CAPARIDA, John Carlo S.

AB Psychology 1B
NSTP-CWTS

VOTER’S EDUCATION
I. Research on the Presidential Election timeline from 2001 to 2017 Briefly discuss the important
events.
Brief History of the Presidential Election in the Philippines

2001
The Second EDSA Revolution, also known
President Estrada stands as People Power Revolution II, EDSA 2001,
down. Vice-President Gloria and EDSA II (pronounced as EDSA Two or EDSA
Arroyo sworn in as president. Dos), was a political protest from January 17–20,
2001 that peacefully overthrew the government
of Joseph Estrada, the thirteenth President of the
Philippines. Suspension of impeachment causes
mass street protests. Military withdraws support.

March - Muslim separatist rebels in the Philippines

declared a ceasefire against the military, and vowed
that all civilians returning to their villages will not
be harmed. The "suspension of military action" by
the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) came two
days after President Gloria Arroyo ordered the army
to cease all offensives against the rebels to pave the
way for the resumption of peace talks.

April - Joseph Estrada is charged with plundering

more than $80m from state funds while in office.
Eventually found guilty and jailed for life. although
he wins pardon.
2002
January - US and Filipino
armies hold joint counter-
terror exercises take place
near stronghold of Al-Qaeda-
linked Abu Sayyaf group.
October - Series of deadly bomb blasts on Manila
bus and three locations in Zamboanga city blamed
on Islamist militants.
2003
February - Ceasefire between
MILF and government breaks July - Government signs another ceasefire with
down. Planned talks called off MILF ahead of planned talks in Malaysia.
in May after rebel attack on
Mindanao kills 30 people.
 Army mutiny in Manila as some 300 soldiers seize
shopping centre, but surrender peacefully
following negotiations.

2004
Gloria Arroyo wins May's
Presidential election.
February - Peace talks between government and
Maoist rebel New People's Army start in Norway,
but are called off by the rebels in August.

2005
President Gloria Arroyo January - Heavy fighting between troops and
under pressure MILF rebels breaks July 2003 ceasefire.

April- Breakthrough achieved on contentious issue

of ancestral land achieved at peace talks in
Malaysia between government and MILF rebels.

June - Influential Cardinal Jaime Sin, who led the

two peaceful revolts that toppled Presidents
Marcos and Estrada, dies at aged 76.

2006
President Arroyo declares a
week-long state of emergency
after the army says it has
foiled a planned coup.
February - More than 1,000 people are killed by a
mudslide which engulfs a village on the central
island of Leyte.
2007
Government report accuses
military of being behind the January - Death of Abu Sayyaf leader Khaddafy
killings of hundreds of mainly Janjalani in 2006 confirmed.
left-wing activists since 2001.

November - Renegade soldiers make failed coup

bid at luxury hotel in Manila after breaking out of
court where they were standing trial for failed 2003
mutiny.

2008
Rebel peace accords
July-August - Government negotiators say they
have reached an agreement with MILF rebels on
the expansion of a Muslim autonomous region in
the south. Deal collapses after Christian
communities raise objections and renewed fighting
on the southern island of Mindanao leaves at least
30 people dead.

December - Norwegian-brokered peace talks with

Maoist guerrillas of the New People's Army (NPA)
break down; NPA attacks army patrol on
Mindanao.

2009
Army announces capture of
leading MILF figure
Camarudin Hadji Ali.
November - An attack on group of people
travelling to file election nomination papers on
Mindanao leaves 57 dead. Victims' relatives blame
the rival Ampatuan clan.

December - Peace talks between Manila and MILF

resume in Malaysia, after breaking down 16
months ago.
2010
Benigno Simeon “Noynoy”
Aquino III has been Elected
as the 15th President of the
Philippines.
2011
Manila and Maoist NPA
agree to work towards a peace
deal by 2012 at talks in Oslo,
their first negotiations since
the previous round broke
down in 2004. Troops
arrested prominent NPA
member Tirso Alcantara the
previous month.
2012
Parliament defies the Catholic
Church to vote for state-
funded contraception,
approving a bill that has been
debated for 13 years.
February - The army captures Abu Sayyaf leader
Mujibar Alih Amon, suspected of a kidnapping
raid on a Malaysian resort in 2000 and the killing
of Christian missionaries in 2001.
Prosecutors charge 196 more people with murder
over the Maguindanao massacre in November,
including Andal Ampatuan Snr, a former
provincial governor and ally of President Arroyo.
September - Andal Ampatuan junior, a member of
the powerful Ampatuan clan, goes on trial on
charges of organizing the Maguindanao mass
killings.
May - Philippines and Chinese naval vessels
confront one another off the Scarborough Shoal
reef in the South China Sea. Both countries claim
the reef, which may have significant reserves of oil
and gas.
October - The government signs a framework
peace plan with the Muslim rebel Moro Islamic
Liberation Front, ending a 40-year conflict that has
cost an estimated 120,000 lives.
2013
Major diplomatic row erupts
between Taiwan and the
Philippines after Filipino
coastguards kill a Taiwanese
fisherman in disputed waters.
2014
The MILF rebel group signs a
peace deal with the
government that brings an end
to one of Asia's longest and
deadliest conflicts.
2015
Hundreds of Muslim rebels in
the southern Philippines
register to vote in 2016
elections under peace deal
designed to end four decades
of conflict.
February - Armed followers of a self-proclaimed
sultan invade Sabah state on Malaysian Borneo,
sparking several days of fighting with Malaysian
forces. More than 60 people are killed.
September - Stand-off between the army and rebel
remnants of Moro National Liberation Front in
southern city of Zamboanga prompts 75,000
residents to flee.
November - Typhoon Haiyan sweeps across
central areas of the country leaving devastation and
thousands of dead in its wake. A major
international aid effort is organized to help more
than four million people affected.
April - Supreme Court approves a birth control
law, which requires government health centres to
distribute free contraceptives. The bill marks a
defeat for the Catholic Church, which campaigned
strongly against it.
January - Forty-four police commandos are killed
in clashes with Muslim rebels on the southern
island of Mindanao, the largest loss of life for the
security forces in recent memory.
 2016
Populist former mayor
Rodrigo Duterte elected June - The so-called Islamic State (IS) group
president, announces hard- acknowledges its operations in the Philippines in
line crackdown on drugs and an official video, having recognised Isnilon
suggests he might pivot from Hapilon, an Abu Sayyaf leader, as "emir" there.
the US to China.
July - Government welcomes the ruling in a case it
brought before an international tribunal which
concluded that China's claim to much of the
resources in the South China Sea had no legal
basis.

2017
Southern city of Marawi
declared liberated from May - Martial law imposed on the island of
jihadist fighters who held it Mindanao after fighting erupts between security
for almost five months. forces and Islamic State-linked militants of the
Maute group and Isnilon Hapilon.

II. Essay on your Aspirations as a new Voter in 2022 Election

Ever since I started maturing, ever since my eyes were opened to see what the world is, what
kind of world we’re living especially in this country, when I started being concern on the country
we’re living at knowing what kind of government we have and what kind of leaders, law makers or
politicians we have, I’ve always think of when I will be able to vote because even though I’m just
only one vote I know I can do something, I can contribute to select and elect people that will lead us.
As a student, and as a part of the 21 st century where social media plays a huge part in everyone’s lives
and with this different kind of social media platform, I was able to know what’s happening in my
community, in my country. I started seeing the harsh reality most especially in the world of politics
and that’s also when I started getting bothered because of everything that is happening in this country.
I just found out that in Asia, our country is one of the top rank countries with high corruption rate.
There’s also a lot of other issues in this country regarding election like vote-buying, I also noticed that
most of the people were not taking election seriously, like they are voting candidates whoever they
just want like those actors or whoever that entertains them and not those candidates who has the
capabilities to lead effectively. That’s why since then I started to told myself that when time comes
that I can already vote, I will use my right properly and not to waste my opportunity to choose and
elect a leader and also do my best to encourage others to do the same thing and now I was very glad
that I just recently registered myself in Comelec so I can vote in the next 2020 elections.
III. Essay on Leadership among the Branches of government - Executive, Legislative & Judicial

The Philippines is a republic with a presidential form of government wherein power is equally
divided among its three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial. One basic corollary in a presidential
system of government is the principle of separation of powers wherein legislation belongs to Congress,
execution to the Executive, and settlement of legal controversies to the Judiciary.

The Legislative branch is authorized to make laws, alter, and repeal them through the power
vested in the Philippine Congress. This institution is divided into the Senate and the House of
Representatives.

The Executive branch carries out laws. It is composed of the President and the Vice President
who are elected by direct popular vote and serve a term of six years. The Constitution grants the President
authority to appoint his Cabinet. These departments form a large portion of the country’s bureaucracy.

The Judicial branch evaluates laws. It holds the power to settle controversies involving rights
that are legally demandable and enforceable. This branch determines whether or not there has been a
grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction on the part and instrumentality of the
government. It is made up of a Supreme Court and lower courts.

Each branch of government can change acts of the other branches as follows:

 The President can veto laws passed by Congress.

 Congress confirms or rejects the President's appointments and can remove the President from
office in exceptional circumstances.
 The Justices of the Supreme Court, who can overturn unconstitutional laws, are appointed by the
President and confirmed by the Senate.

The Philippine government seeks to act in the best interests of its citizens through this system of checks
and balances.

The Constitution expressly grants the Supreme Court the power of Judicial Review as the power to
declare a treaty, international or executive agreement, law, presidential decree, proclamation, order,
instruction, ordinance or regulation unconstitutional. 

Legislative Department

The Legislative Branch enacts legislation, confirms or rejects Presidential appointments, and has the
authority to declare war. This branch includes Congress (the Senate and House of Representatives) and
several agencies that provide support services to Congress.

Senate –  The Senate shall be composed of twenty-four Senators who shall be elected at large by the
qualified voters of the Philippines, as may be provided by law.

House of Representatives – The House of Representatives shall be composed of not more than two
hundred and fifty members, unless otherwise fixed by law, who shall be elected from legislative districts
apportioned among the provinces, cities, and the Metropolitan Manila area in accordance with the number
of their respective inhabitants, and on the basis of a uniform and progressive ratio, and those who, as
provided by law, shall be elected through a party-list system of registered national, regional, and sectoral
parties or organizations.
The party-list representatives shall constitute twenty per cent of the total number of representatives
including those under the party list. For three consecutive terms after the ratification of this Constitution,
one-half of the seats allocated to party-list representatives shall be filled, as provided by law, by selection
or election from the labor, peasant, urban poor, indigenous cultural communities, women, youth, and such
other sectors as may be provided by law, except the religious sector.

Executive Department

The executive branch carries out and enforces laws. It includes the President, Vice President, the Cabinet,
executive departments, independent agencies, and other boards, commissions, and committees.

Key roles of the executive branch include:

President – The President leads the country. He/she is the head of state, leader of the national
government, and Commander in Chief of all armed forces of the Philippines. The President serves a six-
year term and cannot be re-elected.

Vice President – The Vice President supports the President. If the President is unable to serve, the Vice
President becomes President. He/she serves a six-year term.

The Cabinet – Cabinet members serve as advisors to the President. They include the Vice President and
the heads of executive departments. Cabinet members are nominated by the President and must be
confirmed by the Commission of Appointments.

Judicial Department

The judicial branch interprets the meaning of laws, applies laws to individual cases, and decides if laws
violate the Constitution. The judicial power shall be vested in one Supreme Court and in such lower
courts as may be established by law.

Judicial power includes the duty of the courts of justice to settle actual controversies involving rights
which are legally demandable and enforceable, and to determine whether or not there has been a grave
abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction on the part of any branch or instrumentality
of the Government. The judicial branch interprets the meaning of laws, applies laws to individual cases,
and decides if laws violate the Constitution.

References:

 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-15581450

 https://pia.gov.ph/branches-of-govt