2.

Why is human nature important to understand the development of a government, and how does this
apply in the situation of the Philippines?

3. Which type of power is more credible to explain certain contemporary issues of politics in the
Philippines, and why?

4. Which do you think is the most important function of a constitution, and why (in the situation of the
Philippines)?

The Constitution is the fundamental law of the land in which all other laws are subject to it. In
almost all democratic States, Constitution is the foremost authority. According to the International IDEA
2017 Constitution Brief, A constitution serves multiple purposes. Above all, it empowers public
institutions, and both authorizes and regulates the exercise of public power. It provides a legal and
political basis for enacting laws, organizing public service and settling disputes. The “1987 Constitution”
is the supreme law of the Philippines. It contains the most important rules of our political system. It
protects the rights of the people inside the country and explains their obligations. It defines the
institutions of the Philippines, what their powers are, and how they may use their powers. A.V. Dicey, a
famous constitutional theorist defines the constitution as “All rules which directly or indirectly affect the
distribution or the exercise of sovereign power in the state”. Therefore, I deem that the most important
function of the constitution is first and foremost to declare and define the boundaries of its political
community. This sets the parameters for covering the basic grounds on the extent or scope of the
government’s power and where it applies to.

Having a clear and well-defined territorial boundary over a political community plays a large role
in the country’s development as it affects not only the political but also the economic standing of a
country. According to UP Marine Science Institute, the territorial dispute between the West Philippine
Sea and China poses a threat to the economic, ecological, and food security of current and future
Filipino generations. Declaring political boundaries before anything else, clears any future
misunderstandings and ensures a smooth enforcement of these laws which fall under the function that
Constitutions can declare and define the boundaries of the political community.

According to the International IDEA Constitution Building Primer there are eight functions in a
constitution and immediately the first we see on that list is “Constitutions can declare and define the
boundaries of the political community.” These boundaries can be territorial and personal - the definition
of citizenship. Thus, a constitution often distinguishes between those inside and outside the polity.
Section 1 of the 1987 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines Article X is also referring to the
territorial and political subdivisions of the country. There won’t be a constitution if there is no territory
in the first place, therefore If there is a hierarchy of rights, the right of territory would rule above all else
and that’s the reason why it’s the first article in the constitution not just in our country but majority of
the countries across the globe. Another supporting evidence would be social contract theories which are
associated with famous philosophers such as Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau. A Social Contract is an actual
or hypothetical agreement, between the ruled and their rulers, defining the rights and duties of each.
Therefore, because it involves the citizens that means it should have a territory to rule over and that
rationalizes and justifies the declaration of political boundaries as the most important function of the
constitution. To be able to rule over people you must first set the parameters in terms of geography and
citizenship in which these must be governed with.

6. Why should governance be measured in the contemporary situation of the Philippines?

7. How does power play a role in appropriately and effectively exercising certain rights in the
Philippines?

Far too many people in our country are illiterate in power — what it is, how it operates and why some
people have it. As a result, those few who do understand power wield disproportionate influence over
everyone else. Eric Liu former Director of Legislative Affairs at the white house defines power as the
ability to make others do what you would have them do. Power extends to all areas of life, especially the
civic arena. Liu goes on to say that “power governs how any form of government works. It determines
who gets to determine the rules of the game.” Learning how power operates is key to being effective
and not to be taken advantage of. We first must look at where power comes from, how its exercised and
what we can do to become more powerful in public life.

Civic power comes from six main sources: physical force, wealth, state action, social norms, ideas, and
strength in numbers. Police officers have the power to enforce laws through physical force. Rich people
can influence policy through wealth. Lawmakers exercise their power by creating laws. Our communities
have the power to influence what we deem acceptable and unacceptable through social norms. Great
ideas often spread like wildfire and gain power through the number of people that support them. Think
of the EDSA People Power Revolution.

There are three laws of power. The first is that power is never static. It's always either accumulating or
decaying in a civic arena. The second is that power is like water. It flows like a current through everyday
life. According to the Empirical Observations of Philippine Political Culture there can be two types of
power, Hierarchical (Horizontal) and patrimonial (Vertical). The third is that power compounds. Power
begets more power. Each of these laws, in addition to the six main sources of power, determines who
gets power and how.

You can exercise power by reading and writing, reading is finding things you would like to change in your
community and finding the power that is behind them, studying them. Once you understand who or
what is in control of what you want to change, you must decide which source of power you will rely on
to achieve change. You can study the strategies that others have used in similar situations to achieve
change. To write power requires first that you believe you have the right to write, to be an author of
change. Regardless, there are three things you must do: speak up, organize your ideas, and organize
others around you.
 Do you want power to benefit everyone or only you? Are your purposes pro social or anti-
social? This question isn’t about strategy, its about character which is another complex topic. But we
must keep in mind that the formula for a great citizen lies between Power and Character.

Discussing this topic is dissected into two parts, first is How do I exercise my rights
APPROPRIATELY then How do I exercise my rights Effectively? We must always keep in mind that Rights
aren’t absolute, you may be fighting for certain rights, but these rights might also be stepping on others’
rights. Another thing we should keep in mind is that rights are always motivated which can be classified
into two, Internal Effects and External Effects.

First, Internal Effects, this means that your advocacy and certain rights are motivated because it
is something that you personally went through with your life. According to the basis of Political Culture
by C.J. Montiel, Internal Effects are Subjective elements which are feelings and beliefs or thoughts. This
is classified further by validation, if your rights are motivated Internally, it must be validated. Because
we know that rights are not absolute. You cannot simply just fight for what you think is right. You simply
must reflect and consult. You don’t participate or engage. Because your problem is not representative of
the people who are currently oppressed. You must also assess if your action will be pro social or anti-
social. Second is a question of ethics will this benefit only me or others as well, because what you are
advocating for, may not always be applicable for others. Therefore, you don’t engage and participate.
Same with the latter, you reflect and consult. You must contribute without forcing your own beliefs and
recommendations.

Now, Externally. There are two kinds two validate that, academic and empirical. The best way
for you to understand this issue having substantive concepts in your research is through literature,
published articles, papers written by experts. According to the basis of Political Culture by C.J. Montiel,
these are objective elements which includes practices, symbols and artifacts. To validate academically,
read books and magazines wherein people conduct actual research on the topic. After Academic
validation, you participate and engage. Therefore, it is safe for you to be part of the activities of the
advocacies and certain rights that you are pursuing because there is legitimacy. Next, Empirical means
you are to conduct field research wherein you immerse yourself and visit the place or people your
advocacy is involved with. For example, you advocate for accessible education on certain rural areas,
then you must visit these places, conduct studies, ask the people around. Be part of the community.
Understand the oppressed and what they really need.

Now, how do I exercise my rights EFFECTIVELY? We know that when we are motivated the next
in line would be expression. The problem is most of us stop here, for example with the elections, a large
portion of millennials wanted the lesser evils to win and were shocked when certain outcomes aren’t
what was expected, because the context here is that, majority of the voters according to the statistics
were baby boomers overruled by desire and most of the people who would vote for the lesser evil with
a sense of reasoning, apparently weren’t registered voters. They only took part in social media
expression and retweets will not translate to votes, action will. Action is when you engage to be part of
the conversation. You interact with people and talk to them, negotiate with stakeholders, people who
are oppressed, the oppressors. Cooperate with organizations, formulate and create solutions. Write a
document and send it to the administration. That is action.
 Next phase would be, Output. These are tangible results. The results of the action taken would
be Output. Lastly, Outcome. This is different with Output in a way that it is a form of reflective result as
opposed to the latter which is tangible result. This is where change comes in, because you now have
tangible output which changes the lives of the people it has been involved with. To summarize the
process of effectively exercising our rights, it starts with Motivation (Issue with Corruption, governance
problem) – then Expression (Protesting) – Then Action (Registering as Voters) – Output (Good
politicians) – Outcome (Public delivery, Good governance, economy going up). Outcome is whatever the
effect or result of output with the people. How do we effectively exercise our rights? Through this
process.