PHILIPPINE

POLITICS AND
GOVERNANCE

(An Introduction)
 -- Politics, pertained to
a practical science concerned
with the noble action or
happiness of the citizens.
 (1965)
•Politics is “ human activity concerned
with the authoritative decision
making and action by the
government that results in an
authoritative allocation of values of
society.
•--anything is useful in life and is
therefore, sought after. Any idea,
principle or any pheeLnomenon
which individuals or groups within
the political community consider to
have measureable importance.
 Harold Laswell (1958)

•Politics is “ who gets what, when and

how.” Politics is concerned with how
official governmental decision-making
and action identifies(1) who in political
society receives how much of what
benefits , rewards, and advantages.
(2) when they received such, (3) methods
by which they receive such.
negative view: politics pertains to how
official governmental decision-making
and action ascertain (1) who will be denied
which benefits, rewards, and advantages.
(2) the period of deprivations, (3)the
manner by which such deprivations are to
be implemented.
•Politics includes decision-making and
decision-enforcing processes in any group
that makes and enforces rules for its
members. It involves the public issue
which gives rise to conflict, it is because
people strive to achive opposing goals
and needs.
•Political philosophy is the study of
fundamental questions about the state,
government, politics, liberty, justice and
the enforcement of a legal code by
authority. It is Ethics applied to a group
of people, and discusses how a society
should be set up and how one should act
within a society
•Political philosophy asks questions like:
"What is a government?", "Why are
governments needed?", "What makes a
government legitimate?", "What rights
and freedoms should a government
protect?", "What duties do citizens owe to
a legitimate government, if any?" and
"When may a government be legitimately
overthrown, if ever?"
•“One involves the study of what
is believed to be universal in
politics, such as power, justice
and force. another involves the
study of the institutions and
processes of politics.”--Harris,
1997
•it can be studied through the
exercise of power by local
political leaders, and the
effectiveness of government
institutions and official action.
•Politics is deeply ingrained in filipino
culture, and it manifested everywhere:
from appointments to executive and
judicial positions, crafting of economic
policies, lawmaking, processing of
applications for government permits and
licenses, to treatment of high-profile
prisoners.
•it centers on the systematic study of
political and governmental
institutions. this field gives
importance to the principles,
processes and sytructures of political
and governmental institutions.
•Political Science explains the
functions of three branches of
Philippine government. It gauges the
students to analyze the nature of
power, types of political leadership
and system of government,
constitutions and its impact to
society.
•The study of politics is the study of
people and societies struggling with
great and enduring issues – war and
peace, order and freedom, and
justice and equality. Understanding
how and why those issues are
resolved, or fail to be resolved, is at
the heart of what we study.
•To better understand political
science, we must analyze its
relationship to history, economics,
sociology, anthropology, psychology,
geography,or law, disciplines which
have preoccupied much of
intellectual thought in this century.
•Political Science is closely related to the study
of history. the word “history” comes from the
Greek word historia,which means
“investigation or inquiry.” Relying on
investigative work, a historian can give a
vivid account of the political history of one
country, nation, community, or group of
people.
• This chronicle could be used by a political
scientist to interpret political events that
happened in the past, to understand the
present, and even possibly anticipate future
political conditions. In the same way
historian wants to describe events as
accurately as possible, a political scientist
also wants to relate and capture the human
condition as it has been affected by the
politics of the past.
•Economics- comes from Greek word
oikonomos which means “ household
management” a concept associated
with the individual and family, then
transformed into “political economy”.
•- a recognition that the economy of
modern times is no longer limited to
households alone but encompasses a
whole nation. The political
leadership in turn adopts the
necessary policies and programs to
achieve economic development.
•The relationship between the politician on
one hand and the economist on the other
is crucial. In times of economic crisis, the
people lay the blame on the doorstep of
political leaders on account of what is
perceived to be a neglect of their duties.
•Sociology, comes from Latin word socius
which means “partners, companions,
associates or mates” and the Greek word
logos which means “to study”. It revolves
around the study of social groups in
society.(family, professional, religious and
business assocaitions.
•Greek word antropos which means “man”
and logos which means “to study”. It deals
with the study of the origin of man or
humanity. its concern is to establish the
cultural origin of man within the context of
social institutions, education, religion,
economy and government, among others.
•It deals with human behavior. this field of study
comes in handy to political scientist, who can work
with psychologists in interpreting the behavior of
voters during elections, studying how officials
treat public funds, and finding reasons why the
military acts the way it does during times of
political crisis. It is related to political science
because it deals with the location, territory, and
resources.
•Comes from Greek word geos, which
means “earth” and graphein, which
means “ to write”. It is concerned with the
study of the Earth and its surface
features, and how they influence human
distribution of activity.
•Geopolitics involves the study of the
influence of factors such as
population pressures, scarcity of raw
materials, location and size of
country relative to others, national
wealth, domestic policies, politics and
the conduct of foreign affairs.
• The growth of both Political Science and law
have not insulate them from each other.
Legal Professionals still draw insights from
political science as they go about their work.
At the same time, political scientist also
consider the effects of laws on the working of
government, and societal relations in
genaral.
•Laws play an important role in society.
According to St. Thomas Aquinas, “Law is
an ordinance of reason for the common
good, made by him who has care of the
Community(Curtis, 1981). People exercise
their political authority through the
government, which functions as an
instrumentality of state through the law.
•Laws create government agencies
and provide for their powers and
functions. laws also govern the rights
and responsibilities of citizens, who
are also expected to abide the laws
as they deal with other citizens and
with the government.
•One field that has emerged out of
the link between the fields of law
and political science is legal studies.
this interdisciplinary field looks at
how law molds, and is turn molded
by, such forces as politics, economics,
and culture.
•“It can be broadly defined as the action of
sovereign authority; specifically, the
exercise of authoritative direction or
control, over a particular political unit or
organization.”--(Webster)
•Governance also deals with the way
power is exercised in managing the
country's economic and social resources.
•Governance involves: (1) how
governments are selected, monitored and
replaced; (2)the capacity of the
government to effectively formulate and
implement sound policies; and (3) respect
the citizens and the state for the
institutions that govern economic and
social interactions among them-- World
Bank Group, 2014)
 •“ Public office is a public trust.”
--adherance to this dictum is a tantamount
to practicing good governance.
Government officials are expected to be
accountable to the people, implement the
laws faithfully, and serve their constituents
selflessly.
(Read the handouts/ pages:9-10; Philippine
Politics and Governance;Vibal textbook)
•Prof. Michael Johnston states “ good governance
embodies partnership between state and society;
among citizens. --
•partnerships that are “ sustained not by good
intentions alone but by lasting, converging
incentives and strong tinstituions.
•incentives include: the leaders to have “the
opportunity to take credit” and for the citizens to
have a credible chance for a better life.”
•Example: City mayor's act to solve the red-
tape hampered and corruption-tainted
process of securing business license and
permit. It is a manifestation of the
government performing its role to ensure the
greater good.
•Johnston reiterated that, politics and
governance are shaped by institutions of a
country.
•“Institutions” are significant practices
needed to “ sustain and restrain orderly
competition” in the field of politics. these
are significant practices neede to sustain
an drestrain orderly competition in the
field of politics.
•institutions are about “the rules of the game” or
more formally as “ the human devised constraints
that shape human interaction.”
•“formal rules (political constitutions, economic
laws and contracts) and informal constraints
(conventions, norms of behavior and enforcement
of characteristics) make up institutions structure
incentives that come about from political, social
and economic exchange (Douglas North,
American historian)
• A more encompassing definition of
institutions or institutional agreements,
would also take into account established
organizational and informal norms.
•“Formal government organizational
structures as informal norms” that provide
grnment “with the framework within which
to formulate and implement policies. (UN-
ESCAP)
•we can identify democratic electionns, separation
of powers, and presidential succession- and the
offices which oversee them: COMELEC, judiciary
and the executive branch are among the
important institutions in Philippine politics and
governnce. Politics in the sense that it involves
ventilating and resolving public issues that could
give rise to conflict, is often seen as being
inconsistent with good governance.
•Elections serve as an avenue for people to
directly take part in choosing their
government. The ability of politicians to
implement their platforms and promises serve
as barometer by which their performance is
measured. every transaction with the
government office could in fact become an
opportunity to assess the kind of governance
the people are subjected to.
•By recognizing the essential links between
politics and governance, government officials,
citizens, would have a clear idea of the kind
of political activity essential for good
governance. with strong institutions to
temper the pusuit of political self-interest,
government could more effectively formulate
and implement policies, and individual could
more effectively contribute to efforts to
advance the general welfare of the citizenry.