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Political ChangeLast Topic | Politics and Governance

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Is change in Philippine politics and society

necessary?

+Changing Philippine Politics and Society

Can change still happen?

Is there still hope for change?

How to effect change?

What should be done?

+Different Response

No genuine change without a revolution.

Fundamental change is not possible with existing regime and political structure.

Smash the state. Overthrow the regime.

VS.Work within the system and accept

minimum gains.Reinforce the existing system

(truncated procedural democracy) with complementary mechanisms and processes.

+ Alternative Framework:Radical Democracy “a struggle for radicalising the principles of

liberty and equality for all by extending them to more and more social relations”

approach to democratization that accepts the necessity and validity of limited struggles within the liberal democratic framework towards a more participatory and egalitarian order

Bridges reform and revolution; liberalism and socialism

Incremental change towards fundamental and structural changes

Dismisses the idea of revolution as a grand moment, but instead series of moments

+A Radical Democracy Project

Bringing together of reform and revolutionary efforts in a political project with liberal goals but with a vision of applying democratic values to more and more social relations

Work within the limited liberal democratic framework to deepen democracy

Democratic deepening entails the strengthening and enhancing of formal and procedural democracy towards substantive democracy, which is a more egalitarian order with “high levels of participation without systematic differences across social categories.”

+Determining your political engagement…

Analysis of Philippine politics Philippine politics (state/ government/ power

structure/ democracy) is …

Why change should happen in the Philippines Philippine politics and society must change because

….

What you can and are willing to do about it I can change Philippine politics by …. I am committed to changing Philippine politics

through...

+Three Basic Means to Effect Change

Citizenship

Governance

Party-Building and Political Leadership

+Citizenship

You are responsible for your fellow human being, to

your environment and to posterity.

Be aware and concerned. Care.

Be informed and participate in discussions.

Decide and act.

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Know your rights, defend your

rights and the rights of others.

+Bill of Rights1987 Constitution Section 1. No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property

without due process of law, nor shall any person be denied the equal protection of the laws

Section 2. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures of whatever nature and for any purpose shall be inviolable, and no search warrant or warrant of arrest shall issue except upon probable cause to be determined personally by the judge after examination under oath or affirmation of the complainant and the witnesses he may produce, and particularly describing the place to be searched and the persons or things to be seized.

Section 3. The privacy of communication and correspondence shall be inviolable except upon lawful order of the court, or when public safety or order requires otherwise, as prescribed by law.

+Bill of Rights1987 Constitution Section 4. No law shall be passed abridging the freedom of speech, of

expression, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and petition the government for redress of grievances.

Section 5. No law shall be made respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. The free exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and worship, without discrimination or preference, shall forever be allowed. No religious test shall be required for the exercise of civil or political rights

Section 6. The liberty of abode and of changing the same within the limits prescribed by law shall not be impaired except upon lawful order of the court. Neither shall the right to travel be impaired except in the interest of national security, public safety, or public health, as may be provided by law.

Section 7. The right of the people to information on matters of public concern shall be recognized. Access to official records, and to documents and papers pertaining to official acts, transactions, or decisions, as well as to government research data used as basis for policy development, shall be afforded the citizen, subject to such limitations as may be provided by law.

+Bill of Rights1987 Constitution

Section 8. The right of the people, including those employed in the public and private sectors, to form unions, associations, or societies for purposes not contrary to law shall not be abridged.

Section 9. Private property shall not be taken for public use without just compensation.

Section 10. No law impairing the obligation of contracts shall be passed.

Section 11. Free access to the courts and quasi-judicial bodies and adequate legal assistance shall not be denied to any person by reason of poverty.

+Bill of Rights1987 Constitution Section 12. (1) Any person under investigation for the commission of an

offense shall have the right to be informed of his right to remain silent and to have competent and independent counsel preferably of his own choice. If the person cannot afford the services of counsel, he must be provided with one. These rights cannot be waived except in writing and in the presence of counsel.(2) No torture, force, violence, threat, intimidation, or any other means which vitiate the free will shall be used against him. Secret detention places, solitary, incommunicado, or other similar forms of detention are prohibited….

Section 13. All persons, except those charged with offenses punishable by reclusion perpetua when evidence of guilt is strong, shall, before conviction, be bailable by sufficient sureties, or be released on recognizance as may be provided by law…

Section 14. (1) No person shall be held to answer for a criminal offense without due process of law.

+Bill of Rights1987 Constitution

Section 15. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended except in cases of invasion or rebellion, when the public safety requires it.Section 16. All persons shall have the right to a speedy disposition of their cases before all judicial, quasi-judicial, or administrative bodies.

Section 17. No person shall be compelled to be a witness against himself.

Section 18. (1) No person shall be detained solely by reason of his political beliefs and aspirations.(2) No involuntary servitude in any form shall exist except as a punishment for a crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted.

+Bill of Rights1987 Constitution Section 19. (1) Excessive fines shall not be imposed, nor cruel,

degrading or inhuman punishment inflicted. Neither shall death penalty be imposed, unless, for compelling reasons involving heinous crimes, the Congress hereafter provides for it. Any death penalty already imposed shall be reduced to reclusion perpetua.(2) The employment of physical, psychological, or degrading punishment against any prisoner or detainee or the use of substandard or inadequate penal facilities under subhuman conditions shall be dealt with by law.

Section 20. No person shall be imprisoned for debt or non-payment of a poll tax.

Section 21. No person shall be twice put in jeopardy of punishment for the same offense. If an act is punished by a law and an ordinance, conviction or acquittal under either shall constitute a bar to another prosecution for the same act.

Section 22. No ex post facto law or bill of attainder shall be enacted.

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Governance

+Shift from government to governanceShift in development

paradigm: from government-driven development to people-centered development

Government no longer as the sole actor in decision-making; recognition of the right and responsibility of the different stakeholders to participate in processes affecting their lives

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Civil Society

organizations

Stategovernment

Marketbusinesses

Role: enabler, facilitator and steerer

Outside government But work in public arena

Otherwise referred to as the private sector; private initiatives for

private ends

Actors in Governance

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Civil society is the complex of citizens and groups working in the social sphere between the

market and the state, where state involves public action for public interest; market involves private

action for private profit; civil society is about private action for public good.

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CIVIL SOCIETY

Associational based on Touqueville and Putnam

Counterweight to state that avoid abuse of state authority

Hegemonic based on Gramsci; provides

trenches that protect the State

ACTORS

PHENOMENON

SPACE

?

+the roles and functions attributed to civil society

guardian or protector of the people or people’s interest

Change advocate or transformer of “unequal power relations in six spheres: country and class, sector and species, generation and gender” (David)

Provider or generator of social services and social welfare

Vis-à-vis government: competitor, complementor, collaborator

“building blocks of new nationalism” (Briones)

+Ranges of Actions of the Civil Society

Advocacy

Monitoring

Service-delivery

Research and education

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Specific Examples of Civil Society ActionsGovernment Watch | Juana Change

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Political Parties and Political Leadership

+Definition of Political Party

Andrew Heywood; Politics (Second Edition): “A group of people organized to gain formal representation or win government power; a party usually displays some measure of ideological cohesion.”

G. Sartori: “Any political group identified by an official label that presents at elections, and is capable of placing through elections candidates for public office.” (from Rod Hague and Martin Harrop; Comparative Government and Politics: An Introduction)

Kay Lawson; The Human Polity: An organization that seeks to place representatives in government by nominating candidates to stand for election, claiming that power so won will be exercised in the public interest.

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That political parties in the Philippines have remained weak and underdeveloped

because the legal and institutional context in which

they operate are not conducive for their growth and

development.

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The continued underdevelopment of our party system, have had two consequences. First, this has allowed a few political families to dominate local politics and determine policies at the national level.

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Second, in their attempt to fill a role in the political process, parties have become a supporting mechanism of the existing patronage system.

Parties have become vital components of the spoils system in Congress, since the PDAF are usually coursed through party lines.

+Though political parties are supposedly modern

institutions, they have ironically become part of the country’s feudal-like political structure.

+Functions of Political Parties

1. Representation – the capacity to respond and to articulate the views of both members and voters.

2. Elite Formation and Recruitment – the ability to mold the political elite tasked to govern the body politic.

3. Goal Formulation – the development of programs of government with a view of attracting popular support.

4. Interest Articulation and Aggregation – the task of combining and harmonizing different demands and expressing them into coherent policy formulation.

5. Socialization and Mobilization – the formation of a national agenda and the creation of public discourse to raise political awareness and build the necessary values and attitudes that would constitute a larger political culture.

6. Organization of Government – the power given to a political party that gains the necessary votes to constitute the governmental elite, filling governmental posts with elements from the party ranks.

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The character of the political leadership of the country is largely determined by the state of political parties.

Philippine parties and the party system will remain the same if there is no demand from the citizens for parties and the party system to perform.