State and Non-state institutions

• Power: is at the heart of a political system, in political and sociological context, it is the capacity to influence the actions, behaviors, and decisions of another individual. The play for it can involve individual, a group, or a large organization. There are three sources of it: force, influence, and authority
• Force: is the actual use of power by threatening coercion or consequence to impose an action or decision over another
• Influence: is exercised through persuasion and relationship. Having this means one can modify another person's behavior and decision making without using force; thus, this change can be seen as building loyalty and respect influential leaders. Usually motivate other to achieve a certain goal and accomplish a task
• Authority: is the power generated from legitimate means such as an election. There are three types of this: Traditional, Rational-Legal, and Charismatic
• Traditional Authority: stems from absolute power passed on from generation to generation. Some may claim divine recognition to justify this authority. Examples of these monarchies are those in the United Kingdom, Spain and Japan
• Rational Legal Authority: comes from the constitution of a country. The leaders exercising this power are elected, and they get their power from the written laws of the political system. The president, vice-president, senators, and other officials of the Philippine government are some examples of people bestowed with this authority and the provisions of this authority are enshrined in the Philippine Constitution
• Charismatic Authority: is power derived from the personality of a leader exuding charisma. This is the compelling attraction or charm of a person that can be used to inspire others. This is revolutionary and unstable. If the leader cannot fulfill his or her promise, the charisma may fade away.
• The state as a social institution can be studied according to various sociological perspectives. Functionalist, conflict, and interactionist
• Functionalist perspective: the state has four main manifest functions: (1) maintain peace and order, (2) plan and direct the society, (3) meet social needs, and (4) manage international relations
• Conflict perspective: sees the state as an all-controlling government that constricts people's movement to maintain the status quo, which can be seen in the social structure of the society. This social structure is a cause of poverty and crime in society.
• Interactionist perspective does not employ a large-scale study on the government or the state, but rather a micro-level analysts of symbols that maintain the status quo or how the power is arranged in the government. The way politician talk, act, and make decisions is what interests those who study under this perspective. While what is seen on TV or social media are mere shows or the upfront of politicians, the real politics is behind closed-door meetings and lobbying efforts
• Cultural anthropologist Elman Service (1962) classified human society into four categories - bands, tribes, chiefdoms, and state. This classifications is based on the densities of human population and complexities of its relationships
• Band: the type of organization with the lowest complexity. Its members are few, rarely exceeding 100 in population. They have the closest relationship in any type of organization, as most of these are members of few families co-existing with one another. This is an egalitarian society - meaning, everyone is equal and therefore, the band has no leader
• Tribes are composed of segmentary linages or clusters of families, with about 100 to 500 people.
• Each member of a tribe shows loyalty to his or her lineage.
• Tribes can be a complex society, as each lineage can compete for leadership in the tribe.
• The settlement of a tribe can be immobile, as some tribes are agricultural or pastoral.
• Tribes are egalitarian societies, meaning they can accumulate some wealth but not enough to deprive other members.
• Laws in a tribe are not codified and are not crafted to determine who is guilty, as its goal is to resolve conflict within the tribe.
• When needed, various ways can be used to determine guilt or innocence in a tribe, including calling on the supernatural or giving a trial by ordeal.
• Chiefdom: is ranked society. In a ranked society, social classes exist, along with the concept of wealth and power. They are known to exercise economic exchange to reallocate and redistribute wealth from its members to central authority. Its leaders occupy an office in the society, which is permanent. When the leader dies or is replaced, a successor can be called upon to occupy the office. Ranked societies employ social stratification as in the caste system in India and the social classes of ancient Philippine societies.
• State: The largest and most formal organization. This is an organized political organization run by a government. To achieve its goal, a state uses its powers to direct the members. Some of these powers include taxation power, eminent domain, and police powers. To exercise its powers, the state selects its leaders by various means, such as election, succession of monarchies, or appointment
• The 1987 constitution specifies the three branches of the Philippine government - executive, legislative, and judiciary
• Legislative branch: composed of the Senate and House of Representatives, crafts laws that would benefit the country and ensure that the government is working properly
• Executive branch: headed by the president, vice-president, and the cabinet secretaries, executes the laws that the legislative branch makes. It also disburses the government's budget according to what it deems important
• Judiciary branch: Headed by the chief Justice and the members of the Supreme Court, dispenses justice, ensures that the fundamental rights of the people are followed, and interprets the constitution and the laws of the land
• The Constitutional Commissions are four independent commissions established by the 1987 constitution, each of which has its own function outside of the government structure. These commissions are not under any of the branches of government and are financially independent. These commissions are the commission on Elections (COMELEC), commission on human rights (CHR), Civil Service Commission (CSC), and Commission on Audit (COA)
• COMELEC: has the mandate to conduct elections, certify the results of said elections, and proclaim the winners. It protects the sanctity of the vote and promotes the right to suffrage of every Filipino. The COMELEC is independent because it cannot be influenced by any branch of the government in its mandate to provide fair and honest elections.
• Commission of Human Rights (CHR) has the mandate to investigate any human rights violation of duty-bearers in the country. Duty-bearers are any social actor that has a particular obligation to respect and promote human rights in the country. It is independent and outside of the government structure so it can investigate any violation of human right abuses within the government
• Civil Service Commission has the mandate to oversee the professionalism and integrity of government actions and personnel. It is considered the central agency for all government employees
• Commission on Audit (COA) has the mandate to audit or examine all government accounts and expenditure. It has the power to disallow any irregular or unnecessary expenses by any government agencies, as well as to recommend the filing of charges of corruption or plunder. It is independent to ensure that no government agency or personnel can influence the outcome of every audit
• The 1987 Constitution provides for two levels of governance in the Philippines via the national government and the local government
• National government: has the power to ensure all laws are followed throughout the country
• Local Government: is tasked to ensure the implementation of the laws within their respective areas. They are the closest to the people. Each LGU can make its own ordinance or laws that can affect only its constituent area; however, it must ensure that these ordinances are not contradictory to the laws of the national government as specified in the constitution. They also have their own budget, which it can allocate to its priority projects
• Non-state institutions: these institutions help in developing better societies but are not under any state or government. Their goal is to collaborate with the government to ensure that the society is functioning well. They function with minimal intervention from the state or government but have sufficient power and influence to cause a change in the society. They take on various forms such as banks and financial institutions, corporations and cooperatives, transnational advocacy groups, nongovernment organizations (NGOs), development agencies, and international organizations
• Various financial institutions are institutions that use financial capital deposits. Commercial, savings, and rural are several types of banks.
• Commercial banks: or universal banks are the largest type of bank in the country. These banks are considered large in terms of (1) number of account deposits, (2) size of assets or proprietary resources such as cash and business investments, and (3) reserve capacity requirements
• Savings bank: banks belonging to this category aim to increase the savings of depositors. These include mortgage banks, private development banks, stock savings, loan associations, and microfinance thrift banks. These banks usually lend to various businesses such as agriculture, industry, and small-medium enterprises
• Rural banks: The smallest type of bank. These banks are usually found in the provinces or rural areas. Because the asset capability of these banks is small, it cannot conduct comprehensive transactions. Often the coverage of this is only a small municipality or city. Their main purpose is to help citizens in the agricultural sector by lending and accepting deposits.
• Corporation is a large type of business that is authorized to act as a single entity, thus separating the finances of the founders, owners, and officers from the corporation itself. They have the right to enter into contracts and borrow money from banks and other financial institutions. They also depend on marketing and advertisements to influence people's wants and needs. They can also hire various celebrities or influencers to convince people to buy the products