PHILIPPINE POLITICS AND GOVERNANCE (QUARTER 2 -MODULE 10- LESSON 1 AND 2) WEEK 4-5

ELECTIONS AND POLITICAL PARTIES IN THE PHILIPPINES

WHAT I KNOW (Pretest)
This activity will enable you to assess your prior knowledge from the topic that will be discussed in this lesson.
Direction: Read and understand each item carefully. Encircle the letter of your choice.
1. It is a government body tasked to enforce all laws and regulations relative to the conduct of elections in the Philippines.
A. BIR B. DSWD C. COMELEC
2. The process by which voters in a country select the official who will exercise the powers of the government for a period fixed by law.
A. Selection B. Election C. Screening
3. The right to vote in political elections is called ?
A. Power B. Expression C. Suffrage
4. The Republic Act authorizing COMELEC to implement an automated system of election
is? A. R.A. 8436 B. R.A. 8346 C. R.A. 8463
5. The first national election that utilized an automated election system was in the
year? A. 2010 B. 2016 C. 2001
6. An organized group of people who have the same ideology or who otherwise have the same political positions, and who field
candidates for elections is called ?
A. Group B. Organization C. Political Party
7. Minor parties are called ?
A. Organization B. Partylist C. Party
8. Refers to the ability of the parties to respond to and articulate the views of members and voters.
A. Representation B. Socialization C. Goal formulation
9. This function of a political party has something to do with parties acting as agents of political education.
A. Goal formulation B. Representation C. Socialization and mobilization
10. This function of a political party provide a training ground for politicians.
A. Elite formation and recruitment B. Socialization C. Goal formulation

LESSON 1. ELECTION
ACTIVITY 1. ANAGRAM ARRANGE THE SCRAMBLED LETTER TO FORM THE CORRECT WORD.

WHAT IS IT
Election is the process by which voters in a country select the official who will exercise the powers of the government for a period fixed
by law. Elections in the Philippines are of several types. The president, vice-president, and the senators are elected for a six-year term,
while the members of the House of Representatives, governors, vice-governors, members of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (provincial
board members), mayors, vice-mayors, members of the Sangguniang Panlungsod/members of the Sangguniang Bayan (city/municipal
councilors), barangay officials, and the members of the Sangguniang Kabataan (youth councilors) are elected to serve for a three-year
term.
There are two types of Elections:
1. Regular Election- one conducted nationwide or in certain political subdivisions of the country. This is normally done through
balloting.
2. Special Election- one conducted to select the official through balloting, who shall serve for the unexpired part of the term for which
the incumbent has been elected. The vacancy might be due to death, incapacitated, or is recalled.
Who can vote?
Every citizen of the Philippines, not otherwise disqualified by law, 18 years of age or above on the day of the election, who has
resided in the Philippines for one year and in the city or municipality wherein he or she proposes to vote for at least six months
immediately preceding the election, may register as a voter. To exercise the right to vote (Suffrage), the qualified elector must be
registered in the permanent list of voters for the city or municipality in which he or she resides. Members of the Armed Forces of the
Philippines (AFP), Philippine National Police (PNP), and other government officers and employees, who are duly registered voters, are
allowed to vote for the positions of President, Vice President, Senators, and Party-list Representatives on election day in places where
they are not registered voters but where they are temporarily assigned to perform their duties on the day of election. This is known as
local absentee voting. Filipino citizen who are in other countries, not otherwise disqualified by law, aged at least 18 years old, are
allowed to vote for the President, Vice President, Senators, and Party-list Representatives.
The COMELEC
The Commission on Elections, usually abbreviated as COMELEC, is one of the three constitutional commissions of the
Philippines, others being the Civil Service Commission (CSC) and the Commission on Audit (COA). The COMELEC’s principal role is to
enforce all laws and regulations relative to the conduct of elections in the Philippines. The powers and functions of the COMELEC are
conferred upon it by the 1987 Constitution and the Omnibus Election Code. They are classified into:  Administrative- refers to the
enforcement and administration of election laws.The COMELEC is authorize to issue rules and regulations to implement the provisions
of the 1987 Constitution and the Omnibus Election Code.  Quasi-legislative- refers to the issuance of rules and regulations to
implement the election laws and to exercise such legislative functions as may expressly be delegated to it by Congress.  Quasi-
judicial- embraces the power to resolve controversies arising from the enforcement of election laws, and to be the sole judge of all pre-
proclamation controversies; and of all contests relating to the elections, returns, and qualifications.
Automated Election System
In 1997, RA 8436 was passed into law, authorizing COMELEC to implement an automated system in the May 1998 elections,
and in subsequent national and local elections. However, “lack of preparation, time and funding” led to the use of the automated
process only in Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi in the 1998 elections. In 2001, the COMELEC’s failure to launch a
public education campaign on the new election process led to the unintended exclusion of an estimated 3 to 6 million voters. In 2007,
RA 9369, amending RA 8436, was passed “to encourage transparency, credibility, fairness, and accuracy of elections.” An automated
electoral process on a nationwide scale was first enforced in the 2010 elections, which brought President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III
to power. The multinational company, Smartmatic, was chosen to supply the hardware and software for electronic voting. A few weeks
before the elections, the memory chips of the vote counting machines were found to be faulty, and candidates like former President
Joseph Estrada petitioned to postpone the elections and revert to manual polls. Elections pushed through as scheduled, however,
because all technical problems were deemed to have been addressed. Four hundred sixty-five vote counting machines were reported
as malfunctional, but 75,882 machines worked smoothly. Compared to past elections where the winners were known after weeks or
months, local winners were determined in a few hours, while half of the national winners were known after a day. An international group
of observers of the 2010 Elections pointed out that the new system did not prevent the usual problems like vote-buying, intimidation of
voters, harassment of candidates, campaigning against militant groups, and the presence of military men and armed goons in precincts.
WHAT’S MORE!
ACTIVITY 2. TRUE OR FALSE
Direction: Write T if the statement is TRUE and Write F if the statement is FALSE.
1. Special Election is done when the position is vacant due to death, incapacitated, or is recalled.
2. The acronym AFP stands for ARMED FORCES OF THE PHILIPPINES.
3. R.A No. 8536 was created authorizing COMELEC to use an automated election system.
4. Quasi-judicial power of the COMELEC refers to the enforcement and administration of election laws.
5. Every Filipino should be 18 years old or above on the day of election to exercise their right to vote.
6. A certain Filipino voter can participate on the day of the election though they are not included on the registered master list of
COMELEC.
7. Regular Election is conducted nationwide or in certain political subdivisions of the country.
8. COMELEC is composed of a Chairman and six Commissioners who are natural-born citizens of the Philippines.
9. The president, vice-president, and the senators are elected for a six-year term.
10. The 2001 election was the first national election that utilized an automated election system.
WHAT I HAVE LEARNED
ACTIVITY 3. LET’S REFLECT!
1. What is an election for?
2. What will people get in casting their votes during elections?
3. What is your opinion about the vote buying?
WHAT I CAN DO
ACTIVITY 4. PICTURE PERFECT!
What does this picture tell you?

4.

Adapted from:https://www.philstar.com/pilipino-star-ngayon/opinyon/2019/05/17/191 8444/editoryal-sawatain-ang-vote-buying

LESSON 2. POLITICAL PARTIES

WHAT’S IN
ACTIVITY 1. REVIEW COMPLETE THE STATEMENT.
In the previous lesson I learned that .
WHAT’S NEW
ACTIVITY 2. MATCH UP!
Draw a LINE to connect each pair of boxes. Left (logo of parties), right (Name of Parties)

WHAT IS IT
Definition and Nature of Political Parties
 A political party is an organized group of people who have the same ideology, or who otherwise have the same political
positions, and who field candidates for elections, in an attempt to get them elected and thereby implement the party's agenda. They are
a defining element of representative democracy.
Effective political parties play an important role in the democratization and political maturity of society. They serve as vehicles
for collective action and empowerment of their constituencies.
The following are characteristics of parties that distinguish them from other groups:
1. They aim to exercise government power by winning seats in the government.
2. They are formally organized bodies with “card carrying” membership. Membership involves taking formal oath.
3. They adopt a broad issue focus and address major areas of government policy.
4. They are united by shared political preferences and ideological identity to varying degrees.
There are three types of parties in the Philippines.
These are: (a) major parties, which typically correspond to traditional political parties;
(b) minor parties or party-list organizations, which rely on the party-list system to win Congressional seats;
(c) regional or provincial parties, which correspond to region-wide or province-wide
organizations, respectively.
Five major parties are listed below:

Parties represented in Congress:

Party-lists represented in Congress These parties won more than 2% of the vote

Functions of Political Parties

1. Representation
 Representation refers to the ability of the parties to respond to and articulate the views of members and voters.
 Political parties are expected to represent the causes of the people they claim to be supportive of.
2. Elite formation and recruitment
 Political parties provide a training ground for politicians.
 These political parties train their members to become future presidents, if not to occupy high positions in the government.
3. Goal formulation
 Political parties become a source of policy initiation and provide the electorate a choice of realistic and achievable goals.
 Whatever policies are carried out in the Philippines are a product of these parties
4. Interest articulation and aggregation
 Political parties in the Philippines are expected to be the voice of the people who supported them. Officials who
are members of different political parties engage in discussions to aggregate the varying interests of people.
 5. Socialization and mobilization
 Political parties serve as agents of political education and socialization through a series of internal debates
and discussions, and through campaigning and electoral competition.
6. Organization of government
 Political parties help in the formation of governments. Parties also give governments a degree of stability and
coherence. Similarly, they are a vital source of opposition and criticism, both inside and outside the government.
 Political parties are instrumental in the creation of an administration. The creation of majority or dominant parties after the
election period highlights the creation of an administration. Whatever is not part of the administration usually becoming
the opposition.
WHAT’S MORE ACTIVITY 3. MATCH MORE!
Direction: Match Column A from Column B.Write your answer on the given space before each
number. Column A Column B
1. PDP-Laban A. Filipino Nationalism
2. Liberal Party B. Federalism
3. Nationalist Party C. Right libertarianism
4. ACT-CIS D. Voluntarism
5. Federal Party of the Philippines E. Christian Democracy
6.1-PACMAN F. Democratic Socialism
7. Aksyon G. Counterterrorism
8. UNA H. Liberalism
9. Lakas-CMD I. Conservatism
10. Bayan Muna J. Democratic socialism
K. Social democracy
WHAT I HAVE LEARNED
ACTIVITY 4. LET’S REFLECT!
Answer the following questions.
1.How do political parties differ from other groups?
2. What are some of the functions of political parties?
3. Do you think party and party-list system in the Philippines are effective? Explain your answer.
WHAT I CAN DO
ACTIVITY 5. PRO-CON GRID
Instruction: Fill in the grid with the pros (advantage) and cons (disadvantage) of having Political Parties in the Philippines.
PRO(ADVANTAGE) CON(DISADVANTAGE)

Post Assessment
Direction: Read and understand each item carefully. Encircle the letter of your choice.
1. It is a government body tasked to enforce all laws and regulations relative to the conduct of elections in the Philippines.
A. BIR B. DSWD C. COMELEC
2. The process by which voters in a country select the official who will exercise the powers of the government for a period fixed by law.
A. Selection B. Election C. Screening
3. The right to vote in political elections is called ?
A. Power B. Expression C. Suffrage
4. The Republic Act authorizing COMELEC to implement an automated system of election
is? A. R.A. 8436 B. R.A. 8346 C. R.A. 8463
5. The first national election that utilized an automated election system was in the
year? A. 2010 B. 2016 C. 2001
6. An organized group of people who have the same ideology or who otherwise have the same political positions, and who field
candidates for elections is called ?
A. Group B. Organization C. Political Party
7. Minor parties are called ?
A. Organization B. Partylist C. Party
8. Refers to the ability of the parties to respond to and articulate the views of members and voters.
A. Representation B. Socialization C. Goal formulation
9. This function of a political party has something to do with parties acting as agents of political education.
A. Goal formulation B. Representation C. Socialization and mobilization
10. This function of a political party provide a training ground for politicians.
A. Elite formation and recruitment B. Socialization C. Goal formulation