Philippine Politics and Governance 

POLITICS

• Gr. politika or affairs of the cities (polis)
• set of activities that are associated with decision making in groups
• power relations between individual
• distribution resources or status
• is the exercise of power, the science of government, the making of collective decisions, the allocation of scarce resources, and the practice of management and leadership.

CHARACTERISTICS OF POLITICS

(Shievely, 2013)

1. Politics always involves the making of collective decisions for group of people.

2. Those decisions are made by some members of the group exercising power over other members of the group.

VALUES OF POLITICS

1. Politics helps you to know your rights.

2. Politics clarifies what you yourself believe.

3. Politics is a living, breathing subject.

4. Politics helps you to understand our nation's parties.

5. Politics prepares you for adult life.

GOVERNANCE

• L. Gubernare, Gr. Kubernaein "to steer"
• manner of steering or governing, directing or controlling a group of people or a state
• the process of decision-making and the process by which decisions are implemented (or not implemented.)
• directly related to politics since politics is the art of governance
• exercise of power or authority by political leaders for the well-being of the citizens
• its complexity includes the promulgation of policies that affect directly human and institutions; economic and social development
• there's a great deal in managing the proper utilization of the resources

CHARACTERISTICS OF GOOD GOVERNANCE

1. Participation- everyone can directly or indirectly partake in governmental processes.

2. Rule of Law- there's impartiality of the legal framework and full protection of human rights and dignities.

3. Transparency- information is freely accessible.

4. Responsiveness- service to all stakeholders with a reasonable timeframe.

5. Consensus-oriented- there's a general agreement or unanimity of views or opinions and in facts.

6. Effectiveness and Efficiency-result-oriented and best performance within the available resources.

7. Equitable and Inclusive- "fair and for all."

8. Accountability- "Do you take full responsibility of your actions?"

GOVERNMENT

• group of people with the authority to govern a country or a state
• the people is the government

Philippines is a republic with a presidential form of government wherein power is equally divided among its three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial. The government seeks to act in the best interests of its citizens through this system of check and balance.