Title:
PARTICIPATION OF NON-ELITES (MARGINALIZED) IN THE PHILIPPINE POLITICAL SYSTEM: CASE STUDY OF FARMER LEADERS IN GOVERNMENT

Authors:
Reginald S. Vallejos

Volume - 2 Issue - 10, Pages - 4837-4852

Abstract:
Since the restoration of democracy in the Philippines after the 1986 People Power Revolution, several mechanisms were put in place to allow non-elites to participate in the affairs of the government. The 1987 Philippine Constitution even recognized the importance of participation from non-elites. The Local Government Code of 1991 and the Party-list System Act of 1995 further expand non-elite's participation by allowing representatives of their sectors to sit in local government special bodies and providing twenty percent of the total allotted seats in the Philippine House of Representatives for non-elites if they garnered the required number of votes. Four cases of farmer-leaders who were elected into government positions were studied to see whether these mechanisms allowed genuine people's participation. Based on their cases, despite the inclusion of the concept of people's participation in the 1987 Philippine Constitution and the mechanisms that are in place through subsequent laws, genuine participation of non-elites in the Philippine Political system is not maximized. The domination of elites, landlords, and oligarchs in the Philippine economic and political system hindered genuine participation of non-elites in government. Genuine people's participation will empower and allow non-elites such as farmers, workers, urban poor and women to participate in the affairs of the government. This power can challenge the elite dominated Philippine Political system.

Cite this Article:

[Vallejos, Reginald S. "PARTICIPATION OF NON-ELITES (MARGINALIZED) IN THE PHILIPPINE POLITICAL SYSTEM: CASE STUDY OF FARMER LEADERS IN GOVERNMENT." International Journal of Social Science and Economic Research, vol. 2, no. 10, 2017, pp. 4837-852. October.]