INTRODUCTION

A. STUDY OF POLITICAL SCIENCE

Meaning of Political Science
Reduced to its simplest terms, political science is the systematic study of the state and
government. The word political is derived from the Greek word polis, meaning city, or what
today would be the equivalent of a sovereign state. The word science comes from the Latin
word scire, to know.
(1)The science of politics, therefore, has, as its formal object, a basic knowledge and
understanding of the state and of the principles and ideals which underlie its organization and
activities.
(2)It is primarily concerned with the association of human beings into a body politic, or a
political community (one organized under government and law).
(3)As such, it deals with those relations among men and groups which are subject to control by
the state, with the relations of men and groups to the state itself, and with the relations of the
state to other states.
Scope of Political Science
Political Science is a very comprehensive field. Its curriculum is almost certain to include courses
in political theory, public law, and public administration as well as in various more specialized
subjects.
(1)Political theory. The entire body of doctrine relating to the origin, form, behavior, and
purposes of the state are dealt with in the study of this subject.
(2)Public law. The (a) organizations of governments, (b) the limitations upon government
authority, (c) the powers and duties of governmental offices and officers, and (d) the obligations
of one state to another are handled in thestudy of public law. In contradistinction to the rules of
private law, which governs the relations among individuals, public law is so specialized that
separate courses are offered in each of its subdivisions constitutional law
(A, b), administrative law (c), and international law (d).
(3)Public administration. In the study of public administration, attention is focused upon the
methods and techniques used in the actual management of state affairs by executive, legislative,
and judicial branches of government.
As the complexity of government activities grows, the traditional distinctions among the powers
of these branches become even less clear-cut. Today, legislative bodies have been forced to
delegate greater discretion to executive officers responsible for the conduct of government
policies and powers. Thus, we find many administrative agencies exercising quasi-legislative and
quasi-judicial powers, i.e., powers which are legislative (see
Art. VI, Sec. 1) and judicial (see Art. VIII, Sec. 1) in nature.
Interrelationship with other branches of learning.
No precise and definitive boundaries can be placed around a subject as comprehensive as
political science. It shares many points of common interest with other social disciplines.
(1)History. The bond between the political scientist and the historian is obvious in the
observation that history is past politics and politics present history. The political scientist

frequently adopts a historical approach and employs the knowledge of the past when he seeks
to interpret present and probable developments in political phenomena.
(2)Economics. Until late in the 19th century, political science and economics (the study of the
production, distribution, and conservation, and consumption of wealth) were coupled inter the
name political economy.
Today, these fields are jointly concerned with the fact that economic conditions affect the
organization, development, and activities of states, which in turn modify or even prescribe
economic conditions. The political scientist regularly adopts an economic approach when
seeking to interpret such matters as public financial policies and government regulation of
business.
(3)Geography. Geopolitics (a science concerned with the study of the influences of physical
factors such as population pressures, sources of raw materials, geography, etc., upon domestic
and foreign politics) indicates one approach which a political scientist frequently must adopt to
help explain such phenomena as the early growth of democracy in Great Britain and the United
States and its retarded growth in certain Continental Europe, and the rise of authoritarian
governments in developing countries.
(4)Sociology and anthropology. The political scientist, the sociologist (who specializes in the
study of society as a whole), and the anthropologist (who studies mankind in relation to
physical, social, and cultural development) are all deeply concerned with the origins and nature
of social control and governmental authority, with the abiding influences of race and culture
upon society, and with the patterns of collective human behavior.
(5) Psychology. The political scientist as well as the psychologist promotes studies of the mental
and emotional processes motivating the political behavior of individuals and groups. One of the
many topics which thepolitical scientist handles from a psychological approach is that of public
opinion, pressure groups, and propaganda.
(6) Philosophy. The concepts and doctrines of Plato, Aristotle and Locke (and other universal
thinkers about the state) are important to the specialist in academic philosophy and also to the
political scientist. These concepts are the underlying forces in the framing of constitutions and
laws. The political scientist considers the branch of philosophy called ethics, too, when he
contemplates the moral background of proposed changes in social Legislation. Served as his
advisers. One could be a datu chiefly by inheritance, wisdom, wealth, or physical prowess.
(7) Statistics and logic. The political theorist must possess a broad scientific background and
knowledge of current political problems, and he must employ scientific methods in gathering and
evaluating data and in drawing conclusions. These involve a proper application of statistical
procedures for the quantitative measurement of social phenomena and of logical procedures for
the analysis of reasoning.
(8) Jurisprudence. This branch of public law is concerned with the analysis of existing legal
systems and also with the ethical, historical, sociological, and psychological foundations of law. A
comprehension of the
nature of law) whether the natural law or the divine law) and of statues enacted by
legislatures is indispensable to the political theorist.
Law and state are inseparable. All states proclaim laws, effective within their jurisdictions, and
enforce them through a system of penalties or sanctions. To maintain a full understanding of the
facts of political life, the political scientist has to combine the legal with the extra-legal
viewpoints.

In form, the barangay was monarchy with the datu as the monarch.
(3) Social classes in barangay. The people of the barangay were divided into four classes,
namely: the nobility (maharlika), to which the datu belonged, the freemen (timawa), the serfs
(aliping namamahay), and the slaves (aliping sagigilid).
(4) Early laws. A legal system already existed in the Philippines even in pre-colonial times. The
early Filipinos had both written and unwritten laws.
The written laws were promulgated by the datus. The two known written codes in the preSpanish era are the Maragtas Code which was said to have been written about 1250 A.D. by
Datu Sumakwel of Panay, and the
Kalantiaw Code, also of Panay. The unwritten laws consisted of customs and traditions which
had been passed down from generations to generation.
(5) Comparison with older ancient governments. It can be said that the laws of the barangay
were generally fair. The system of government, although defective was not so bad considering
the conditions in other lands inthe age during which it flourished. An eminent scholar has written:
The
Filipino people, even in the prehistoric times had already shown high intelligence and moral
virtues; virtues and intelligence clearly manifested in their legislation, which, taking into
consideration the circumferences and the epoch in which it was framed, was clearly as wise, as
prudent, and as humane, as that of the nations then at the head of civilization.
Government during the Spanish period.
(1) Spains title to the Philippines. It was based on the discover made by Ferdinand Magellan, in
1521, consummated by its conquest by Miguel
Lopez de Legazpi 45 years later and long possession for almost 4 centuries, until it was
terminated in 1898, when by the Treaty of Paris, the Philippines was ceded by Spain to the United
States.
(2) Spanish colonial government. From 1565 to 1821, the Philippines was indirectly governed by
the King of Spain through Mexico because of the distance of the Philippines from Spain. From
1821, when Mexico obtained her independence from Spain, to 1898, the Philippines was ruled
directly from
Spain. The council in Spain responsible for the administration of the
Philippines was the Council of the Indie. In 1837, it was abolished and legislation for the
Philippines was temporarily performed by the Council of
Ministers. From 1863, the Ministry of Ultramar (colonies) exercised general powers of supervision
over Philippine affairs.
Three times during the Spanish period (1810 1813, 1820 1823, and
1836 1837), the Philippines was given representation in the Spanish
Cortes, the legislative body of Spain. A basic principle introduced by Spain to the Philippines was
the union of the church and the state.

(3) Government in the Philippines unitary. The government which Spain established in the
Philippines was centralized in structure and national in scope. The barangays were consolidated
into towns (pueblos) each headed by a gobernadorcillo (little governor), popularly called capitan,
and the towns into provinces, each headed by a governor who represented the Governor
General in the province