INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL SCIENCE ▲ Elements of the State
• Political Science – derived from the words “polis” and “scire” which
means “city-state” and “to know” or “to study”
- Branch of social science that deals with the theory and practice of
politics, description and analysis of political systems and political
behaviour
- The study of the activities of the government determining who gets
what and how
- Deals with the allocation and transfer of power in decision-making,
roles and systems of governance, political behaviour and public policies
• Branch of public law which deals with the organization and operations
of the governmental organs of the State and defines the relations of the
State with the inhabitants of its territory
▲ Functions and Importance of Political Science
• Supplies frameworks from which special interest groups, politicians and
electorate may analyse issues
• Guides politicians, political parties, political movements, or non-
governmental organizations in the course of their work
• Seek patterns in the reasons and outcomes of political events so that
generalizations and theories can be made
• Makes generalizations that would explain individual and group political
actions
• Solves political, cultural, and social problems
▲ 3 Scopes of Political Science
• Political Theory – deals with the entire body of doctrines relating to
the origin, form, behaviour and purposes of the state
• Public Law – deals with the organization of government
- Deals with limitations upon government authority
- Deals with powers ad duties of governmental officers and offices
- Deals with the obligation of state to another
• Public Administration – focus upon the method and techniques used
in the actual management of the state affairs by the three branches of
government
▲ Goals of Political Science
• Education for citizenship
• Essential part of liberal education
• Knowledge and understanding of the government
• State – a community of persons permanently occupying a fixed
territory and possessed of an independent government organized for the
political ends to which great body of inhabitants render habitual
obedience
- Group of people permanently inhabiting a definite place or a territory,
having an organized government while exercising sovereignty
• Nation – a relation of birth and origin and implies a common race
usually characterized by community of language and customs
- People bound together by common attractions and repulsions into a
living organism possessed of a common pulse, a common intelligence
and inspiration and destined apparently to have common history and fate
▲ Differences Between State and Nation
• Political
 Ethical
• Bounded through same political ideology
 Bounded through customs
• Hindi pwede masakop
 Pwede masakop
1. People/Population – the inhabitants of the state
2. Territory – fixed space or portion of the Earth inhabited by the people
of the state
■ Components of Territory
• Terrestrial Domain – land mass
• Maritime and Fluvial Domain – inland and external waters
• Aerial Domain – air space above the land and waters
■ Processes of Acquiring/Losing Territory
• Conquest – by means of force
• Cession – through bilateral agreement
• Accretion – by artificial increasing
- By means of forces of nature
• Prescription – by means of uninterrupted occupying or being occupied
by a territory for a long period of time (50 years) by one state
• Discovery – oldest process of acquiring territory
3. Government – agency or instrumentality through which the will of the
state is formulated, expressed and realized
■ Two Functions of Government
• Constituent function – constitute the bonds of society and are
compulsory
• Ministrant function – undertaken to advance the general interest of the
society
■ Types of Government According to its Legitimacy
• De jure government – established by the authority of legitimate
sovereign
• De facto government – kind of government that takes possession and
control of by force or by the calling of the majority
• Doctrine of Parens Patriae – guardian of the rights of the people
- An important task of the government to defend and protect those
unpriviledged, handicapped, children etc.
4. Sovereignty – supreme power of the state to and enforce
obedience to his will from people within its jurisdiction and to have
freedom from foreign control
■ Two Aspects of Sovereignty
• Internal Sovereignty – sovereignty over all the people within the
territory
• External Sovereignty – independence and freedom from foreign
control
▲ Origin of State
• Divine Right Theory – state is of divine creation and the ruler is
ordained by God to govern the people
• Necessity or Force Theory – state is created through force by strong
warriors who imposed their will upon the weak
• Paternalistic Theory – state comes from the expansion of family,
under the authority of the father
- Family → Clan → Tribe → Nation → State
• Social Contract Theory – states have been formed by deliberate and
voluntary contract among the people to form a society and organize
government for their own common good
▲ Inherent powers – powers of the state necessary in the establishment
of its respective government
- Powers imbued with the existence of the state
• Police Power – regulates liberty and property to promote general
welfare
- Power of the state to take precautionary measures against who
endangers public health, moral, safety and security
• Eminent Domain – power of the state to take private property for
public use upon payment of just compensation
• Taxation – power of the state to levy burden on its citizen necessary for
the operations of the government
GOVERNMENT
▲ Forms of Government
• As to the number of person exercising sovereign power
■ Monarchy – the power of the government is vested upon a single
person
- King and Queen
◊ Absolute/Unlimited – the power of the ruler is unlimited
- The rules is ordained by divine right
◊ Constitution/Limited – the power of the ruler is limited
- There is a supreme law that limits the ruler
- The leader rules through constitution
■ Aristocracy and Oligarchy – the power of the government is vested
on a few privileged class (aristocrats)
◊ Aristocracy – refined version of oligarchy
- Rule of the rest; Corrupt but served the people
◊ Oligarchy – serve only for their own interest
■ Democracy – the power of the government is vested on the people
◊ Pure Democracy/Direct – the people participate in the affairs of the
government directly
◊ Indirect/Republican - the people participate in the affairs of the
government indirectly through their elected representative
• As to the extent of power exercise by the central or national
government
■ Unitary – the control of the local government is vested on the national
government
■ Federal – there is a separation of power between the local and national
government except on foreign transactions
• As to the relationship between the executive and legislative
branches of the government
■ Presidential – there is a separation between the executive and
legislative branches of the government
■ Parliamentary – there is no separation between the executive and
legislative branches of the government
- The legislative and executive power is vested on one person (Prime
Minister)
- There is also a president but only serves as a ceremonial/symbolic head
of the state
▲ History and Evolution of the Philippine Government
• Pre-colonial
- The early inhabitants of the Philippines were people of different tribes
spread out in the country
- They were headed by their respective tribes through a council of elders
(Maginoos) or a datu/sultan
- The form of government was monarchy
■ Four social classes
◊ Nobility/Nobles/Maharlika
◊ Timawa/Free men
◊ Serfs/Aliping Namamahay
◊ Aliping Saguiguilid
■ Two types of laws
◊ Written – promulgated by datus
Ex. Kalantsaw code, maragtas code
◊ Unwritten – codes from tradition
• Spanish Occupation
■ Ministry of Ultramar – department for administering the colonies of
Spain
◊ Minister of Ultramar – the chief executive of the ministry
- Later called Governor-General
■ Governor-General (Captain General) – head of the sandatahang
lakas or military
- They are also the vice royal patron or someone who has religious or
ecclesiastical power
◊ Miguel Lopez de Legazpi – first governor-general
◊ Diego delos Rios – last governor-general
■ Board of Authority and Council of Administration – adviser of
governor-general
■ Royal Audiencia – judicial branch of the government
- Has one in Vigan and one in Cebu
■ KKK – founded by Andres Bonifacio on July 7, 1892
■ Biak na Bato Republic – founded by Andres Bonifacio on November
1, 1897 – June 23, 1897
- Founded for the purpose of independency from Spain
■ Dictatorial Government – founded by Emilio Aguinaldo on May 24,
1898 – June 23, 1898
- Some of its achievements were reorganizing LGUs and the
proclamation of independence on June 12, 1898
■ Revolutionary Government – founded by Emilio Aguinaldo on June
23, 1898
■ First Philippine Republic (Malolos Republic) – founded on January
23, 1899 – March 23, 1901
- It was short because this was the time when the Americans are trying to
colonize the Philippines
- The 1899 constitution or Malolos Constitution was made on January 21,
1899 and was the first written constitution in Asia
• American Occupation
- When the US battleship Maine sunk on February 15, 1898, US accused
Spain of doing it
- On April 15, 1898, US declared war on Spain
- After the declaration, the US president ordered the American squadron
in Asia to proceed to Manila
- The mock battle of Manila bay then happened which led the Filipinos to
believe that the Americans were allies
■ Treaty of Paris – concluded on December 10, 1898 which ceded the
Philippine archipelago to US by Spain
- The Filipinos resisted but were easily subdued by Americans until the
capture of Aguinaldo on Palanan, Isabela
■ Military form of government – first government under the Americans
- Sparked protest from Filipinos and American libertarians
■ Schurman Commission (First Philippine Commission) – tasked to
conduct a fact-finding survey of Philippine island
■ Taft Commission (Second Philippine Commission) – took over all
the legislative powers and some executive and judicial powers from the
military governor, which operated until March 2, 1901
- By virtue of Spooner Agreement, civil government was established with
William Howard Taft as the first governor
- Military commission were abolished on July 4, 1902
- Under this a commission was made that served as the legislative branch
◊ Unicameral – only one department which is the Philippine
Commission
- On 1907, it became bicameral, Philippine Commission as the upper
house and Philippine Assembly as the lower house
- On 1916 because of Jones Law or Philippine Autonomy Act the
Philippine Commission became the Senate of the Philippines and the
Philippine Assembly became House of Representatives
■ Tydings-Mcduffie Law – provided a ten-yea transition period which
the US will withdraw its sovereignty, if the Filipinos could prove their
capacity for a self-governance, by the establishment of Commonwealth
government
■ Commonwealth government – governed by Manuel Quezon
- Second constitution or the 1935 constitution was made
- The end of the transition period was on July 4, 1946

• Japanese Occupation
- January 3, 1942 the Philippines was colonized by the Japanese
- A military form of government was formed but the Filipinos didn’t
liked it which led to the formation of a civil form of government called
Philippine Executive Commission
■ Philippine Executive Commission
- A Filipino named Jorge Vargas became a chairman
■ Second Philippine Republic – formed on October 14, 1943 under Jose
P. Laurel
- A Japanese sponsored constitution was used

• Post-colonial
■ Third Philippine Republic – formed on July 4, 1946 under Manuel
Roxas
- The 1935 constitution was used again
■ Fourth Philippine Republic – formed on June 20, 1981 during the
inaugural address of Ferdinand Marcos
- In 1970, a constitutional convention was called to draft a new
constitution
- The constitutional convention of 1971 was convened and started
deliberation on the revisions of 1935 constitution and creation of the
1973 constitution
■ Fifth Philippine Republic – formed on February 2, 1987 under
Corazon Aquino
- The 1987 constitution was made