UNDERSTANDING THE SELF STUDENTS’ LEARNING GUIDE

MODULE 2: UNPACKING THE SELF

TOPIC 10: THE POLITICAL SELF

Name: MICARANDAYO, GLENN N. Year & Section: BSCE 201 Date: 12-18-2020

TASK 1. COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS. Answer the following questions.

1. Enumerate at least five functions of political self.

 The political self organizes self-relevant information about politics.
 It constitutes knowledge about the Constitution, government, and governance.
 The political self helps in defining the structure and functions of the government.
 The political self helps in telling and understanding the relationship between the state and the citizens.
 The political self helps in describing their rights, freedom, and obligations as citizens.
 The political self exemplifies the ideals and aspirations of the people, embodies the rules and principles
of the State, and determines the status and power of the people.
2. Explain the origins of the political self. Discuss how the family, school, church, peer groups, and
media affect the development of the political self.

The family has a hierarchical structure which requires each member to perform his or her role. Each
position carries a set of rights, responsibilities, and expectations. Through the hierarchy of positions, status, and
power are ascribed. The family consists of members who differ in status, obligations, influence, or power.
Traditionally, the father is the most influential member of the family. He acts as the leader and establishes rules
to maintain order in the family. His role as a leader entails power and authority. He coordinates with the mother
in helping the children perform the roles necessary for a successful family. From an early age, individuals are
taught to obey and treat parents with respect and conform to their rules. This shows that authority is necessary
in the development of the political self and identity, which is established by the father and the mother. Children
must be governed; thus, there must be some form of established status and power in the family.

Meanwhile, the Philippine Constitution recognizes the vital role of schools in inculcating among the
youth the value of patriotism and nationalism and in encouraging their involvement in public and in civic affairs
of the country. One of the responsibilities of the schools is to teach moral, spiritual, and political values that will
help the students to become patriotic and morally upright citizens. The church also helps the ideals of
citizenship and democracy through their religious teachings, values, and traditions. Consequently, how the
family, school, and church emphasize moral behaviors may also influence political behaviors and the political
self. On the other hand, peers are important in influencing the political self. The family and school consist of
members who are different in status and power. In peer groups, the members are equal in status. Thus,
interaction with peers encompasses and emphasizes the equal distribution of power, rights, and privileges
among members of the group. Mass media could also be a key source of information on politics, and thus may
influence an individual’s political values and beliefs.

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3. Identify current political issues in the Philippines and recount the circumstances that led to the
issues. As a citizen, what can you do to prevent the issues from recurring?

One of the current and happening even in the past administrations is the corruption. It is a very
notorious act that is very hard to solve. Hence, the current president of the Philippines is encouraging the
Filipino to call for an authority to expose the corruption they are witnessing and experiencing. Corruption is very
rampant in every department and agencies of the Philippine government that is why the world recognizes the
Philippines as one of the most corrupt country in the world. As a citizen one thing that I can do to prevent this
current issue from recurring is to be honest person and immediately call the authority if I will witness a
corruption in a certain agency or department.

4. Give at least three problems that ail the Philippine political system. Explain how these problems can
affect your political view and beliefs. Discuss your answers.

First is the defects in the political system, such as Constitutional provisions which create a very strong
presidency, which make it difficult to remove him/her from office in spite of his/her unpopular and questionable
political decisions; strong presidency which controls politics and economic power of government. It can affect
my political view and beliefs for the fact that there is one person only in power. It can lead to change in
democracy system to a dictatorship system.

Second is the lack of political will on the part of government to institute genuine land reform to provide
more social services, to allocate more budget to education, to industrialize agriculture, to reform judiciary, to
combat graft and corruption, to support local entrepreneurs, and many others. This problem affects my political
view and beliefs for the fact that the government which everyone is expecting is not mush as expected. This
issue can create an aura to people to not perform well in their respected positions in the government.

Third is the government’s policy in adopting globalization, too much dependence on foreign capital,
entering into unequal treaties on trade and commerce and the so-called “mutual defense” treaty. This actions of
the government can affect my political view and beliefs for the fact that our sovereignty is high expose to
dangers from highly manipulative countries we are dependent to.

TASK 2. ASSESSMENT.

Situations: The lives of the national heroes are great sources of inspiration. Choose one Filipino hero, Identify
his or her courageous and heroic acts which make him or her worthy of respect and emulation. Identify your
characteristics which are similar to the hero you have chosen and the things that you can do for the country.

I have chosen Jose Rizal as my hero. He fought the Spaniards through his intellectual power. He used
his abounding skill in writing to move a whole country to free itself, and his overflowing selflessness and
courage is why he holds the renowned title of hero. For me, I have also this characteristic of using my mind to
manipulate a current situation which is unfavourable for me. I may not be blessed with good body but I am
blessed with knowledge which I can use to change a current situation which could unfavourable for me to
favourable ones.

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TASK 3. MOVIE REVIEW. Instruction: Watch the movie Dekada ’70 (2002). Write an essay on the three
element most important things you learned from the movie. What are your insights and how are you going to
apply your insights in understanding and developing your political self and identity as a Filipino?

Dekada ’70 by Lualhati Bautista depicts the life of most of the Filipinos who lived in the Marcos
specifically under the Martial Law. During the entire film, the main focus was this particular middle-class family
who struggled through the cruelty of the dictatorship of Marcos. Each character has different personalities,
views, and beliefs about the government and life in general. But in the end, all the characters faced the changes
that empowered Filipinos to rise against the government in which led to the People Power Revolution.

The first thing that I learned from this movie is the evident practice of patriarchy. This reminds me that if
there is only a system of patriarchy in a family evidently the members of the family will experience the fear of the
dictatorship-like family. The father and the mother must help each other to rule their family so that children will
not develop fear of acceptance in a society. The mother will nurture the child and the father will teach the child
the discipline he/she must possess.

The second lesson I learned from the movie is that we must not be in greed of power. If we will be
blessed in the future with power and authority let us use it in proper civic welfare of our people. Let us not be
ignorant, irresponsible, and cruel if possess some power to manipulate others perspective. We are not God and
only God can rule us.

Lastly, I learned the value of quantity. In a saying “No man’s an Island” even if how powerful you are in
position you cannot withstand the number of the Filipino people shouting for democracy and the Filipino people
can rule itself through democracy.

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