Philippine Politics and Governance

Politics - denotes a social activity

- is the creation, maintenance and amendment of social norms or rules.

- Is an art and science of the government.
- Is the realm of public affairs or the state.

Governance - Is the exercise of power/ authority by political leader for the well being at their countrys
citizens or subject.

- Refers to the manner of steering/ governing and or directing and controlling a group of people/ the
state

BASIC CONCEPTS OF POLITICS

1. ORDER - Is the central to the study of politics because it shows different components of human
society.

STRUCTURES of ORDER

a. COMMUNITY is one kind of social order which refers to the association of individual who shares
a common identity.

b. GOVERNMENT is a higher level of social order that exist primarily for the maintenance and
perpetuation of the community.

c. STATE - is the largest social order today and in which the term politics originally derived.

2. POWER -The main source of reign of the government. The possession to govern or rule the state.

3. JUSTICE -The process of legalizing and penalizing the abuse of political power and power to rule.

MEANING OF CONSTITUTION

In its broad sense, the term constitution refers to that body of rules and principles in
accordance with which the powers of sovereignty are regularly exercised. As thus defined, it covers
both written and unwritten constitutions. With particular reference to the Constitution of the
Philippines, it may be defined as that written instrument by which the fundamental powers of the
government are established, limited, and defined and by which these powers are distributed among
the several departments or branches for their safe and useful exercise for the benefit of the people.

TWO APPROACHES to the STUDY of POLITICS

POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY - It is the traditional approach in which the primary goal is to understand the
essence or the truth about politics.

POLITICAL SCIENCE - It is the empirical/ objective approach in which it places little emphasis on
abstract and normative question, and concentrates on a dispassionate and objective of the realities of
politics.

Importance of Studying Governance

Governance,the people,most especially the citizens,will be aware of the need for good governance.
Consequently, such awareness should move them to action. For their continued empowerment and
sustainable development, they have to know how to fight for their rights by knowing what to expect
from Philippine governance.
PROCESSES AND ACTORS IN GOVERNANCE

Decision-Making and Implementation - decision-making refers the process by which a person

or group of persons, guided by socio-political structures, arrive at a decision involving their
individual and communal needs and wants. Implementation is the process that logically follows
the decision.
Actors and Structures - An actor is a sector or group or institution that participates in the
process of decision-making and implementation. A structure refers to an organization or
mechanism that formally or informally guides the decision-making process and sets into motion
the different actors and apparatuses in the implementation process.
Informal Actors and Bad Governance - Their influence is felt more clearly in local governments,
such as organized crime syndicates and powerful families,and in rural and urban areas.Most
often than not, these actors are the cause of corruption,in that legitimate government
objectives are distorted by their illegal and private interests. Worse, they manipulate
government officials and agencies, and cause widespread yet organized violence in the
community. In urban and rural areas, for example, the rich and powerful families control the
economy by controlling the local government officials. They bring about a controlled
environment so that decisions must alwaysfavor them.

INDICATORS OF GOOD GOVERNANCE

1.Participation - active involvement of all affected and interested parties in the decision-making
process.

Participation is one of the strengths of Philippine governance. The 1987 Philippine Constitution is
replete of provisions dealing with relational and inter-sectoral governance. The Local Government
Act of 1989 was borne out of the need for decentralization in Philippine governance. As such, these
and other related legislations may be considered as normative standards for good governance.

2. Rule of Law

- Democracy is essentially the rule of law. - Rule of law demands that the people and the civil society
render habitual obedience to the law. It also demands that the government acts within the limits of
the powers and functions prescribed by the law.

The Philippines does not fare well in this aspect of good governance. In spite of being one of the
oldest democracies in the region,the Philippines ranked as last among seven indexed Asian countries
according to the World Justice Project Rule of Law Index.Generally,the reasons for ranking last are
lack of respect for law, pervasive and systemic corruption in the government, and
circumvention of the law.Lack of respect for law is generally caused by distrust on the integrity of
law enforcement agencies. Order and security are compromised and criminal justice is
renderedineffectual.

3. Effectiveness and Efficiency

- actors meet the needs of the society means that there is effective governance. That the valuable
resources are utilized, without wasting or underutilizing any of them, means that there is efficient
governance. - enhancement and standardization of the quality of public service delivery consistent
with international standards, professionalization of bureaucracy.
Efforts were made to attain effectiveness and efficiency in Philippine governance. The Anti-Red Tape
Act of 2007 (ARTA), for instance, was passed to require the setting up of Citizens Charter for a
simplified procedure and to facilitate governmental transactions. Also, many government
departments and agencies pursued a rationalization program to check excessive and redundant
staffing.
4. Transparency - Transparency, as an indicator of good governance, means that people are open to
information regarding decision-making process and the implementation of the same. In legal terms,
it means that information on matters of public concern are made available to the citizens or those
who will be directly affected. - It also means that transactions involving public interests must be fully
disclosed and made accessible to the people.

Efforts were made in pursuit of transparency in Philippine governance. As far as the government
sector is concerned, the current administration, consistent with its drive of curbing corruption,
promotes honesty and integrity in public service. It is currently pursuing the passage of the Freedom
of Information Bill and other related legislations, as well as intensifying peoples engagement in local
governance. Transparency in budget and disbursements are, however, still far from being
substantially implemented.

5. Responsiveness - means that institutions and processes serve all stakeholders in a timely and
appropriate manner. It also means that actors and structures of governance easily give genuine
expression to the will or desire of the people.

Some of the important efforts made to attain responsive governance in the Philippines are
decentralization, creation of citizens charter in all frontline agencies (as required by ARTA),and
gender sensitivity programs.First,through decentralization, local governments, which are more
proximate to their constituents, serve more promptly the people, who in turn become more
involved in decision-making. Second, every government agency now has it Citizens Charter,which
provides timeframes for every step in attaining frontline services. Agencies now must also respond
to written queries sent by the stakeholders or interested parties within a period of ten days,
otherwise there will be delayed service. However, this aspect of governance still remains to be one
of the causes for the decline of publics confidence in the public sector. Although the ARTA has been
passed, there is still so much delay in public service delivery.The failure of the government agencies
to explain the charters to the stakeholders is one of the main reasons why there is still delay.

6. Equity and Inclusiveness - Equity and inclusiveness means that all the members of the society,
especially the most vulnerable ones or the grassroots level, must be taken into consideration in
policy-making. - Social equity refers to a kind of justice that gives more opportunity to the less
fortunate members of the society.

The Philippine Government has done extensive efforts in promoting equity and inclusiveness.The
Constitution makes it as one of its state policies the promotion of social justice. Pursuant to this, the
Congress has enacted social legislations like the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law which aims at
freeing the farmer tenants from the bondage of the soil. Also, representation in the Congress, under
the party list system, is constitutionally mandated to have sectoral representation of the
underprivileged. Gender and Development programs are in the process of being integrated with the
various structures and institutions in the country. But legislation is one thing; implementation is
another. It is in the faithful implementation of these laws that the country failed. Inequality is
especially felt in the justice system,electoral system,and even in the bureaucracy itself.

7. Consensus Oriented - Governance is consensus oriented when decisions are made after taking
into consideration the different viewpoints of the actors of the society.

Among the things done by the Philippines in promoting a consensus oriented governance are: (1)
creation of a wide-based of representation in the Congress; (2) a two-tiered legislature or
bicameralism which subjects legislation to the evaluation of national and district legislators; and (3)
necessity of public hearings or consultations of various governmental policies and actions.
8. Accountability

- Accountability means answerability or responsibility for ones action. It is based on the principle
that every person or group is responsible for their actions most especially when their acts affect
public interest. - Accountability comes in various forms: political, hierarchical, and managerial
accountability. Political accountability refers to the accountability of public officials to the people
they represent. Hierarchical accountability refers to the ordered accountability of the various
agencies and their respective officers and personnel in relation to their program objectives.
Managerial accountability refers to employee accountability based on organization and individual
performance.

The Philippines in the recent years had endeavored to comply with the requirements of
accountability. It had put in action the concept of political accountability as it held answerable erring
public officials involved in graft and corruption and for acts contrary to the mandate of the
constitution. It had also strengthened parliamentary scrutiny through legislative investigations and
creation of special committees exercising oversight functions. The Office of the
Ombudsman,considered as the public watchdog,has become ever so active in investigating and
prosecuting graft and plunders cases. Citizens Charter, as required by ARTA,was also an important
tool in promoting professional public service values.In this area,Philippine governance has done
relatively well.

CURRENT STATE OF GOVERNANCE IN PHILIPPINES

The Philippines is plagued by bad governance. Based on the six dimensions of governance in the
Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGI), it ranks in the lower half of the percentile. In 2010-2011,
the Philippines ranked only 85th in the Global Competitive Index (GCI), lagging behind most of its
Southeast Asian neighbors.The decline of trust on the actors of governance and the consequential
poor economic condition were brought about by the systemic corruption among and between
public officials and private organizations. In 2013, it ranked 94th among 177 countries in the
Corruption Perception Index.Among the key institutions in the Philippines perceived to be most
corrupt based on the Global Corruption Index are political parties, judiciary,police,public
officials and civil servants,and legislature.This means all branches of the Philippine government
are now challenged.