Election and Political Parties

The Right of Suffrage- One of the greatest powers of the people is the ability to
choose who will lead them, who will represent them, and who will run the government.
Such power is manifested by the people exercising their right to vote during elections.
This right is not actually passing the responsibility of governance to the politicians
and then solely blaming them if things go wrong with the country. Having the right to
choose their leaders only shows that the people share the responsibility in establishing
good government and progress for the country. The elected officials, on the other
hand, must serve as “representatives of the people and are thus with the
corresponding responsibility”
 The right to vote, also known as the Right of Suffrage, is started in
section 1, Article V of the 1987 constitution.
Note: Read the Article V Section 1-2 under the 1987
Philippine constitution.
 Suffrage encompasses not only the process of selecting public officers
but also the “expression of the choice of people on a proposed law or
enactment submitted to them for decision.
 The right of suffrage is not a natural right but a privilege given to the
citizens.
The commission on Election (COMELEC) is the agency that enforces and
administered all laws and regulations relative to the conduct of election in the country.
 The function of COMELEC based on Section 2, Article IX-C of
the 1987 Constitution.
Note: Read the Article IX-C Section 2 under the 1987
Philippine Constitution.

Kinds of Elections
General Elections - By General Elections, we mean the elections for all national and
local officials held simultaneously on the same day.
National Elections- the national elections is an election for national officials such as
President, Vice President, member of the senate and house of representative.
Local Elections- Local elections are elections for local officials in the regions
provinces, cities, and municipalities.
Special election. - are elections held on a date different from that of the regular
elections.

Nature of Suffrage
1. A mere privilege- suffrage is not a natural right of the citizens but merely a
privilege.
2. A political right - , enabling every citizen to participate in the process of
government to assure that it derives its powers from the consent of the
governed (see Art. II sec.1)
3. Plebiscite- to a vote of the people expressing their choice for or against a
propose law or enactment submitted to them. The voters are asked to either
reject or accept the proposal.
4. Referendum- the submission of a law or part thereof passed by the nation or
local legislative body to the voting citizens of a country for their ratification.
5. Initiative- the process whereby the people directly propose and enact laws.
This ca also be used by the people in proposing changes to the fundamental
law of the land.
6. Recall- tenure method by which a public officer may be removed from officer
may be removed from office during his tenure of before the expiration of his
term
7. Referendum – It is the submission of a law or part thereof passed by the
national or local legislative body to the voting citizens of a country for their
ratification or approval.

Electoral System in the Philippines

Electoral systems refer to the detailed constitutional arrangements and voting
systems which convert the vote into a determination of which individuals and
political parties are elected to positions of power. The first step is to tally the
votes, for which various vote counting systems and ballot types are used.
Voting systems then determine the result on the basis of the tally. Most
systems can be categorized as either proportional or majoritarian.

Majority Electoral System – (Second ballot system) the winner must get at
least 50% + 1 vote. In case no one is able to reach the cut-off, another round of
election will be done with either all the original candidates or only selected few
based on criteria.
Proportional Representation – the people vote for parties and each party will
be given the same or almost the same percentage of positions in the
government as the percentage of votes they garnered during the election.
Ex. The right Party won 70% of the votes while the left Party only won 30%of
the total votes of election, in a government of 100 positions the Right party will
be given 70 of those position while the left party will be given 30.

Political Parties
Each party represents a certain group of people in society, ensuring that their rights
and advocacies are voiced out directly to the government. This representation is
usually done through legislative bills and resolution, a lot of political parties try to
secure a place in the legislative branch to have their own voice in the government.

POLITICAL PARTIES - group of people organized for the purpose of winning

government power, by electoral or other means • interest holders united by a definite
set of party programs and attempt to advance a consistent line of policy • main goal is
to gain control of the levers of government so that they can realize their policies or
programs.
Ex. Libiral Party, Nationalista Party, GABRIELA Women's Party
A political Party’s participation in the elections and the government serves several
functions such as:
1. Expressing and aggregating social interest.
2. Recruiting and training future politicians.
3. Formulating Policies and programs for the government as commonly seen in
their platform.
4. Legitimizing the political system by embedding the process and system in to the
consciousness of the participants.
There are types of party systems around the world depending on the method use in
classifying them. The popular method is based on the number of parties existing in a
country.
1. One party System – there is a monopoly of power; as the name suggests, there
is just one existing party.
2. Two-Party System - There are two parties going against each other for
domination in the government, such as in the US there are only two parties. In
other countries, there are two plus one or more party system where there are
two major parties and several minor ones.
3. Multiparty system - as the name implies more than two parties complete with
almost equal capabilities in affecting and winning in the political competition.

The party-list system aims to provide a balanced representation in the Congress.

Party-list representatives comprise 20% of the total number of representatives in the
House of representatives. Only those party-lists who are registered with the COMELEC
can participate in the party-list elections and a person can only be nominated in one
party as its representative. The representative must be a Filipino citizen as well as
registered voter.
Advantages of Political Parties
 They can Organize political rallies, campaign literature and speakers.
 They help to mold public opinion which is essential in a democracy
 They select capable men to run for public office
 They encourage collective responsibility in politics, so that in case of bad
government the people know whom to blame – the party in power.
Disadvantages of Political Parties
 In their desire to win election; they may distort the truth and give biased in
formation including black propaganda.
 They may produce hostility and lack of unity among the people by their rivalry
 They do not always choose the best men as their candidates, hence many
elected officials proved incompetent and corrupt.
 They responsible for such evil political practices as PAKIKISAMA, BRIBERY,
GRAFT.

Note:
 1. Read the Information sheet first and answer the following activities bellow.
Write it on a one whole sheet of paper. Activities 1 and 2 will be submitted
right before or after the end of the class to your teacher.
2. Activity 3 will be submitted on Thursday October 5, together with your
narrative report. Late submission will have a corresponding deduction on the
said activity so submit it on time.
3. You can use our computer laboratory for your research work and
performance task. Ask for the assistance of Ma’am Teresa Rabago or any
teacher in charge in the laboratory.
4. Do not misplace this information and activity sheet because this will serve
as your information guide and also your notes for our lessons for this
quarter.

Activity 1. Answer the Following questions. (Formative assessment)

1. Why People vote?
2. How people choose their leaders?
3. What are the responsibilities of the people in making election successful?
4. Do political parties affect people’s perception in choosing their leaders?

Activity 2. Performance Task (Individual task)

Find out the top three party-list representatives who have filed the most bills that
became law during their terms in office. Cite an Example of the laws or programs they
made. Would you support their advocacies? Why or why not?

Activity 3. (Research work) Assignment

Give the Meaning of each party as stated in Republic Act 7941 or the Party-list System
Act.
1. Political Party
2. National party
3. Sectoral Party
4. Sectoral Organization
5. Coalition

Strictly no copy paste!!!

Sir Robert 