POLITICSGOVERNANCEPHILIPPINES

BASIC POLITICAL CONCEPTS

Public Administration and Social Communication

Reported by: Ryan C. Espino

Politics- denotes a social activity

- is the creation, maintenance and amendment of social norms or rules.

- Is an art and science of the government.

- Is the realm of public affairs or the state.

Governance- Is the exercise of power/ authority by political leader for the well being at

their country’s citizens or subject.

- Refers to the manner of steering/ governing and or directing and controlling a group of people/ the state.

BASIC CONCEPTS OF POLITICS

1. ORDER

- Is the central to the study of politics because it shows different components of human society.

STRUCTURES of ORDER

a. COMMUNITY – is one kind of social order which refers to the association of individual who shares a common identity.

b. GOVERNMENT – is a higher level of social order that exist primarily for the maintenance and perpetuation of the community.

c. STATE - is the largest social order today and in which the term politics originally derived.

2. POWER

- The main source of reign of the government. The possession to govern or rule the state.

3. JUSTICE

- The process of legalizing and penalizing the abuse of political power and power to rule.

“ If the government gives what people need, protect and respect their rights,

and put the common good over and above the personal interest of the

leaders then there is said to be justice.”

TWO APPROACHES to the STUDY of POLITICS

• POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY

- It is the traditional approach in which the primary goal is to understand theessence or the truth about politics.

• POLITICAL SCIENCE

- It is the empirical/ objective approach in which it places little emphasis onabstract and normative question, and concentrates on a dispassionate andobjective of the realities of politics.

Importance of Studying Governance

Governance, the people, most especially the citizens, will be awareof the need for good governance. Consequently, such awareness shouldmove them to action. For their continued empowerment and sustainabledevelopment, they have to know how to fight for their rights by knowingwhat to expect from Philippine governance.

PROCESSES AND ACTORS IN GOVERNANCE

Decision-Making and Implementation

- decision-making refers the process by which aperson or group of persons, guided by socio-politicalstructures, arrive at a decision involving theirindividual and communal needs and wants.Implementation is the process that logically follows thedecision.

Actors and Structures

- An actor is a sector or group or institution thatparticipates in the process of decision-making andimplementation. A structure refers to an organizationor mechanism that formally or informally guides thedecision-making process and sets into motion thedifferent actors and apparatuses in the implementationprocess.

Informal Actors and Bad Governance

- Their influence is felt more clearly in local governments,such as organized crime syndicates and powerfulfamilies, and in rural and urban areas. Most often than not,these actors are the cause of corruption, in that legitimategovernment objectives are distorted by their illegal andprivate interests. Worse, they manipulate governmentofficials and agencies, and cause widespread yetorganized violence in the community. In urban and ruralareas, for example, the rich and powerful families controlthe economy by controlling the local government officials.They bring about a controlled environment so thatdecisions must always favor them.

INDICATORSGOOD GOVERNANCE

1. Participation

- active involvement of all affected and interested parties inthe decision-making process.

Participation is one of the strengths of Philippine governance. The 1987Philippine Constitution is replete of provisions dealing with relationaland inter-sectoral governance. The Local Government Act of 1989 wasborne out of the need for decentralization in Philippine governance. Assuch, these and other related legislations may be considered asnormative standards for good governance.

2. Rule of Law

- Democracy is essentially the rule of law.

- Rule of law demands that the people and the civil society render habitual obedience to the law. It also demands that the government acts within the limits of the powers and functions prescribed by the law.

The Philippines does not fare well in this aspect of good governance. In spite ofbeing one of the oldest democracies in the region, the Philippines ranked as lastamong seven indexed Asian countries according to the World Justice Project Ruleof Law Index. Generally, the reasons for ranking last are “lack of respect for law,”“pervasive and systemic corruption in the government,” and “circumvention ofthe law.” Lack of respect for law is generally caused by distrust on the integrity oflaw enforcement agencies. Order and security are compromised and criminaljustice is rendered ineffectual.

3. Effectiveness and Efficiency

- actors meet the needs of the society means that there is effective governance. That the valuable resources are utilized, without wasting or underutilizing any of them, means that there is efficient governance.

- enhancement and standardization of the quality of public service delivery consistent with international standards, professionalization of bureaucracy.

Efforts were made to attain effectiveness and efficiency in Philippine governance. The Anti-Red Tape Act of 2007 (ARTA), for instance, was passed to require the setting up of Citizen’s Charter for a simplified procedure and to facilitate governmental transactions. Also, many government departments and agencies pursued a rationalization program to check excessive and redundant staffing.

4. Transparency

- Transparency, as an indicator of good governance, means that people are open to information regarding decision-making process and the implementation of the same. In legal terms, it means that information on matters of public concern are made available to the citizens or those who will be directly affected.

- It also means that transactions involving public interests must be fully disclosed and made accessible to the people.

Efforts were made in pursuit of transparency in Philippine governance. As far as the government sector is concerned, the current administration, consistent with its drive of curbing corruption, promotes honesty and integrity in public service. It is currently pursuing the passage of the Freedom of Information Bill and other related legislations, as well as intensifying people’s engagement in local governance. Transparency in budget and disbursements are, however, still far from being substantially implemented.

5. Responsiveness

- means that institutions and processes serve all stakeholders in a timely and appropriate manner. It also means that actors and structures of governance easily give genuine expression to the will or desire of the people.

Some of the important efforts made to attain responsive governance in thePhilippines are decentralization, creation of citizen’s charter in all frontlineagencies (as required by ARTA), and gender sensitivity programs. First, throughdecentralization, local governments, which are more proximate to theirconstituents, serve more promptly the people, who in turn become moreinvolved in decision-making. Second, every government agency now has itCitizen’s Charter, which provides timeframes for every step in attaining frontlineservices. Agencies now must also respond to written queries sent by thestakeholders or interested parties within a period of ten days, otherwise therewill be delayed service. However, this aspect of governance still remains to beone of the causes for the decline of public’s confidence in the public sector.Although the ARTA has been passed, there is still so much delay in publicservice delivery. The failure of the government agencies to explain the chartersto the stakeholders is one of the main reasons why there is still delay.

6. Equity and Inclusiveness

- Equity and inclusiveness means that all the members of the society, especially the most vulnerable ones or the grassroots level, must be taken into consideration in policy-making.

- Social equity refers to a kind of justice that gives more opportunity to the less fortunate members of the society.

The Philippine Government has done extensive efforts in promoting equity andinclusiveness. The Constitution makes it as one of its state policies the promotion of socialjustice. Pursuant to this, the Congress has enacted social legislations like theComprehensive Agrarian Reform Law which aims at freeing the farmer tenants from thebondage of the soil. Also, representation in the Congress, under the party list system, isconstitutionally mandated to have sectoral representation of the underprivileged. Genderand Development programs are in the process of being integrated with the variousstructures and institutions in the country. But legislation is one thing; implementation isanother. It is in the faithful implementation of these laws that the country failed. Inequalityis especially felt in the justice system, electoral system, and even in the bureaucracy itself.

7. Consensus Oriented

- Governance is consensus oriented when decisions are made after taking into consideration the different viewpoints of the actors of the society.

Among the things done by the Philippines in promoting a consensus orientedgovernance are: (1) creation of a wide-based of representation in the Congress;(2) a two-tiered legislature or bicameralism which subjects legislation to theevaluation of national and district legislators; and (3) necessity of publichearings or consultations of various governmental policies and actions.

8. Accountability

- Accountability means answerability or responsibility for one’s action. It is based on the principle that every person or group is responsible for their actions most especially when their acts affect public interest.

- Accountability comes in various forms: political, hierarchical, and managerial accountability. Political accountability refers to the accountability of public officials to the people they represent. Hierarchical accountability refers to the ordered accountability of the various agencies and their respective officers and personnel in relation to their program objectives. Managerial accountability refers to employee accountability based on organization and individual performance.

The Philippines in the recent years had endeavored to comply with therequirements of accountability. It had put in action the concept of politicalaccountability as it held answerable erring public officials involved in graft andcorruption and for acts contrary to the mandate of the constitution. It had alsostrengthened parliamentary scrutiny through legislative investigations andcreation of special committees exercising oversight functions. The Office of theOmbudsman, considered as the public watchdog, has become ever so active ininvestigating and prosecuting graft and plunders cases. Citizen’s Charter, asrequired by ARTA, was also an important tool in promoting professional publicservice values. In this area, Philippine governance has done relatively well.

CURRENT STATE GOVERNANCE

PHILIPPINES

The Philippines is plagued by bad governance. Based on the sixdimensions of governance in the Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGI), itranks in the lower half of the percentile. In 2010-2011, the Philippines rankedonly 85th in the Global Competitive Index (GCI), lagging behind most of itsSoutheast Asian neighbors. The decline of trust on the actors of governance andthe consequential poor economic condition were brought about by thesystemic corruption among and between public officials and privateorganizations. In 2013, it ranked 94th among 177 countries in the CorruptionPerception Index. Among the key institutions in the Philippines perceived to bemost corrupt based on the Global Corruption Index are “political parties,”“judiciary,” “police,” “public officials and civil servants,” and “legislature.” Thismeans all branches of the Philippine government are now challenged.

References:

www.tamayaosbc.wordpress.com

www.global_competitiveness_report2015-2016

www.global_competitiveness_report2016-2017