PHILIPPINE POLITICS &

GOVERNANCE
 Politics & Political Science
■ Politics – formulated by the Greek during the 4th & 5TH century.
“Polis” – means city states
An independent sovereign city which serve as the center of political, economic and cultural life over
it’s contiguous territory.
Sovereign – highest power or being completely independent.
 It deals with power in society in general
 It is said to be the art and science of government
■ Heywood (2013) defined politics as an activity that involves the interaction of people,
whose relationship is characterized by conflict and cooperation, and who come together to solve
such disagreement through binding solutions.
 Central Concepts of Politics:
a. Concept of justice- what and who is morally and politically right
b. Concept of power- source of authority
c. Concept on the right types of constitution and government- different
types of governments and states
d. Concept of right and virtuous leadership- who should lead in a
certain political system
Political Science
■ a social science discipline that studies the state and the government. It is a systematized
body of knowledge based on facts which deals with experimentation and observation.
■ Four elements to become a science :
body of knowledge
based on facts
deals with experiments
observation
 POLITICS POLITICAL SCIENCE

 is the actual process of how humans interact in groups
 constitutes man’s activities in the real world
 is the practices of elective and non-elective political systems
 is the process by which people try to influence the government
 is the process by which the government decides which policies
will be enacted
 is the practice of state and government
 deals with issues, problems, and activities taking place in society
 is the day-to-day actual activities of the government
 is relative (varying)
 is where everyone is involved
 is the scientific study of politics
 focuses on the theory and practice of government
 is a theory of state and government
 seeks to study the origin, nature and functions of the state,
government and its all organs
 is universal
 is studied by few
Importance of Politics

■ Politics helps you to know your rights.

■ Politics clarifies what you yourself believe.
■ Politics is a living, breathing subject
■ Politics helps you to understand our nation’s parties.
■ Politics prepares you for adult life.
Major Schools of Thought in Political Science

■ Philosophical tradition (otherwise known as political

philosophy
■ Empirical tradition
■ Scientific tradition
The State
■ a community of persons more or less numerous, permanently occupying a portion of
territory, independent from external control and possessing a government which the
great body of inhabitants render habitual obedience”
Elements of State:

■ People –one of the basic elements of the state.

Facts: Vatican City is the smallest city in the world
China the biggest city and the biggest number of population
■ Territory - is the scope of land, sea and air areas or boundaries where the population of
the state resides. A territory is divided into 3 domains – terrestrial (land), maritime and
fluvial (water) and aerial domains
Article 1 of the 1987 Constitution – National Territory
Four modes a state can acquire a Territory:

I. DISCOVERY AND OCCUPATION-  state may acquire a territory by discovering a continent, an island
or land with no inhabitants or occupied by uncivilized inhabitants, and thereafter, occupying it by placing it
under its political administration.
Lands that can be subjects of discovery and occupation:
• Uninhabited lands -
Ex. The Philippines acquired the Kalayaan Group of Islands through discovery and occupation. Tomas Cloma,
who actually discovered the uninhabited islands, ceded his right in favor of the Philippines. Thereafter, the
Philippines occupied the islands by establishing a municipality therein.
• Lands inhabited by uncivilized persons 
Ex.Ferdinand Magellan, in behalf of the Spanish Crown, discovered the archipelago of the Philippines, although
at that time the Negritos, Malays and Indones inhabited the islands. 
■ Unoccupied discovered lands
Failure to put the discovered land under the administration of the discovering state for an unreasonable length of
time will open the land for acquisition of other states through discovery and occupation.
 II. PRESCRIPTION - It is the mode of acquiring a territory through continuous and undisputed
exercise of sovereignty over it during such period as is necessary to create under the influence of
historical development the general conviction that the present condition of things is in conformity
with international order.
III. CESSION -
 It is the assignment, transfer, or yielding up of territory by one state or government to another.
 It may be in the form of sale or donation. An example of this is the TREATY OF PARIS.
IV. SUBJUDATION AND ANNEXATION
 It is a mode of acquiring a territory belonging to a state by occupation and conquest made by
another state in the course of war and by annexation at the end of the war.
 Conquest also gives the conqueror inchoate title that may be converted into a full title after
annexation of the territory.
 ACCRETION is another mode of acquiring territory by addition of portions of soil, either
artificial such as the reclamation area in Manila Bay, or natural by gradual deposition through
the operation of natural causes such as the waves of the ocean.
• Government - is the machinery of the people where their hopes and aspirations are
expressed, formulated, and realized. The government is the basic agency of the State to carry
its obligation.
Kinds of Government:
• DE JURE OR LEGITIMATE GOVERNMENT
 It is one established according to the constitution of the nation, and lawfully entitled to
recognition and supremacy and administration of the nation, but which is actually cut off
from power or control.
 It is a government deemed lawful or deemed rightful or just, but which, nevertheless, has
been supplanted or displaced.
• DE FACTO OR ILLEGITIMATE GOVERNMENT
 It is one that maintains itself by a display of force against the will of the rightful legal
government and is successful, at least temporarily, in overturning the institutions of the
rightful legal government by setting its own in lieu thereof.
3 KINDS OF DE FACTO
GOVERNMENT
 BY REVOLUTION-
 Established by the inhabitants who rise in revolt against and depose the legitimate regime.
 If the communist rebels successfully overthrow the present government, the communist
government to be formed by the rebels will be considered as de facto government by
revolution while the status of the ousted capitalist government will remain legitimate.
 BY SECESSION 
 Established by the inhabitants of a state who secede there from without overthrowing its
government.
 If the MILF would succeed in its armed and revolutionary campaign to make Mindanao a
state separate and independent from the Philippines, the government to be established by the
MILF will be classified as de facto gov’t by secession while the Phil. Gov’t will be
considered as a de jure gov’t.
 BY OCCUPATION
 Established in the course of war by the invading forces of one aggressive country in the territory of
another aggressive country, the government of which is also displaced.
Example of this is the Puppet Government by Japanese sovereign in the Philippines.
• Sovereignty- the supreme power to command and enforce obedience (Aruego, Principles of
Political Science
• Recognition- is the process where the State is granted international status. It can be implied or
expressed.
Government and Governance

■ Government is defined as the group of people with the authority to govern a country or
state, a particular ministry in office (Oxford Dictionary). It is the instrument of the state
through which the will of the people is expressed, carried out, and formulated. Thus, the
government serves as the bridge that connects the people to the state.
■ Governance is defined as the process of decision-making and the process by which
decisions are implemented. At present, the terms government and governance are also
used with confusion to a large extent.
Characteristics of good governance:
participation, rule of law, transparency, responsiveness, consensus oriented, effectiveness
and efficiency, and accountability.
Ideology
■ is more or less a coherent set of ideas that direct or organize a specific political action.
■ It consist of belief and value systems, a discussion of existing power relationships, an
exploration of how political change is achieved in line with these power relations and an
illustration of a desired future (Heywood 2013).
MAJOR POLITICAL IDEOLOGIES AND
THEIR KEY TENETS (Heywood 2013)
■ ANARCHISM - Anarchist prefers a stateless society. Individuals can best manage their own
affairs through voluntary agreement and cooperation
■ CONSERVATISM- Tradition must be conserve. These traditions include established customs,
institutions, and ways of doing things that have endured through time. Conservatives also believe
that social position and status are only natural. With this, hierarchy is thought to be inevitable.
■ FACISM- it subscribes to the idea of a supreme race, whose members should enjoy the natural
resources. It is by nature exclusive as it excludes nonmembers of the race.
■ FEMINISM -A diverse but its unifying theme is the desire to enhance the social role of women.
■ LIBERALISM- Belief in individualism underscores the importance of the human individual
compared to any other group. Liberty of the individual must be protected. An individual has
freedom when he or she is able to act as he or she pleases.
■ SOCIALISM- Belief in the community highlights the degree to which the individual is
connected with others. Identify is therefore a product of social interaction more than
innate qualities.
■ MARXISM Historical materialism or the materialist conception of history provides that
the economy (mode of production) conditions all other aspects of social life including
law, government, politics and education.
■ SOCIAL DEMOCRACY Social democrats stand for a balance between the market and
the state, and between the individual and the community
■ GREEN POLITICS/ ECOLOGISM This ideology is linked with the emergence of
environmental movement. It also rose as a revolt against industrialization.
■ COSMOPOLITANISM Ideological expression of globalization . Cosmoploitanism
focuses on the idea that all other people in the world have obligations to each other
regardless of nationality, ethnicity, and the like.