Governance as defined by Cambridge Dictionary is the way that organizations or countries are

managed at the highest level, and the systems for doing so. While the definition of politics is the activities of
the government, members of law making organizations, or people who try to influence the way a country is
governed. It defined the country’s political system and as well as the economic welfare of the country. At
one point, politics and governance is both important and sensitive topics due to the country’s sensitiveness
to the topic like what happened to Thailand. As a Filipino citizen and a student that takes up political
science it is important to fully comprehend the topics such as politics and governance for it will served as
the building block to further understand the political situation not just of the Philippines but also to its
neighboring country.

In a sense, it will explain what happen and what will happen in the country. For example, the
administration of President Rodrigo Duterte is democratic in a sense but it is stirring in to military controlled
government. It is evident that the president favors the military rule but it has a great set back to the country.
In this time that the world suffers due to the pandemic, leaders of the agencies such as Department of
Health, PhilHealth and Department of Transportation should be experts of a certain field. Like Department
of Health and PhilHealth should be led by an expert in medicine and the DOTr recommendations should
come from an automotive engineer and mechanical engineer because they know best what they are
dealing with not retired military men. In the light of these events, it shows that the President Duterte
governing body and him as a ruler is ineffective.

Southeast Asian Region is known for its diverse culture, tradition and political system with a mixed
of democratic, monarchism, and dictatorship rule. Philippines was known to be the first democratic country
in the southeast Asian region when Former President Ferdinand Marcos was overthrown by the EDSA
People Power Revolution in 1986 and replaced by the Former President Corazon Aquino. Democracy was
established in the country that end the 20-year dictatorship regime of the Marcoses. It was followed suit
when the Indonesia’s authoritarian leader resigned his post in 1998 that end the 3-decade long
authoritarian government and ushered the reformasi period which introduced the direct and decentralized
election process in the country. The third and the latest democratic movement was when Aung San Suu
Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) party rode a popular wave sweeping victory in Myanmar’s
parliamentary elections (1).

In this setting that every country in the southeast Asian region is govern by different kind of political
system and some of the countries are still in struggle to obtain the democratic government. Like for
example, the latest reports/articles, Thailand were the first southeast Asian region to legalized the Same-
Sex Union yet people are still struggling when it comes to freedom. The protest spark when the courts
banned the Future Forward Party, a party which opposed the government, the reports of the disappearance
of the Thai youth activist in Cambodia and the latest disappearance of nine more activist which sparked
more protest from the people especially from the youth (2). In the recent report policemen tried to enter a
non-government university and spied at students which fueled the tensions (3). These data or reports
shows that the southeast Asian region countries are still in the process of transitioning to absolute rule but
there are setbacks such as the fear of the people to go back to the military or dictatorship regime like what
happen in Thailand when the duly elected Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra were overthrown and was
replaced by a military leader last 2014 (4). It was worthy to note that these data are latest and current
events and will create more latest data to be studied. In a region where every countries and states has its
own political system it was hard to gathered data especially when the administration white washed the
reports that were recorded by the media. Studying this data will create both unanswered questions until the
answers will be derived and answers the existing questions. It is more colorful studying a diverse
governance in order to derived as what the suiting government for a country.

In these comparison, half of the southeast Asian region is well known for technological
advancement to medical advancement. To the mentioned country above they are still struggling to obtain a
stable and balance of power in government and Philippines is one of them. However, there is one country
that were able to stabilized its government and economy all well together. (5) Singapore, it was worthy to
note that Singapore were self-governed since June 3, 1959 (declaration). Singapore is known for incorrupt
and meritocratic government, with a fair judiciary and strong rule. The country practices parliamentary
democracy and the government has a significant control over politics and society. It practices a unitary
parliamentary republic with a Westminster system of unicameral parliamentary government. Singapore’s
government is almost a utopia and unachievable yet it was not perfect there are still some loopholes. It was
almost the reflection of Machiavelli’s ideal government which preferred the practical and real rather than the
ideal and moral. With the past history of Singapore in struggle of freedom it was one of the country to be
successfully freed themselves and able to establish a well governed government even though there are
question whether Singapore is democratic or authoritarian.

In this context if Philippines were able to achieve such feat like Singapore even though it was to
idealistic to say following suit of the system of Singapore is not easy feat. Many would oppose and many
would raise arms but if the Philippines really wanted some real change it would start from framing the laws
not just on the ground of morals and ethics because if we would always consider the ethics and moral it
would an unending debate. Consideration of the total separation of the church and state not that every turn
of decision by the government the church would rebuke the government for unethical and immoral. As I
mentioned in my past assignment my preferred is government is mixed of authoritarian and democracy it
was too idealistic but by observation, with my family and watching the news, Filipinos are threading
between the democratic rule and authoritarianism.

However, the new generation is the leading the change. In a context that the government is being
afraid of criticism of the youth. In my own opinion, the charter change maybe bloody but if we would follow
Marx’s words that in order to change there would be a revolution needed but it can be peaceful if the
government would start to owning their mistakes and always put the welfare of the people first before
anything else.

References

(Simandjuntak, Deasy 2018, https://th.boell.org/en/2018/10/19state-democarcy-southeast-asia).

(https://www.vaticannews.va/en/world/news/2020-08/protest-demand-political-reform-in-
thailand.html.)
(https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.ucanews.com/amp/thought-police-monitor-thai-students-
political-views/89114).
(Simandjuntak, Deasy 2018, https://th.boell.org/en/2018/10/19state-democarcy-southeast-asia).
(https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singapore)