Patricia Anne G.

Tamayo POL201
1POL1 Mr. Amr Solon Sison, M.A

With the growing political polarization of the Philippine Society (Pula

vs. Dilaw), how can the study of politics and the discipline of political
science provide a mere rational and tempered voice and insight on the
issues and controversies that have led to this segmented Politics of the
Nation?

Political parties aren't new in the Philippine setting. The Liberal Party
and the PDP-Laban have been established in 1946, founded by Former
President Manuel Roxas and 1982 which was founded by Aquilino
Pimentel Jr. respectively (Banlaoi and Carlos, 1996). Although the Liberal
Party has been in the political scene much longer than PDP-Laban, the
latter was able to catch up, popularity-based. From 1946 to 1971, when the
authoritarian rule began, the Philippines practiced a two-party system
which was mainly dominated by the Liberal Party and
the Nacionalista Party. There were some movements or individual
candidates that attempted to compete with the two parties, but none
of which were able to make their movements into parties. After the 1986
democratization, political instability occurred. There are factors to why
political instability developed, During the pre-Marcos era, there were only
two competing parties, but after the democratization, a number of new
parties were established and they started to compete with the two
leading parties, mainly the Liberal Party, it being the strongest party.
There were two new competitors, the Lakas Party and
the Lapian ng Masang Pilipino (Organization of the FIlipino Masses). Also
by this time, other small, unfamiliar parties and individual candidates
increased and gained more attention than in the pre-Marcos era. (Kasuya,
2009).
Today, the strongest and most influential parties are the Liberal Party
and PDP-Laban, which is more known as Pula vs. Dilaw. Being influential
means there are a lot of issues and controversies entailed to these parties,
involving the Aquino administration and the current government, the
Duterte administration. Issues entailed to the former administration is that
their public officials are corrupt or they haven't contributed to the "change"
that the people wanted for the country. For the Duterte administration, the
issue of extra-judicial killings is what people are mainly concerned about.
Henry Ide stated in his journal, The North American Review, Vol. 186,
that, "He [Filipino] is ignorant of all political institutions and civil duties".
(Ide, 1907, pg. 512). William Taft also stated in his journal, The Annals of
the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Vol. 20, "They are
very ignorant, very docile, very timid, very respectful of authority
accompanied by any show of force at all, and are credulous to a degree
that can hardly be understood in this country". (Taft, 1902, pg. 307).
Ignorance is one of the negative characteristics that Filipinos have, they
have political inclinations without first learning about the politics of the
State, its principles and how it works. Some might be knowledgeable about
the basics, the advocacies of each party, but they might not know the in-
depth situations and the issues that the parties are involved in. They make
assumptions, and with these assumptions, they take the side of the party
they think is right which results to them having biases. These biases are
the reasons why the political parties are being even more segmented than
they should normally be. Because of the people's opinions or even
hatred against the other parties, more conflicts are created and the
polarization gets worse.
The discipline of political science and its principles can provide
a rational and tempered insight by helping the people formulate rationales
based on theories taught and not merely based on opinion and applying the
approaches that were originated and used by Western social scientists in
the Philippines. Approaches such as rational choice theory, neo-
institutionalism, and behavioralism. These approaches when applied might
help the Philippine society, if they are enlightened in a proper way. Filipinos
should be fully aware and knowledgeable of who their candidates are, what
their advocacies are and also the issues associated to them. Also,
the study of politics will help members of the Philippine society to weigh
issues that affect their everyday lives based on principles and not on
political inclinations. Filipinos should choose who they want to vote not
based on their biases or because of the opinions of other
people, but because of what they believe in, because the principles of the
candidate are the same as theirs.
Whether for Liberal Party or for PDP-Laban, the Filipino people
should be aware of the happenings involving politics in the country. They
should not be ignorant about their political participation and they
should always keep in mind their principles in life. Also, political parties
should not let the opinions of people who are against them create further
conflicts between them. Political parties are there for a reason, they have
their own principles and their own beliefs as to what they want to achieve
for the country and Filipinos should respect each and every one of it.
 References:

Banlaoi, R. C., & Carlos, C. R. (1996). Political parties in the Philippines:

from 1900 to the present. Makati City: Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung.
FI B 022056

Kasuya, Y. (2009). Presidential bandwagon: parties and party systems in

the Philippines. Manila: Anvil. FI B 032922

Ide, H. C. (1907). Philippine Problems. The North American

Review, 186, 510-524

Taft, W. H. (1902). Political Parties in the Philippines. The ANNALS

of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 20, 3-8.