Mary the Queen College (Pampanga)

We Transform Lives

Senior High School Department

Subject Code: SHSTNCT Module No./Title: 6/ Democratic Interventions

Subject Description: Trends, Networks and Period of Coverage: Week 6
Critical Thinking in the 21st Century Culture
Introduction:

The first of the three influences on the emergence of trends is democracy. Democracy effectively inhibits
many of the roadblocks to the progression of trends such as the unregulated intervention of the
government and the Church. In the following sections, you will be introduced to the notion of democracy
as well as other forms of government that can be considered in overseeing a State.

Objectives:

At the end of the lesson, the learners should have learned to:

1. Understand what democracy is by identifying its elements and typology;

2. Demonstrate awareness of the difference between democracy and other forms of government through
comparative analysis; and
3. Describe the relationship between the emergence and progression of trends and democracy.
Content:

What is Democracy?

Is a form of government in which people choose leaders by voting. A country is democratic if every one
of its citizens is treated equally and has equal rights.

The concept of democracy can be attributed to the ancient Greeks between 500-400 B.C. The term came
from the Greek words demos, which means “the people” and kratein, which means “to rule”. Thus,
democracy literally means “rule by the people”. It is important to note that originally, democracy was not
perceived to be the “best” form of government.

Today, many countries including the Philippines, have adopted the democratic form of government. The
United States, for instance, waged a number of wars under the banner of democracy.

Elements of Modern Democracy

Modern-day democracy, as practiced in many countries all over the world, is comprised of six
fundamental elements, namely, rule of law, separation of powers, basic rights and freedoms, suffrage,
freedom of speech and pluralism.

Rule of Law

The rule of law is a principle of governance in which all persons, institutions and entities, public and
private, including the State itself, are accountable to laws that are publicly promulgated, equally enforced

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and independently adjudicated, and which are consistent with international human rights norms and
standards. It requires, as well, measures to ensure adherence to the principles of supremacy of law,
equality before the law, accountability to the law, fairness in the application of the law, separation of
powers, participation in decision-making, legal certainty, avoidance of arbitrariness and procedural and
legal transparency.

Separation Powers

Separation of powers refers to the division of a state's government into branches, each with separate,

independent powers and responsibilities, so that the powers of one branch are not in conflict with those of
the other branches. The typical division is into three branches: a legislature, an executive, and a judiciary,
which is the trias politica model. It can be contrasted with the fusion of
powers in parliamentary and semi-presidential systems, where the executive and legislative branches
overlap.

 The Executive branch 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 executive branch is responsible for the implementation of laws.
 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 legislative branch is responsible for the creation of laws.
 The Judicial branch 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.
The judiciary is responsible for the interpretation of laws.

It is also worth mentioning that democratic governments can be patterned after two different systems –
presidential and parliamentary.

A. Presidential System

A presidential system is a form of government in which a head of government (president) leads

an executive branch that is separate from the legislative branch. This head of government is in most cases
also the head of state.
In presidential countries, the head of government is elected and is not responsible to the legislature, which
cannot (usually) in normal circumstances dismiss it. Such dismissal is possible, however, in uncommon
cases, often through impeachment.
The title "president" has persisted from a time when such person personally presided over the governing
body, as with the President of the Continental Congress in the early United States, prior to the executive
function being split into a separate branch of government.

B. Parliamentary System

A parliamentary system or parliamentary democracy is a system of democratic governance of a state (or

subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the
confidence of the legislature, typically a parliament, and is also held accountable to that parliament. In a
parliamentary system, the head of state is usually a person distinct from the head of government. This is

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in contrast to a presidential system, where the head of state often is also the head of government and, most
importantly, where the executive does not derive its democratic legitimacy from the legislature.

Countries with parliamentary democracies may be constitutional monarchies, where a monarch is the
head of state while the head of government is almost always a member of parliament (such
as Denmark, Norway, Japan, Malaysia, Sweden and the United Kingdom), or parliamentary republics,
where a mostly ceremonial president is the head of state while the head of government is regularly from
the legislature (such as Ireland, Germany, India, Italy and Singapore). In a few parliamentary republics,
such as Botswana, Kiribati and South Africa, among some others, the head of government is also head of
state, but is elected by and is answerable to parliament. In bicameral parliaments, the head of government
is generally, though not always, a member of the lower house.

Basic Rights and Freedoms

In the Philippine, the Constitution sets forth the basic rights of the Filipino People. These rights are
embodied in Article III (Bill of Rights) and Article XIII (Social Justice and Human Rights). Both sets of
basic rights are referred to as constitution of liberty. Rights are designed to protect the individual against
violation by the government, or by an individual or groups of individuals. These rights are enshrined in
the Constitution to the individual in a democratic state on the belief that the individual has intrinsic
dignity which must be respected and safeguarded.

Under a democratic country, there are three (3) Human Rights: Natural Rights, Statutory Rights, and
Constitution Rights.

1. Natural Rights – These are rights inherent to man and given to him by God as human being.
(Right to live, love and be happy)
2. Statutory Rights – These are rights provided by the law making body of a country or by law,
such as the right to receive a minimum wage and right to preliminary investigation.
3. Constitutional Rights – These are rights of the citizens to participate directly or indirectly in
the establishment or administration of the government. These rights are: rights of citizenship, right of
suffrage, right to information on matters of public concerns.
a. Civil Rights - These are rights specified under the Bill of rights. (freedom of speech, right
to information) Rights enjoyed by an individual by virtue of his citizenship in a state or community.
b. Economic Rights – These are rights to property, whether personal, real or intellectual.
(right to use and dispose his property, right to practice one’s profession, right to make a aliving)
c. Rights of the Accused – These are rights intended to protect the person accused of any
crime.

Suffrage

Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise is the right to vote in public, political elections (although

the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the
right to vote is called active suffrage, as distinct from passive suffrage, which is the right to stand for
election. The combination of active and passive suffrage is sometimes called full suffrage.

Freedom of Speech

Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate

their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction from the government.
The term freedom of expression is usually used synonymously but, in legal sense, includes any activity of
seeking, receiving, and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used.

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Pluralism

Pluralism, in political science, the view that in liberal democracies power is (or should be) dispersed
among a variety of economic and ideological pressure groups and is not (or should not be) held by a
single elite or group of elites. Pluralism assumes that diversity is beneficial to society and
that autonomy should be enjoyed by disparate functional or cultural groups within a society, including
religious groups, trade unions, professional organizations, and ethnic minorities.

Types of Democracy

Direct Democracy

Direct Democracy or otherwise called pure democracy or participatory democracy, is one in which
decisions relating to the laws and policies of the government are taken by the people directly. It requires
direct participation from the citizens of the country in day to day decision making and administration of
the government. Switzerland is one of the countries where direct democracy is prevalent.

In this form of government, every law, policy or bill is passed only when voted on by all the citizens of
the country. Here, all the people of the government come together raises issues, enter into discussions to
come up with a decision which is agreeable to all. So, the citizens of the country have a direct say in the
formulating laws and the affairs that influence them.

Indirect Democracy

Indirect democracy or popularly called as representative democracy is the system of government wherein
people choose their representatives, to represent them in the Parliament and actively participate in running
the government.

So, the participation of the citizens is limited in taking important decisions and formulation of policies.
India is the common example of indirect democracy.

In an indirect democracy, a politician is elected from each constituency who represents the people who
voted for him in the parliament. It relies on free and fair elections wherein those who are currently ruling
have a just and fair chance of losing. Hence, the elected politician can be removed from the office and
made accountable for the work performed by them for the community.

Summary:

 The concept of democracy can be attributed to the ancient Greeks between 500-400 B.C. The
term came from the Greek words demos, which means “the people” and kratein, which means “to
rule”. Thus, democracy literally means “rule by the people”.
 The rule of law is a principle of governance in which all persons, institutions and entities, public
and private, including the State itself, are accountable to laws that are publicly promulgated,
equally enforced and independently adjudicated, and which are consistent with international
human rights norms and standards.
 Separation of powers refers to the division of a state's government into branches, each with
separate, independent powers and responsibilities, so that the powers of one branch are not in
conflict with those of the other branches.

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  A presidential system is a form of government in which a head of government (president) leads
an executive branch that is separate from the legislative branch. This head of government is in
most cases also the head of state.
 A parliamentary system or parliamentary democracy is a system of democratic governance of
a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its
ability to command the confidence of the legislature, typically a parliament, and is also held
accountable to that parliament.
 In the Philippine, the Constitution sets forth the basic rights of the Filipino People. These rights
are embodied in Article III (Bill of Rights) and Article XIII (Social Justice and Human Rights).
Both sets of basic rights are referred to as constitution of liberty.
 Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise is the right to vote in public, political elections
(although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote).
 Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to
articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction from
the government.
 Pluralism, in political science, the view that in liberal democracies power is (or should be)
dispersed among a variety of economic and ideological pressure groups and is not (or should not
be) held by a single elite or group of elites. 
 Direct Democracy or otherwise called pure democracy or participatory democracy, is one in
which decisions relating to the laws and policies of the government are taken by the people
directly.
 Indirect democracy or popularly called as representative democracy is the system of government
wherein people choose their representatives, to represent them in the Parliament and actively
participate in running the government.

Learning Resources:

N/A
Evaluation:

 Online assessment will be announced via learning management system posts.

References:

Leander P. Marquez (2018). Trends, Networks and Critical Thinking in the 21 st Century Culture. 839
EDSA, South Triangle, Quezon City, C and E Publishing, Inc.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy#:~:text=According%20to%20American%20political
%20scientist,human%20rights%20of%20all%20citizens%3B

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Separation_of_powers

https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/about/gov/#:~:text=The%20Philippines%20is%20a
%20republic,executive%2C%20legislative%2C%20and%20judicial.&text=The%20Executive%20branch
%20is%20composed,a%20term%20of%20six%20years.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidential_system

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parliamentary_system

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suffrage

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https://keydifferences.com/difference-between-direct-and-indirect-democracy.html

https://www.coursehero.com/file/56087851/LESSON-IIa-c-1ppt/

Next Lesson:
Information Communication Technology (ICT)
Prepared by: Jeffrey G. Baluyut, LPT / Social Science Checked by: Kim Kenneth T. Ayroso, LPT,
Department MAEd

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