6
[Reference:
Foundations Of Education
By:
Francisco M. Zulueta
Elda M. Maglaya
Government and Political Institution
State Defined
Some political thinkers define the state as a group or groups of people, permanently occupying a definite territory, independent foreign rule, and having an organized government. An American authority defined the state as a “community of persons, more or less numerous, permanently occupying a definite territory, independent of external control and processing an organized government to which the great body inhabitants renders habitual obedience.
According to Cicero, an eminent Roman orator and writer, the state is composed of numerous societies united by a common sense of right and mutual participation of its members.
Aristotle define the state as a union of families and villages having for its end a perfect and self-sufficing life. Professor S.A. Johnson defined the state as “a relatively large group of people inhabiting a more or less definite area of land, possessing sovereignty, and living under a government that is generally obeyed at home and recognized abroad.” According to Weber, the state has the monopoly over the legitimate use of force within a territory. The four elements of a state are people, territory, government and sovereignty.
Government exists in all human groups and societies, but the form of politics and government has various dimensions. Politics refers to the social processes or strategy in any positon of control which people gain, use or lose power. The study of political groups is referred to as the study of power.
The political institution enacts laws, ordinances and rules designed to promote the safety, health, peace and order morals of the community. It can also levy taxes, support educational programs and plan the economy. It provides penalties for those who disobey the laws of the state.
The government is the organization through which the state expresses and enforces its will. The government exist for the benefit of the governed. It is important for the protection of the inhabitants, the administration of justice and the promotion of physical, economic, social and cultural well-being of the people. The preservation of the state from internal and external danger is one of the primary functions of the government. Needless to say, without an organized structure of government, anarchy, a feeling of fear and insecurity, and political anxiety will prevail; and therefore, progress and development will not be realized.
In the Filipino way of life, the political institution is the dominant institution that influences many aspects of the Philippine political, social, economic and cultural activities.
The State
The origin and development of the state has been an interesting study of politics and government. In the absence of the adequate historical and anthropological pieces of evidence that will precisely attest how the state came into being, political thinkers medieval or modern—were compelled to infer various explanations and were just bound to speculate and hypothesize. Some of them assumed that the state was simply a creation of divine powers, the social contrast, the process of evolution or the sheer result of force or conquest. Still others are of the opinion that it evolved from the family as social unit of society; and eventually, grew into larger groups, that of individuals united by affinity.
The State
Development of Political Institutions
Development of Political Institutions
In most societies, politics interwoven in the fabric of everyday life. It is in this premise that the development of political institutions plays an important role in the lives of the people in a particular society.
As a societies grew and developed and became more complex political institutions expanded and became more powerful. It may be noted that in very isolate and primitive societies, there was no ruler and decisions were made by the group. As societies evolved from simple bands, they grew and gradually increased their sizes, became wealthier and consequently, their rulers were able to control larger areas using their powers. Eventually, the political institutions became a vehicle of political activities affecting the lives of the population.
It is the political institutions that pass laws and develop policies that reflect the values and traditions of the inhabitants by way of providing social services; e.g., education, public health and welfare, collecting taxes, allocating funds, conducting elections, managing and deciding on matters related to foreign service and issues on peace and order. Political institutions also decide which values should be preserved and which must be limited to maintain social equilibrium. The institution sets up social norms and values as to who will possess “the monopoly of the legitimate use of the physical force within a given territory.”
Progress
The State and Political Structure
The State and Political Structure
One of the fundamental functions of political institutions is to legitimize the means in which power is exercised in a society. Power, according to Max Weber, a German sociologist, is “the probability that one actor within a social relationship will be in a position to carry out his own will despite resistance”.
The Philippine as a Democratic and Republican State
The Philippine as a Democratic and Republican State
As a republican state, it is a government by representatives chosen by the people at large. The essence of a republican state is indirect rule. The people have established the government to govern themselves. The officers from the highest to the lowest are servants of the people and not their masters. They can only exercise powers delegated to them by the people who remain the ultimate source of political power and authority.
The features and manifestations of a democratic and republic state are:
1.The existence of the bill of rights
2.The observance of the rule of the majority
3.The observance of the principle that” ours is a government of laws and not of men.”
4.The presence of elections through popular will
5.The observance of the principle of separation of powers and the system of checks and balances
6.The observance of the law in public office
7.The observance of the principle that the state cannot sued without its consent
Local government refers to a political subdivision of a state which is constituted by law and has substantial control of local affairs, with officials elected or otherwise, locally selected.
The structure and role of local government are known to every citizen in the barangay as an institutional framework of national government. It is undoubtedly an effective mechanisms of politics in bringing the affairs of government to the people through active participation on matters affecting their welfare.
The local government constitutes the provinces, cities, municipalities and barangays. It is an invaluable instrument of the people by which they participate in critical decision making during a period crisis. It is not only an instrument of “participatory democracy”, but, more significantly, it is an evolving dynamic mechanism for democratic action in the attainment and promotion of community interest and goals. It facilitates government programs, projects and activities and therefore, governmental efficiency is high.
Local Government
Local Government
Local government refers to a political subdivision of a state which is constituted by law and has substantial control of local affairs, with officials elected or otherwise, locally selected.
The structure and role of local government are known to every citizen in the barangay as an institutional framework of national government. It is undoubtedly an effective mechanisms of politics in bringing the affairs of government to the people through active participation on matters affecting their welfare.
The local government constitutes the provinces, cities, municipalities and barangays. It is an invaluable instrument of the people by which they participate in critical decision making during a period crisis. It is not only an instrument of “participatory democracy”, but, more significantly, it is an evolving dynamic mechanism for democratic action in the attainment and promotion of community interest and goals. It facilitates government programs, projects and activities and therefore, governmental efficiency is high.
Commissioner Jose N. Nolledo, Chairman on Local Governments in the 1986 Constitutional Commission said:” If the wealth of the Nation must be equitably diffused, so must political power be shared and dispersed. A shared responsibility in a decentralized government heightens access of the people and enables the people to end their passivity; thus making them truly self-reliant, as well as enabling them to achieve maximum freedom, peace and order. Decentralization encourages the people to unleash their creative energies. It destroys the Capital City syndrome as it overcomes the psychological dependency of local areas upon the center of government. It can be said that centralization which emphasizes the unjust maintenance of status quo is an idea merely of order while decentralization which promotes entrepreneurship and innovation is truly a concept of freedom.”
The basic features of local government units are as follows:
1.It must exist as an organized entity having a formal structure and certain basic powers, such as the capacity to enter into contract and own property.
2.It must possess governmental accountability to the public with its officials, either elected or appointed.
3.It must have substantial autonomy, especially the right to raise revenue for its budgetary requirements.
Decentralization, as an important feature of local government, is the process of breaking up the concentration of power in the central government and allocating portions of that power to the provincial and local units. It is the delegation of authority to field units of the same department. It is assumed that political decentralization will increase the ability of elected local officials to deal with the needs of their constituents. It will be easier and faster to coordinate government activities because they are in constant touch with the residents and can readily modify programs of priorities. Moreover, the citizens’ participation and political responsiveness are all expected to generate with political decentralization.