Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Throughout history governments have sought to regulate the freedom of its citizens.
From the utilitarian exercise of police power by democracies, to the oppressive control employed
by totalitarian regimes, the public has always been subjected to some measure of restrictions
from its rulers; the only difference being that democracies grant significantly more freedom to its
citizens than totalitarianism. But some political theorists contend that the line dividing the two
systems of government may be thinning.
Totalitarianism, in its broadest sense, is a political system in which the state holds total
authority over the society and seeks to control all aspects of public and private life whenever
necessary
1
, with the ultimate goal of replacing the existing society with a perfect one, a Utopia.
It is identified with the following elements: a guiding ideology, a single mass party ruled by a
dictator, a system of terror, complete control of the economy and the means of communication,
and central direction. Totalitarianism operates under the principle that the State knows what is
good for its people, and the end goal of Utopia justifies its oppressive rule.
2
The concept of
Totalitarianism as an oppressive political system was further elaborated when George Orwell
published his evocative novel, 1984.
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1
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/totalitarian
2
Arendt, Hannah. The Origins of Totalitarianism. The World Publishing Company. Cleveland and
New York: 1951. Page 21.
3
Written in 1948, 1984 was George Orwells chilling prophecy about the future. 1984 presents a
startling and haunting vision of the world. It became popular because of its exaggerating and
reducing the complicated debate of the illusion of free will and freedom of thought in any kind
1984 portrays a vivid, almost prophetic, world where authoritarianism, coupled with
technology, produced a perfect totalitarian state. In it, we are shown the inner workings of an
oppressive government that monitors and controls every aspect of human life. The book provides
us with details on the ways and means by which a government may exercise complete control
over its citizens. Although a work of fiction, 1984 presents us with ideas and insights about an
oppressive governments propensity towards total control of its people that it has long been the
subject of discussion by political thinkers and students alike. Orwells depiction of the
mechanisms employed by Big Brother to achieve absolute control has been so realistic that the
word Orwellian became associated with, if not equated to, the concept of totalitarianism.
Generally, the term is used as a synonym for a dystopian future, but it also refers to a number of
behaviors by a ruling party or group, especially the state, namely: the invasion of personal
privacy, either directly physically, or indirectly through surveillance; control of the citizens
daily life by the State; policies undermining the family as the basic socio-economic unit; the
elevation of state leaders to quasi-divine status; encouragement of doublethink, whereby
citizens are forced to accept inconsistent concepts without dissent; and the rewriting of history as
the state determines it to be. The phrase "Big Brother", a term very well known to us, was coined
by Orwell to represent the face of government. Much like in the reality TV show, Big Brother is
the all-seeing eye, a constant presence that monitors its subjects every move.
Advances in science, especially in communications and surveillance technologies, have
made the concept of Orwells Big Brother possible, even viable. Modern conveniences like the
Internet, cellular communications, and the broadcast media can be infiltrated and monitored by
governments. Closed circuit televisions, or CCTVs, routinely placed in densely populated areas

of government structure that strives to control and manipulate the populace for its own benefit
in an almost unbelievable science fiction setting.
to monitor and identify criminal activities as they happen, can be utilized to surveil the
unsuspecting public. These examples point us to Orwells most potent mechanism of control: the
telescreen. This is a device that is a combination of television and security camera used by the
ruling Party in Oceania to keep its subjects under constant surveillance. These telescreens can be
found everywhere: in the streets, in the hallways of buildings, in the workplace, even in the
citizens' homes. The pervasiveness of this device in Nineteen Eighty-Four indirectly produced a
behavioral effect on the consciousness of its subjects, i.e., they became self-regulating
individuals. As the protagonist in 1984 put it, There was of course no way of knowing whether
you were being watched at any given moment. How often, or on what system, the Thought
Police plugged in on any individual wire was guesswork. It was even conceivable that they
watched everybody all the time. But at any rate they could plug in your wire whenever they
wanted to. You had to live -- did live, from habit that became instinct -- in the assumption that
every sound you made was overheard, and, except in darkness, every movement scrutinized.
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More than 60 years after Nineteen Eighty-four's publication, the term "Orwellian" once
again became popular as the CCTV gained widespread use in the public sphere. Many
governments are investing heavily into these systems in the name of public safety and security,
installing cameras in the streets, in town centers, and government offices. In Great Britain, the
most heavily surveilled country in the world; there are 4.2 million CCTVs - 1 for every 14
citizens.
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In the Philippines, CCTV systems are rapidly gaining a foothold in our society. Many
establishments have already installed these systems to safeguard their properties; some local

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governments have them in their offices, streets, and other densely populated areas. In fact,
Quezon City, Cebu City, Carmona, and other LGUs have already passed ordinances requiring
business establishments to install CCTVs in order to secure their business permits. The town of
Bauan, Batangas recently enacted an ordinance
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that mandates the use of CCTVs not only in
business establishments, but also in its local and barangay government facilities and buildings.
National governmental agencies are also starting to utilize these systems in their regional and
central offices. Two Mindanao Congressmen, Caayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez and Abante
Mindanao Party list Rep. Maximo Rodriguez recently proposed Bill 2449
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titled CCTV Act of
2013, which, if passed, will make the installation of CCTVs mandatory for state offices and
business establishments alike.
These humble researchers, being political science students, are well aware of the possible
impact of a surveillance society to the population, and thus have growing concerns over the track
the government is taking. Although these surveillance systems have been helpful in addressing
the security and safety issues in the areas where they are deployed, the question of its effects on
our privacy and behavior needs to be answered. Hence, the main point or purpose of the conduct
of this study.

Statement of the Problem
This study aims to know the contemporary manifestation of Orwellian dystopian society
in regional government agencies in terms of surveillance and self censorship. It specifically seeks
to answer the following questions:

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1. What is the profile of the respondents in terms of the following:
1.1 Age
1.2 Gender
1.3 Marital Status
1.4 Type of Residential Community
1.5 Educational Attainment
1.6 Years of Service
2. How do the respondents assess the effects of CCTV in the Workplace in terms of the
following aspects:
2.1 Moral/Ethical Aspect
2.2 Efficiency and Technical Aspect
3. Is there any significant difference on the application of surveillance technology in the
work place to the behaviour and efficiency of employee-respondents exposed and not
exposed to CCTV?

Significance of the Study
This thorough study will benefit the following individuals:
Executive Branch this study will be a source of information on the effects of
surveillance and can help in the making of executive undertakings pertaining to policies
in societal control.
Political Analyst this will serve as a basis and a material in explaining the effects of
surveillance technologies and totalitarian concept in a general aspect.
Legislative branch the result of this study could become their basis in policy-making
and would be of assistance in the process of weighing the nature and repercussions of
existing laws and will-be-laws especially those relating to societal control.
Professors of Political Science and other related course this would give them
intensive information about the chosen topic and the concept of societal control in their
contemporary forms.
Political Science Students this would make them appreciate the pros and cons of the
topic. This would also give them the idea how encompassing contemporary manifestation
of totalitarian is. This will also help them understand the issues intertwined with the
topic.
Private Individuals this study will help them become aware of the possible effects of
surveillance technologies in their personal lives.
Modern thinkers- this will give them a working knowledge on the topic selected. This
study can be a basis to their future research.
Other researchers this will serve as an inspiration for them and can be used as a
reference in their own study related to this research.
Readers- they may find facts and become aware of the underlying issues connected to
the topic.

Definition of Terms
The following term are operationally defined as follows:
Contemporary Manifestations of Orwellian Dystopian Society- these refer to the
present-day features of a negative Utopia as prophesized by George Orwell in his Novel
1984. These manifestations include, but not limited to, surveillance and self censorship.
Regional Offices- these are agencies of the government that were put up within the
region to cater public services such as Bureau of Internal Revenue, Department of
Environment and Natural Resources, National Statistics Office and the like.
Surveillance- is the act of routinely monitoring of actions among the employees, heads
and clients in the regional offices through installed CCTVs in their workplaces.
Closed Circuit Television or CCTV- a digital surveillance system composed of
cameras, cabling, monitors and digital video recorders (DVR) that takes video recordings.
Government Employees- those who do not occupy high position in the regional offices.
Heads- government personnel occupying high positions in the regional offices such as
department head, division heads, and regional directors.
Efficiency of Employees- this is the actual level of competency of employees while
working under an office equipped with and without CCTV as determined by how much
work was done and how much time consumed in doing the work.
Behavior of employees this pertains to the psychology of employees working in
closely monitored and unmonitored area.
Workplace - this refers to the location, building, division or cubicles where employees
perform physical or mental work in order to earn a living

Scope and Delimitation
This study mainly aims to identify the contemporary expressions of dystopian society in
the Philippines.
This study specifically focuses on the effects of surveillance and self censorship vis--vis
the prediction of George Orwell in his novel 1984 in the Philippine government agencies
equipped with surveillance technology.
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The subject of the study will be the employees, heads and clients of identified regional
offices equipped with CCTVs in Tuguegarao City, Cagayan.
It should be taken into account that the researchers do not seek to study all forms of
contemporary manifestation of Orwellian Dystopian society. Furthermore, while it is true that
this study aims to present the contemporary manifestation of Orwellian Dystopian society, this
only focuses on two major features such: surveillance and self-censorship.
For better understanding of the topic, the researchers included brief review of the
scenarios, examples and cases of contemporary manifestations of Orwellian Dystopian in the
Review of Related Literature and Studies. It also presents a brief description of the society
created by George Orwell on his novel 1984.
Also, the researchers do not wish to prove that there exists an Orwellian totalitarian state
as a whole at this point of time. This study merely wants to present that there exist bits and
features of this brand of totalitarianism coming into reality in the 21
st
century.
Finally, at the end of this study, the researchers will determine whether or not this
technology has effects to the employees in terms of their behavior and efficiency in the work
place.
Due to financial restraints and time inadequacy, this study will only take place from
November 2013 to March 2014.

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See Table 1. Table showing the Presence of Surveillance Technology in the Regional Center
Table 1: Table showing the Presence of Surveillance Technology in the Regional Center

Name of Agency and Offices

Yes

No
1.Department of Education* Yes
2.Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic
Resources
No
3.National Economic and Development
Authority
No
4.Department of Agriculture No
5.Department of Social Welfare and
Development
No
6. Department of Interior and Local
Government
No
7.Commission on Human Rights No
8.Department of Trade and Industry No
9.Philippine Regulatory Commission No
10.Commission on Audit No
11.Department of Budget and
Management
Yes
12.National Statistics Office Yes
13.Overseas Workers Welfare
Administration
No
14.Department of Foreign Affair No
15.Department of Justice No
16.Department of Public Works and
Highway
No
17.Department of Health No
18.Commission on Higher Education No
19.Land Registration Authority No
20. National Philippine Commission No
21. Bureau of Jail Management and
Penology
No
22.Department of Science and Technology No
23.Land Transportation and Franchising
Board
No
24.Bureau of Local Government Finance No
25.Department of Agrarian Reform No
26.Mines and Geosciences Bureau No
27.Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Yes
28.Cooperative Development Authority No
29.National Telecommunications
Commissions
No
30.Department of Tourism No
31.Environmental Management Bureau No
32.Government Service Insurance System No
33. Bureau of Internal Revenue Yes
34. Department of Environment and
Natural Resources
Yes
Note:
Agencies are arranged in no particular order
*Agency or Office that has surveillance technology however limited only to lobbies and parking
spaces
Agency or Office equipped with surveillance technology but no visible notice to the public
stating thereof
Agency or Office equipped with surveillance technology but due to the high security risk
nature of the agency, the researcher werent able to conduct the study






Conceptual Framework












Figure 1: The Paradigm of the Study

Figure 1 is a paradigm that shows the relationship of independent and dependent variables of the
study. With the existence of surveillance technology among specified agencies, the diagram
shows how the profile of the respondents (age, gender, marital status, type of residential,
educational attainment and years of service) affects the behavior and efficiency of employees in
the workplace.


Dependent Variable Independent Variable
Effects on:
1. Behavior in the
Workplace
2. Efficiency in the
Workplace

Profile of the respondents in
terms of:

Age
Gender
Marital status
Type of Residential
Community
Educational
Attainment
Years of Service
Surveillance
Technology