Politics in the Modern Philippine Nation-State In a broad sense, politics is about the way individuals systematize themselves and

their lives in a community. It is a joint decision on how they would figure out their way of living in terms of health, education, wealth and ethics. Politics is the activity through which people make, preserve and amend the general rules under which they live. It is an essential social activity, inextricably linked, on the one hand, to the existence of diversity and conflict, and on the other to a willingness to cooperate and act collectively. Politics has been viewed as the art of government or as what concerns the state, as the conduct and management of public affairs, as the resolution of conflict through debate and compromise, and as the production, distribution and use of resources in the course of social existence. Politics in the Philippines takes place in an organized framework of a presidential, representative, and democratic republic whereby the president is both the head of state and the head of government within a multi-party system. This structure revolves around three separate and sovereign yet interdependent branches: Executive Branch, Legislative Branch and the Judicial Branch. Many important events happened in the politics of the Philippines in its recent history, the most striking would be Martial Law. The Philippines was placed under Martial Law by the late President Ferdinand E. Marcos on September 21, 1972. The declaration issued under Proclamation 1081 suspended the civil rights and imposed military authority in the country. Through the efforts of Filipino citizens, with the murder of Senator Benigno Aquino being their inspiration, they have managed to send thousands of Filipinos to the streets calling for Marcos removal from post. This led to the EDSA People Power Revolotuion. This so-called "bloodless revolution" which took place in 1986 was admired worldwide and served as the pride of the Filipino people. However, in the year 2001, another EDSA People Power was held, this time calling for President Joseph Ejercito Estradas removal from post being alleged as the lord of all jeuteng lords for receiving 5

million pesos protection money from jueteng every month during his term of presidency. He was also accused of receiving kickbacks from 170 million pesos excise tobacco tax. These are just some of the most important events in political history of the Philippines. But what are the main problems of this institution? Problems of Philippine Politics Politics is no longer believed to be the 'exclusive domain' of the government and of political parties. (David, 2008) Other social institutions such as the Church, the mass media, and ordinary citizens (even just in their basic role of choosing the leaders of the State) all contribute to the state of politics that we have today. The idea is to make people realize that they are also part of the process of reinventing this social institution; that even though (most of the time) unwittingly, they also contribute to what problems and/or developments this institution undergoes. One of the main problems of the politics in the Philippines is that we continue to elect bad leaders. Randy David mentions that we fail to retain even the plainest lessons. ...that a popular leader is not necessarily a good leader; that honest people who join the government can prevail over a corrupt system; that there are no shortcuts to good governance and that we must first have durable institutions and a culture of honesty before we can expect to have honest and competent politicians. We only center our attention in changing persons rather than changing institutions. We remain fixed on the notion of charismatic leaders who will secure our future rather than on (ordinary) peoples sustained collective effort. (David, 2000) This often leads us to the notion of a trapo. The Philippines' trapo may seem to be feeble, sapless creatures but collectively they play a key role in the country's politics. (Quimpo, 2007). David also mentions that a trapo is a politician who uses wealth to buy power, exploits the poverty of his constituents through selective patronage, and treats public funds and facilities as if they were his own personal resources. He casually makes extravagant promises, and recites a litany of projects and accomplishments in his speeches.

However, it is not solely about being unable to make rational decisions that Filipinos elect 'bad leaders' and 'trapos' but it is also in the culture with which Filipinos rely on when it comes to making decisions. "Loyalty and friendship are values that are cherished in cultures like ours..." says David in "The Issue is Corruption". We tend to support candidates to whom we owe a "debt of gratitude"; interpreting the "benefits given to the many as acts of benevolence of the rulers, rather than as the legitimate entitlements of the recipients". And sometimes even worse, we tend to support those who promise us future benefits in return; choosing approachability over competence or integrity. Another difficulty to understand about how people choose their leaders is that they choose their leaders "not solely on the basis of reason but also of passion." Reason tells us that our preference should be influenced by the candidate's stand on certain issues and/or political platforms but in reality, we tend to choose our leaders based on certain personal characteristics. This is not to say, however, that the fault entirely lies among the people. It is, after all, "...the State [which] is supposed to represent the highest form of collective rationality". While there are flaws from the bottom of the political hirearchy, in the end, the higher officials of the State should also be more accountable to its people. But the State itself also suffers froms inefficiency and misguided agendas. As discussed in "The Powerless Public", there are times wherein the State is unable to fulfill its duties to the people. The State...is nowhere to be found. Its identity has been absorbed, its role preempted, by the free market's influential players. Instead of reassuming its responsibilities, it has "fostered a lie" (David, 1995) to hide its ineptness and complicity; that development comes at a price and we choose to accept it by privately coping with the vexations of negative externalities, as if it were only natural for us to do so. The officials of the State are not exempted from the culture that gives great importance to "Loyalty and friendship". In their case, they become subjected to their political 'alliances' that "they forget that they are accountable to a nation". (David, 2001). However, it does not stop there. As Randy David puts it,

...our problem is not simply that we've had bad men and women in politics. Every society does. Our main problem is that our entire political system; the mechanism by which we govern ourselves, has become dysfunctional. It no longer serves the interests of our people in a complex world. Yet it persists, by design and by public acquiescence. The perpetuation of this dysfunctional system is what breeds corruption, incompetence, and misuse of governmental power. And as we know, some of the most difficult problems of society often cannot be solved within the existing legal framework. This is where People Power came in. The fact is, Estrada was removed from office extra-legally by the direct action of the Filipino people. The People Power is a tool to correct the dysfunctions of borrowed nstitutions", which resulted partly from our past colonial history. It is "more effective than pressure politics" and "more powerful than amending a constitution" (David, 2001). However, It may steer of from its predetermined objectives and be controlled by individuals with hidden agendas. It is also difficult to make it felt in the conduct of the government which it gave birth. Ironically, during the first part of the Marcos regime, there was an absence of meaningful resistance from the people. This has proven to us that we do not have a 'natural affiliation' with democracy after all, with how easy Marcos detained people. (David, 1997) This is partly because we have a 'romanticized' view of democracy that we do not realize it when it has already been 'lost'. A people besieged by extreme poverty, persistent injustice, and lack of social mobility will always feel it has nothing to lose by betting on a forceful figure who presents himself as a social reformer.

Conclusion Philippine politics after Marcos can be observed as back in the good old days - wide, open, irresponsible, but undeniably free. (Country Studies, 2011). In as much as we can be admired of having a democracy that everyone, in theory, can effectively participate and offer themselves and their platforms,

wealth, power and influence makes it more and more difficult to introduce a new breed of leaders unless one participate in the ladder trapos oftentimes work on. We can definitely say that our political system has its flaws, and more often than not it becomes a roadblock in the country's development. Poweful clans control most of government seats that we can even say that our political process were never based on a democratic model (Henderson, 2000). Policies and programs were made in favor of the elite without consideration of social reform. Events following Martial Law and culminating after EDSA may have been the nation's chance for us to write a new narrative of the nation; that it is possible for us to have a genuine revolution not just in the political process but in the people's mindset. Still, 25 years after the restoration of democracy, there's proof that nothing has changed. Voters still look for a messianic figure that can save them from their misery, treating elections and other political process as a marketplace where the voter and the politician can get their desires in exchange of political favors. But with the onset of modernity, we could say that the fate of Philippine politics can be more or less optimistic. Individuals, organizations and movements have sprung up like mushrooms to further the cause and be an alternate voice for social reform, whether at the streets or in the ballots. A wide range of issues has become a staple fare in the news and social media sites. Corruption has not just become a tickle to the senses but a very serious issue that Filipinos expected to be resolved. Post-EDSA, we can attest that Filipinos are becoming more and more aware of issues affecting them; that we, as the nation has become less apathetic and materialistic that expected. However, much work still needs to be done. We are still far from a political process that centers on issues than on the personalities behind them, and this entails a simultaneous change in the system and the Filipino mindset.

Works Cited David, Randolf. "Hopes for Modern Politics." Philippine Daily Inquirer. 5 Sept. 2009. Web. _____________. "Our Love for Democracy." Nation, Self and Citizenship. Pasig: Anvil, 2004. 158-60. Print.

_____________. "People Power and the Law." Nation, Self and Citizenship. Pasig: Anvil, 2004. 145-47. Print. _____________. "The Issue is Corruption." Nation, Self and Citizenship. Pasig: Anvil, 2004. 156-58. Print.

____________. "The Powerless Public." Nation, Self and Citizenship. Pasig: Anvil, 2004. 147-49. Print.
_____________. "The Irrational in Politics." Nation, Self and Citizenship. Pasig: Anvil, 2004. 152-53. Print. _____________. "What Is a Trapo." Nation, Self and Citizenship. Pasig: Anvil, 2004. 149-51. Print. _____________. "When Civil Society Becomes Political." Philippine Daily Inquirer. 11 Oct. 2008. Web. _____________. "Why We Elect Bad Leaders?" 2000. Nation, Self and Citizenship. Pasig: Anvil, 2004. 147-49. Print. Henderson, Clarence. "Philippine Politics and Corruption: A Sociopolitical Digression." Asian Business Strategy. Nov. 2000. Web. 11 Aug. 2011. "Philippines - POLITICS." Country Studies. Web. 11 Aug. 2011. "The Philippines During the Martial Law." Philippine History. Web. 11 Aug. 2011. <http://www.philippine-history.org/martial-law-philippines.htm>. Quimpo, Nathan. "Trapo Parties and Corruption." Solidarity Philippines Australia Network (SPAN). Web 11 Aug 2011. <http://cpcabrisbane.org/Kasama/2007/V21n1/TrapoPartiesAndCorruption.htm>. "The Story of EDSA 2." Web. 11 Aug. 2011. <http://twist14.tripod.com/edsa2/thestory.html>. "What Is Politics?" Skills4Study.Com. Palgrave Macmillan. Web. 11 Aug. 2011.