“Man is by nature a political animal.”
– Aristotle, Politics
(Father of Political Science)
 
 Politics
 
The inclination and interest of people toward
anything political is based on the fact that
individuals are inherently social.

Unlike other species, humans rely on social

interactions to survive. Politics is born out of
these social interactions.

 
 Politics
 
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 disagreements
through binding solutions.
 
 Politics

Etymology
 
Politics (from Greek: Polis)
definition "affairs of the cities"
    
Views on Politics: Description of Politics
Politics as...
  Politics concerns the state. It focuses on the personnel
Art of government and machinery of the government.

  Politics is the conduct and management of public

Public affairs interest and therefore, political affairs.

 
  Politics attempts to resolve conflict through
Compromise and consensus discussion, compromise, bargaining, and consensus,
wherein people arrive at a binding decision.
 
  Politics involves the exercise of authority in the
Power and the distribution of resources production, distribution, and use of resources. This
  describes who gets what and under what circumstances.
 
 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 the essence or the truth about politics.

• POLITICAL SCIENCE
- It is the empirical/ objective approach in which it places
little emphasis on abstract and normative question,
and concentrates on a dispassionate and objective of the
realities of politics.
 What is Government?

The state is a political community

that involves four important elements,
namely; people, territory,
sovereignty, and government.
 
The individuals’ satisfaction with their government is a determinant
of governance.
 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 or directing and

controlling a group of people/ the state.
 Importance of Studying
Governance
Governance, the people, most especially the
citizens, will be aware of the need for good governance.
Consequently, such awareness should move them to
action. For their continued empowerment and sustainable
development, they have to know how to fight for their
rights by knowing what to expect from Philippine
governance.
 PROCESSES AND ACTORS I N
GOVERNANCE
 Decision-Making and Implementation
- decision-making refers the process by which a
person or group of persons, guided by socio-political
structures, arrive at a decision involving their
individual and communal needs and wants.
Implementation is the process that logically follows
the decision.
 Actors and Structures
- An actor is a sector or group or institution that
participates in the process of decision-making and
implementation. A structure refers to an organization
or mechanism that formally or informally guides the
decision-making process and sets into motion the
different actors and apparatuses in the
implementation process.
 Informal Actors and Bad Governance
- Their influence is felt more clearly in local governments,
such as organized crime syndicates and powerful
families, and in rural and urban areas. Most often than
not, these actors are the cause of corruption, in that
legitimate government objectives are distorted by their
illegal and private interests. Worse, they manipulate
government
official and agencies, and cause widespread
organized
s violence in the community. In yet
urban and rural
areas, for example, the rich and powerful families control
the economy by controlling the local government
officials. They bring about a controlled environment so
that decisions must always favor them.
 1.
-Participation
active involvement of all affected and interested
parties in the decision-making process.

Participation is one of the strengths of Philippine governance. The 1987

Philippine Constitution is replete of provisions dealing with relational
and inter-sectoral governance. The Local Government Act of 1989 was
borne out of the need for decentralization in Philippine governance. As
such, these and other related legislations may be considered as
normative standards for good governance.
The Philippines in the recent years had endeavored to comply with the
requirements of accountability. It had put in action the concept of political
accountability as it held answerable erring public officials involved in graft
and corruption and for acts contrary to the mandate of the constitution. It had
also strengthened parliamentary scrutiny through legislative investigations
and creation of special committees exercising oversight functions. The Office
of the Ombudsman, considered as the public watchdog, has become ever so
active in investigating and prosecuting graft and plunders cases. Citizen’s
Charter, as required by ARTA, was also an important tool in promoting
professional public service values. In this area, Philippine governance has
done relatively well.
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 of
being one of the oldest democracies in the region, the Philippines ranked as last
among seven indexed Asian countries according to the World Justice Project
Rule of Law Index. Generally, the reasons for ranking last are “lack of respect
for law,” “pervasive and systemic corruption in the government,” and
“circumvention of the law.” Lack of respect for law is generally caused by
distrust on the integrity of law enforcement agencies. Order and security are
compromised and criminal justice is rendered ineffectual.
3. Effectiveness and
Efficiency
- actors meet the needs of the society means that there is
governance.
effective That the valuable resources are utilized,
wasting
without or underutilizing any of them, means that there is
governance.
efficient
- 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 the

Philippines are decentralization, creation of citizen’s charter in all frontline
agencies (as required by ARTA), and gender sensitivity programs. First, through
decentralization, local governments, which are more proximate to their
constituents, serve more promptly the people, who in turn become more
involved in decision-making. Second, every government agency now has it
Citizen’s Charter, which provides timeframes for every step in attaining frontline
services. Agencies now must also respond to written queries sent by the
stakeholders or interested parties within a period of ten days, otherwise there
will be delayed service. However, this aspect of governance still remains to be
one 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 public
service delivery. The failure of the government agencies to explain the charters
to 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
especially the most vulnerable ones or the grassroots level, must
society,
taken
be 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 effort in promoting equity and
inclusiveness. The Constitution makes it as one of its s state policies the promotion of
social justice. Pursuant to this, the Congress has enacted social legislations like the
Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law which aims at freeing the farmer tenants from the
bondage of the soil. Also, representation in the Congress, under the party list system, is
constitutionally mandated to have sectoral representation of the underprivileged. Gender
and Development programs are in the process of being integrated with the various
structures and institutions in the country. But legislation is one thing; implementation is
another. It is in the faithful implementation of these laws that the country failed. Inequality
is 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 oriented

governance are: (1) creation of a wide-based of representation in the Congress;
(2) a two-tiered legislature or bicameralism which subjects legislation to the
evaluation of national and district legislators; and (3) necessity of public
hearings 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
especially when their acts affect public interest.
most
- Accountability comes in various forms: political, hierarchical, and
managerial
officials to the people
accountability. Politicalthey represent. Hierarchical
accountability refers to the accountability
accountability refers to the
of public
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.
CURRENT STATE
GOVERNANCE
PHILIPPINE
S
 The Philippines is plagued by bad governance. Based on the six
dimensions of governance in the Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGI), it
ranks in the lower half of the percentile. In 2010-2011, the Philippines ranked
only 85th in the Global Competitive Index (GCI), lagging behind most of its
Southeast Asian neighbors. The decline of trust on the actors of governance
and the consequential poor economic condition were brought about by the
systemic corruption among and between public officials and private
organizations. In 2013, it ranked 94th among 177 countries in the Corruption
Perception Index. Among the key institutions in the Philippines perceived to
be most corrupt based on the Global Corruption Index are “political parties,”
“judiciary,” “police,” “public officials and civil servants,” and “legislature.”
This means all branches of the Philippine government are now challenged.