.
Deepening Points
• Peace cannot be attained through violence or other ways that do not promote order.
• Some examples of situations by which the end of peace cannot be reached by the means of violence
and disorder:-
- Physically harming children as a method of disciplining them
- Airing one’s sentiments on government and societal issues by way of a mutiny or coup d’etat.
- Resorting to fights and other violent displays to settle disputes/disagreements
TOPIC: Good Citizenship
- Stealing to pay-off a debt
- Resorting to acts of corruption to attain financial security
• The Four Pillars of Peace: Love, Freedom, Truth and Justice.
• The Two keys to peace: Solidarity with the Poor and Sustainable Human Development.
• Peace can be attained and sustained when people develop a deep consciousness of their faith in God,
concern for their fellowmen, loyalty to their country, and respect for the environment.
• Peace cannot thrive in a world where people do not live in dignity.
• Peace is founded on the primary relationship that exists between every human being and God himself.
• There can be no lasting peace if the nations of the world prosper at the expense of other nations.
• Peace is attainable thru forgiveness and reconciliation.
• Peace is the fruit of justice, love and order.
• There is a peace, which no amount of trouble can take it away, that is doing the will of God (Ten
Commandments) and follows the rule of law.
9. TRUTH
• Stand-up for the truth; avoid intrigue and mudslinging.
Deepening Points
• Truth is important to a society because it is a condition for freedom.
• Truth entails transparency, honesty, integrity, sincerity and humility.
• The most essential quality for leadership is not perfection but credibility: Being truthful.
• Identify the fruits of a culture of truth as against the negative effects of a culture of lies.
• The truth entails sacrifices and effort but is a worthy cause that highlights our own capacity as persons
to do good and live with integrity.
• When in doubt about a certain issue that tends to challenge one’s integrity, look towards the
“Absolute Truth” that is God.
• Honesty should be applied in all our roles in life, be it as a spouse, parent, child, sibling, teacher,
colleague, superior, subordinate, public servant, etc.
• No one has a monopoly on truth.
• In the end, the truth always prevails.
TOPIC: Good Citizenship
10. JUSTICE
• Give everyone his due; do not oppress or take advantage of anyone.
Deepening Points
• Justice consists in the firm and constant will to give God and neighbor their due.
• The Justice system is important as it ensures that all people, regardless of any form of distinction, will
receive the full benefit and protection of the law.
• Justice is important in the life of a person because it ensures that society fosters an atmosphere of
human dignity, security and one that allows every person equal opportunity to pursue prosperity,
development and happiness.
• “Justice delayed is Justice denied”. Reflect on the implication of this statement on our present judicial
system and processes.
• Reflect on how the media can aid in the justice process and how it can impede/diminish justice when
people are subjected to trials by publicity.
• Explain why there is a high level of distrust or lack of faith in the Philippine Justice System by citing
instances and drawing participants’ responses and ideas of common practices contributing to such.
• The Philippines has in its history a legacy of people taking justice into their own hands (e.g. NPA, MILF
and MNLF Insurgencies, Coup d’etats, Mutinies, and instances of liquidation of suspected or known
criminals); what are the causes of this tendency and its implication to our nation’s justice system and the
promotion of social justice?
Justice is important because it is the basis by which people are moved to charity towards their
fellowmen.
• Justice is the key to progress, the foundation of freedom and the bedrock principle of unity and
equality among all men.
11. UNITY
Work together and share with one another.
Deepening Points
• The supreme model of unity is the Divine Trinity.
• Significance of the statement, “United we stand, divided we fall” in the context of the activity and its
applicability in our present national setting.
• The importance of amicable dialogue as a means of resolving conflicts/disagreements and the
preservation of unity.
TOPIC: Good Citizenship
• Unity is solidarity in the service of humanity: entering into one’s life and be ready to be disturbed.
• Unity is about sharing a common vision and values, working together towards the same dream of
social justice, prosperity and happiness.
• The implication of Unity in Diversity: gifts, cultures, beliefs etc.
• History is a testament of our people’s legacy of strength when we are united.
• A sense of Unity will lead our people to feel each other’s needs and deepest sentiments and will lead
them to share in the fruits of each other’s progress.
• In the fight against poverty, graft and corruption, injustice, decadent values and violence, Unity is the
key by which we can triumph over all these. There is indeed strength in numbers. If our people are
together to really work sincerely towards making themselves good citizens, how can such evil elements
thrive in our society? But this fight is won by the collective effort and resolve of our people. We should
not allow one of our members to fail of falter as we view the failure and success of one of our
countrymen as that of our own.
• In every bout of our country with social ills and challenges, we must be able to say to our countrymen:
“We are in this together, We will raise each other up, and We will triumph!”
12. EQUALITY
• Treat one another as brothers and sisters being children of one God and one nation.
Deepening Points
• God shows no partiality, since all people have the same dignity as creatures made in his image and
likeness.
• As we come from the same Maker, we share in the same Destiny to live happily, indignity, in peace
and harmony.
• It is a universally accepted truth that “all men are created equal, gifted with reason and freewill”. This
is the basic principle on which our own fundamental rights (Bill of Human Rights) are based.
• Every citizen is assured of Equality if his basic human rights are ensured.
• Every person should be given equal opportunity to develop himself, be a better person and pursue
happiness in his lifetime. Thus, all agencies of society, the family, school, government and community
should respect this right and aid the person in his pursuit.
• No man is over and above the law. The laws provide fairly for everyone without distinction. Justice is
blind when it metes out justice. It does not judge based on prejudices but only on the basis of facts and
the truth.
• The value of Equality should move every citizen to look after and care for the less fortunate, the poor,
and the oppressed. When lived by everyone, the value of Equality is every man’s assurance that he can
TOPIC: Good Citizenship
live a life of worth and dignity, free from insecurity and injustice no matter what his circumstances in life
are. Truly, the value of equality is a key by which man is set free.
13. RESPECT FOR LAW AND GOVERNMENT
• Obey the laws of the land and support government programs.
Deepening Points
• The law is not meant to curtail freedom; it is meant to ensure that citizen acts responsibly while
exercising his freedom.
• The law and government are not meant to enslave people; they meant to establish order in society,
and by their duly constituted free people from the bondage of poverty, ignorance, insecurity and
disregard.
• The law and government should not serve the interests of especially those who are in positions of
power and authority. Rather Law and Government must give preferential option to serve and pay the
interests of the poor and less-fortunate members of society. Law and Government should lead all
citizens to be charitable especially those in most need of help, support and protection.
• The nature of laws is to provide sanctions for the irresponsible of freedom. For every policy, there
exists a corresponding implication. Thus, the need for punishment/penalty as a disciplinary measure
with policy/law is violated. In the final analysis, laws and the government meant to institute order in a
society that has a tendency to freedom and trample on the rights of the weak. Their roles form society’s
effort to form its members into responsible, conscience dignified and charitable persons.
• Love is the perfection of the Law. Fear and intimidation should our motivations when we obey the law
and respect the mandate government. Rather, we should find it in ourselves to love the Law, the
Government as they seek to protect our rights and dignity as person.
• Our own respect for the Law and Government should stem from the ultimate law of the heart: that of
mutual respect, charity and love for others.
• Our respect for the law and government means obeying the rule of law, the rule of the mob. Our
historical experience of going out for a quick fix of a system is our best teacher. In the final analysis, we
really need during this trying time is not change of a system or at the helm, but change of heart,
individual conversion: a adoption of correct values in governance from the president down into
barangay officials. ([Link]. Angel Lagdameo, CBCP)
• Law is the embodiment of the moral sentiment of the people.
• Responsible authority must recognize, respect and promote essential human and moral values.
TOPIC: Good Citizenship
14. PATRIOTISM
• Place the good of the country above one’s own.
Deepening Points
• Patriotism is a call for every citizen.
• Our country needs people who are committed to serve the interest of the nation no matter who are
seated at the helm of the government.
• Our country’s heroes, the ones who will move our country to greater heights are not found in
pedestals or pinnacles of power and prestige; they are found in the hearts and deeds of ordinary people
seeking to be good citizens in their everyday lives.(“Consistency” vs. “One-shot-deal”
• There is such a thing as unsung heroes but none whose deeds do not touch the life of at least one
person.
• Patriotism is about loving one’s country by being a steadfast good citizen in one’s daily encounter of
the challenges of life and society.
• Leaving one’s country is turning his back to his very own family.
• Patriotism inspires a citizen to respond to the call of service to his nation and look after his fellowmen
in need.
• Patriotism is every person’s sense of duty and responsibility to contribute in the development of his
country, the protection of her integrity, and the upholding of the rights and dignity of his people.
• Patriotism means obedience and respect of the law and government not because of duty or fear of
punishment or compulsion but because of love of country.
• Patriotism is a love for anything to do with our native land: its history, its tradition, its language, and its
natural feature.
• Nationalism is a firm sense of community and shared fate, a capacity to feel compassion for
countrymen.
15. PROMOTION OF THE COMMON GOOD
• Put the welfare of the greater number of people above one’s own.
Deepening Points
• Common good means the sum total of social conditions, which allow people, either as groups or as
individuals, to reach their fulfillment more fully and more easily.
• The common good concerns the life of all.
• The common good requires the social well-being and development of the group itself.
TOPIC: Good Citizenship
• Some essential elements needed for the holistic development and progress of the common good are
food, shelter, clothing, education, work, opportunity to improve one’s self, ability to be free from fear,
insecurity and injustice, and an atmosphere of sharing and fraternal charity.
• “Put the welfare of the greater number of people over one’s own”.
• We should always consider the welfare of the Common Good or of other people when we make
decisions or when we act on something.
• The value of promoting the Common Good should move us to share and reach out to others in need.
• The principle of universal destination of goods requires that the poor, the marginalized and in all cases
those whole living conditions interfere with their proper growth should be the focus of particular
concern. To this end, the preferential option for the poor should be reaffirmed in all its force. (Social
Doctrine of the Church # 182)
• We should all vigilant and steadfast in guarding our human rights as these ensure the general welfare
of the common good.
• Work towards things that promote the greater good of the many vs. personal gain or benefit of a
select few.
• All of creation should be made available to all men. Therefore, enterprises, individuals and other
entities should be mindful of the way they treat the environment, profit from other people and deal
with the rights and dignity of individuals. The blessings of creation are meant for the enjoyment of all
and should benefit everybody.
• National interest should prevail over individual interests.
• In the Government, this quote captures the essence of a public servant who desires the Promotion of
the Common Good in his work amidst the demands and temptations of politics.
16. CONCERN FOR THE ENVIRONMENT
• Keep your surroundings clean and conserve our natural resources.
Deepening Points
• Man being created in God’s image, received a mandate to subject to him the earth and all that it
contains, and to govern the world with justice and holiness.
• We should develop a sense of urgency in the way we treat our environment. Let us learn to respect for
the integrity of creation because every person has the right to a safe and healthy environment.
• Every person’s mission of stewardship demands that he be more conscious of his actions when he
relates with the environment.
• The social doctrine of the Church reminds us that the goods of the earth were created by God to be
used wisely by all. They must be shared equitably, in accordance with justice and charity. (4481)
TOPIC: Good Citizenship
• Treat Mother Nature as your own mother. In every sense of the word, she feeds, sustains our life,
treats us kindly and lovingly by providing for us faithfully, not even anything in return other than respect
and love. As “her children”, we have despoiled her and given her less than the respect that she deserves.
As a “parent”, has a way of disciplining her children lest they abuse. Thus, we have floods and calamities.
• Ang kalinisan ng ating kapaligiran ay ating kalusugan at kaunlaran ng bayan. (Good health is our
wealth)
(Source: Modules on Good Citizenship Values 2006 by the Good Citizenship Movement)
Assessment:
Question 1 - How do you define good citizenship in your own words?
Question 2 - Why is volunteerism essential for national development?
Question 3 - In what ways can young people help in community service and
volunteerism?
Assignment: Creative Presentation
Instruction: In your platoon, create and design an infographic that highlights Good
citizenship values.
• Use clear and readable fonts (avoid too many styles).
• Apply 2–3 colors only for neatness and impact.
• Use icons, shapes, or simple illustrations to represent values.
• Keep text short and direct (bullet points or keywords only).
• Tools You May Use
• Editors: Canva, or PowerPoint.
• Save your work as JPEG or PNG format for easy sharing.