UTS - Political Self

• Defining Filipino Identity through:

  • Values
  • Traits
  • Community
  • Institutional Factors
• Precolonial Era:

  • The Filipinos were free
  • Balangay - the system of government wideranging in small units; derived from a wooden boat used by the community for their living.
  • Antonio Pigafetta - scribe of Ferdinand Magellan, revealed that the natives of the Philippine islands were autonomous and economically prosperous.
• Miguel Lopez de Legazpi


  
  

  • Sanduguan : A mutual promise of helping one another in times of need and development.
  • Katapatan : Being true to one’s promise
  • For 3 centuries, the Filipinos helped colonizers build their military fortress, paid their taxes, joined the civil guards and constructed their government and religious infrastructures.
  • However, the Spaniards didn’t remain faithful. They required the natives to render forced labor, they monopolized the market , grabbed lands, and kept the freedom of Filipinos limited and made them ignorant .
• End of the 3rd Century


  
  

  • Few Educated Indios :
  • Faithful to the traditional values and traditions of the prosperous balangay
  • Reminded themselves of the original kinship pact
  • They manifested the value of katapangan.
  • Katapangan :
  • Courage
  • Fought back against the oppressive rule of the colonizers.
• Dr. Jose Rizal


  
  

  • Used his talent and skill as a poet and a writer to enlighten the Filipinos about the oppressive structures brought by the colonizers.
  • He burned in them the spirit of pagka-makabayan (patriotism) once again after centuries of hopelessness and desperation.
  • Noli me Tangere and El Filibusterismo : candidly depicted the worsened tyranny, oppression, and domination of Filipinos under colonial rule.
  • Mi Ultimo Adios : his last written poem, favored the armed wing of the same revolutionary struggle of Andres Bonifacio.
• Andres Bonifacio


  
  

  • He justified the need for a bloody revolution by the fact that there was betrayal of the between brothers.
  • This philosophy honors more than just the social contract existing between the colony and the colonizers.
  • It seeks to uphold and advocate the pact between brothers to sustain kalayaan (liberty) and pakikipagkapwa-tao (being faithful to the goodness of the other.
• Americans


  
  

  • The Americans intervened to help the Filipinos win the war and gain liberation from Spain.
  • In 1989, the country gained independence from Spain, but for the next 50 years, the Americans remained and continued to intervene with its political, educational, economic, and military affairs.
  • The Filipino revolutionists began to suspect that the Americans do not have the plans to leave the country.
  • Thus, the Philippine-American war broke and costed the lives of thousands of Filipinos and Americans.
• Americans


  
  

  • The superiority and might of American military led to the surrender of Emilio Aguinaldo and this signified the end of the revolutionary struggles of the Filipinos.
  • Thus, Manuel Quezon, a political pragmatist, brought the fight to the US Congress and won the Jones Law. He became the Commonwealth President.
  • In 1946, the country finally received its independence.
• Japanese


  
  

  • Just shortly after gaining independence from US, the Japanese occupied the country and established the Japanese-sponsored Philippine Republic.
• Jose P. Laurel


  
  

  • cushioned the impact of the atrocities and violence by constantly winning the trust of the Japanese while faithfully serving the suffering Filipinos.
  • He was the guerilla who fought his battle not in the jungles, but in the embattled office in Malacañang.
  • The defeat of Japan in World War II also meant the regaining of Philippine independence. Since then, we struggled to rebuild our communities and the structures of our democracy.
• Ferdinand Marcos Sr.


  
  

  • Filipinos lived their liberated hopes and dreams until the establishment of the 1973 Marcos Constitution. The Philippines was once again under an authoritarian rule because of Ferdinand Marcos Sr.
  • Since then, we have lost our freedom and succumbed to the mercy not of foreign colonizers but of a fellow Filipino, wanting to pursue his developmental ideologies.
  • The dictator initially delivered the needs of the Filipino people by improving infrastructures and government systems.
• People Power Revolution


  
  

  • After 13 years under Martial Law, the people became fed up with so much corruption, injustice and violence that eventually led to EDSA Revolution. This remains to be a compelling message to the world that the Filipinos value freedom so dearly.
  • The historical bloodless EDSA People Power Revolution guided the promulgation of the 1987 constitution.
• 1987 Constitution


  
  

  • This defined how the institutions and systems of government function in the way of democracy.
  • From Cory Aquino to the present administration, the Filipinos became highly vigilant and watchful to safeguard the democratic processes in the government and communities.
  • The people’s assertions to peaceful and assertive means of participation to democratic election and representation are healthy indications that the Filipinos have matured in their quest for real independence.
• Article 13, Section 3


  
  

  • The government shall afford full protection of Filipino workers here and abroad, and provide equality of employment opportunities.
• Article 13, Section 3


  
  

  • That everyone guarantees the right of workers to self-organization, collective bargaining and negotiations, and peaceful concerted activities in accordance with law.
• Article 13, Section 3

  • That institutions recognize the rights of farmers and land owners, as well as cooperatives and farmers’ organizations
• Article 13, Section 7


  
  

  • That authorities protect the rights of subsistence fisherfolks.
• Article 13, Section 15


  
  

  • That the people may pursue and protect, within the democratic framework, their legitimate and collective interest through peaceful and lawful means.
• Article 13, Section 16


  
  

  • That the government ensures the right of the people and their organizations to effective and reasonable participation at all level of social, political, economic decision-making.
• Article 16, Section 32


  
  

  • That congress provides a system of initiative and referendum where people can directly propose and enact or reject laws passed by congress of local legislative body.
• Democracy


  
  

  • THE RULE OF THE PEOPLE
  • Two Greek words:
  • demos - the people;
  • kratos - rule
  • It is the awareness and understanding that the self and community are both the foundation of democratic practice and the result of it.
  • Yet, studies confirm that the presence of democratic institutions is no guarantee that the people are able to exercise their rights and obligations.
• Attributes of Democracy

  
  

  • Empowerment of the People
  • Total Development
  • Accountability of Public Officials
  • Unity
  • Consolation
  • Delivery Services
  • Promoting Respect for the rights of others
  • Justice
  • Popular decision-making
  • Fair and Impartial System of Justice
  • Concern for their welfare
  • Equity
• Action Agenda for Democracy

  1. Improve the political and social environment and reduce poverty through structural reforms in order to foster a sense of community and enable citizens to exercise their rights and fulfill their obligations.
• Action Agenda for Democracy

  2. Continually re-examine societal institutions responsible for value formation so that they inculcate rather than indoctrinate democratic and citizenship values.
• Action Agenda for Democracy

  3. Incorporate cross-cultural activities in public and private sector programs, including those of schools, churches, NGOs, and POs, so as to recognize ethnolinguistic and cultural diversity in the country and encourage the sharing of experiences.
• Action Agenda for Democracy

  4. Further promote the use of Filipino and Philippine languages in all transactions so as to enable the articulation of citizenship and democratic views and values.
• Action Agenda for Democracy

  5. Continue to harness institutional as well as informal mechanisms that open up space for the exercise of citizenship and democracy - conflict resolution processes, face-to-face dialogues, partnership among groups, sectors, even the government.
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