2

QUARTE
R IN PPG
11
OVERSEAS ABSENTEE
VOTING
The OFW may exercise
their right to vote by
virtue of Republic Act No.
9189 of 2003
Does one vote
really make a
difference in our
political system?
Why or Why not?
PICTopinion
Lesson 2
Definition and
the nature of
political parties
DEFINITION AND NATURE
OF POLITICS PARTIES
POLITICAL PARTY- refers to an
organized group of citizens advocating
an ideology or platform, principles, and
policies for the general conduct of
government and which, as the most
immediate means of ensuring their
adoption, regularly nominates and
supports some of its leaders and
members as candidates for public
office.
Definition and Origin
- A political party is a group of
individuals organized to acquire
and exercise political power.
These parties emerged in their
modern form during the 19th
century in Europe and the United
States, coinciding with the
development of electoral and
parliamentary systems.
Political Parties in the
Philippines
1. During Malolos Republic- there were
no political parties when the Malolos
republic was founded. The delegates to
the Malolos were all Aguinaldo appointees.
Aguinaldo cabinet called “council of
government”, did not belong to any party
because according to Mabini, the cabinet
“belongs to no party, nor does it desire to
form one; it stands for nothing save the
interest of the fatherland”.
2. During the American Colonial
Rule – in pursuit of preparing the
Filipinos for self-rule, the Americans
gave them an opportunity to run for
candidacy in the lower house called
the Philippine Assembly of the
American Civil Government in the
Philippines. Filipinos were allowed to
form political parties
a. Federal Party – Trinidad Pardo de Tavera
founded the Federal Part whose platform
was based on the annexation of the
Philippines as one of the states of the
United States of America. Basically, it
favors the American rule.
b. Nacionalista Party – Manuel Quezon
and Sergio Osmeña founded this part
which opposes the platform of the
Federal Party and campaigned for the
immediate independence of the
Philippines.
c. Sakdal Party – It was led by former
Nacionalista member Benigno Ramos which
campaigned for complete and immediate
independence from the United States of
America to reduce crippling and heavy taxation.
It was able to win some local posts and challenge
the domination of the Nacionalista Party.
d. Communist Party of the Philippines – It was
established for the first time in Manila by
Crisanto Evangelista in an attempt to integrate
the theory of Marxism-Leninism with the concrete
conditions of the Philippines. This radical party
has traditionally boycotted falls although some
left-leaning parties began participating in
elections after Corazon Aquino rose to power.
e. Liberal Party – It was formed by
Manuel Roxas, Elpidio Quirino and
Jose Avelino after Roxas won the
election. It adopted liberalism as its
main ideology and campaigned for
freedom, justice and solidarity
(bayanihan).
3. After the Colonial Rule –
More political parties were
formed many years after we
gained independence from
America. Here are some
examples:
a. Kilusang Bagong Lipunan – It was the all-
powerful political party during the martial law
period. KBL was formed by Ferdinand
Marcos, a former liberal party member. It
dominated politics, although there were some
holdouts. It supports authoritarianism.
b. Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan
(PDP-Laban) – It is a party founded by
Teodoro Macapagal, Rodrigo Duterte, and
Nene Pimentel which was formed by merging
Partido Demokratiko Pilipino and Lakas ng
Bayan. PDP was formed as a response against
the authoritarian government of Ferdinand
Marcos, the 10th President of the Philippines,
and the then-ruling Kilusang Bagong Lipunan
(KBL). It campaigns for demacratic socialism.
c. Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino – It was
formed as a result of PDP–Laban splitting into
two factions: the Pimentel Wing of Aquilino
Pimentel, Jr. and the Cojuangco Wing of Jose
"Peping" Cojuangco, Jr.. The Cojuangco Wing
and the Lakas ng Bansa party of Speaker Mitra
merged in 1988 to form the Laban ng
Demokratikong Pilipino party while the Pimentel
Wing remained as the PDP–Laban party. It is
characterized by advocating the principles of
democracy or social equality by representing
ideas that are beneficial to the people at large.
 Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP):
Since 2021, Bongbong Marcos has
been associated with this political
party, which he now chairs123.
 Nacionalista Party: From 2009 to 2021,
he was affiliated with the Nacionalista
Party.
 Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (KBL): This
party, founded by Bongbong’s father,
the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos,
endorsed him as its standard bearer in
the 2022 presidential election4.
 What is the Nature of
Partylist System in the
The party Philippines?
list system in the Philippines is
a mechanism of proportional
representation in the election of the
representatives to the House of
Representatives from national, regional, and
sectoral parties or organizations or coalitions
thereof registered with the COMELEC . The
seats allocated to partylist groups constitute
to 20% of the total number of the members
of the house of representatives, including the
seeds under the party-list system.
1. Qualified Groups
– There are three different groups may participate in the
party list system:
a. National party/organization/coalition – Any party with
constituency that spreads over the geographical
territory of at least a majority of the regions.
b. Regional party – Any party with constituency that
spreads over the geographical territory of at least
a majority of the cities and provinces comprising the
region.
c. Sectoral party – An organized group of citizens whose
principal advocacy pertains to the special interests
and concerns of the following sector; labor, fisher
folk, indigenous cultural communities, elderly,
handicrafts, women, youth, overseas workers, and
professionals .
2. Ways to
Participate
– To participate in the party-list
system, a party must register and
manifest its desire to participate
with the COMELEC not later than
90 days before the election . If the
party is already registered, it only
needs to conform at the COMELEC of
its intention to participate in the
party-list system within the
aforementioned period.
3. Determining the
Winners
– To obtain a seat in the House of
Representative, the party must
obtain at least 2% of the total votes
cast for the party list system. If a
party contains more than 2% of the
votes it shall be entitled to additional
seats in proportion to their total
number of votes . However , a party
is not allowed more than three seats.
4. Nomination of
Representatives
– The party shall nominate its
representative to the house of
representatives. The nominee should be
a natural born citizen of the
Philippines, a registered voter, a resident
of the Philippines for at least one year
immediately preceding the day of the
election, able to read and write, a
bona fide member of the party or
organization which he seeks to
represent for at least 90 days
preceding the day of the election.
Political Party System
Referred to as the
interactions of parties
with each other.
It could be said that
the life of political
system depends upon
the kind of party
Political Party System
Consists of a group of people
who join hands to contest the
elections in a country.
These parties have a shared
vision for the country.
To guides their actions and the
policies formulated for the
citizens of the country.
Promote their policies and try
to convince citizens to vote for
 TYPES OF POLITICAL
PARTY SYSTEMS
1. ONE-PARTY SYSTEM/DOMINANT PARTY
SYSTEM- only one party dominates and
there is no political competition
between parties. Single-party system
has the right to form the government,
usually based on the existing
constitution.
It is common in Communist countries
EXAMPLE: Mexico, China, Cuba, North
Korea, Vietnam
TYPES OF POLITICAL
PARTY SYSTEMS
2. TWO-PARTY SYSTEMS- where to political
parties dominate politics within a government.
-One of the two parties holds a majority in the
legislature and is usually referred to as a
majority or governing party while the other is
the minority or opposition party.
-The contest is usually between two candidates.
EXAMPLE: U.S and U.K in which dominated by
two major political parties(Republicans and
Democrats)
 TYPES OF POLITICAL PARTY
SYSTEMS
3. MULTI-PARTY SYSTEM- multiple political parties have
the capacity to gain control of government offices,
separately or in a coalition.
-three or more political parties compete for control of the
government
-seriously compete for, and actually win, public offices.
EXAMPLE: Europe, Israel, Japan and Philippines.
Advantage: provides voters with many different choices
and ideas
Disadvantage: difficult for one party to get majority of
votes, which leads to a coalition.
 Functions of political
party system
1. Organize the competition
2. Unify the electorate
3. Inspire and inform the voters
4. Translate preferences into policy
5. Provide loyal opposition
6. Organize government
7. Act as watchdogs
8. Nominate candidates
9. Ensure candidate quality
 TYPES OF ELECTORAL
SYSTEM
1.PLURALITY ELECTORAL
SYSTEM
The candidate with the
most votes wins, whether
his/her votes is 50% of
the total number of votes
casted or not. (winner-
takes-all election)
 TYPES OF ELECTORAL
SYSTEM
2. MAJORITY ELECTORAL
SYSTEM
The candidate must
obtain more than 50% of
the total number of
votes (at least 50% + 1
vote) (second ballot
 TYPES OF ELECTORAL
SYSTEM
3. PROPORTIONAL
REPRESENTATION
The number of seats,
position, or
representative per party
depends on the
percentage of the votes
What do you
think is the
nature of
elections and
political parties
What do you
think is the
current electoral
system in the
Philippines?
TRIVIA
How was election
discovered in the
Philippines?
How was election
discovered?
The first recorded popular
elections of officials to public
office, by majority vote, where
all citizens were eligible both to
vote and to hold public office,
date back to the Ephors of
Sparta in 754 BC, under the
mixed government of the
Spartan Constitution.
Who introduced elections in the
Philippines?
The first presidential and vice-
presidential election in the
Philippines was the Tejeros
Convention of 1897; this was
for the leadership of the
Katipunan, where Emilio
Aguinaldo was elected as
leader.
When was the first Philippine elections?

The 1935 Philippine general

election was the first general
election of the Commonwealth of
the Philippines. This was also the
first direct election of the
President of the Philippines and
Vice President of the Philippines,
positions created by the 1935
Constitution.
CURRENT STRUCTURE OF THE ELECTORAL
SYSTEM IN THE PHILIPPINES

 The structure of the current electoral

system is provided in the 1987
Constitution and the Omnibus Election
Code.
 COMELEC is given the task to enforce
election laws and exercise exclusive
jurisdiction over the qualifications of
candidates, accreditation of political
parties and canvassing of votes.
Three branches of the
government are (Executive,
Legislative and Judiciary)
separate and equal.
The President and the vice
president are elected
separately by a direct vote
of people(plurality method)
The Transitory Provisions of
the 1987 Constitution says
that “of the senators elected
in the election of 1992, the
first 12 obtaining the highest
number of votes shall serve
for six years(full) and the
remaining 12 for three years.
In 1995, elected senators were
then given six year term,
Every three years,12 senators
are elected.
Scheme of Concurrent- six years
term was formulated so that the
Senate would not be vacated
and continue with their law and
policy making function.
 House of Representative
Of the 250 members of House of
Representatives, 200 are elected
through district proportional
representation while 50 are elected
from party list.
Under the Party List Act( RA 7941)
seat are allocated per party.
Unallocated seats shall be
distributed among other parties that
have not yet obtained the maximum
House of representatives,
governors, vice governors,
members of the Sangguniang
Panlalawigan/ mambers of the
Sangguniang
Bayan(city/municipalncouncilors
)barangay officials, and the
members of the Sangguniang
Kabataan are elected to serve
for a three-year term.
 At present, there are almost 300
representatives in the Philippines. (1987
Phil. Consti, there are 250 members of
the House of Representatives, Article VI,
Section 5 states that” each legislative
district shall comprise, as far as
practicable, contiguous, compact and
adjacent territory.)
 Each province having a population of
250000 shall have at least one
representative.
In our current structure
electoral system in the
Philippines, Who are the
present president, vice
President and 12 senators?
Why there is a scheme of
concurrent election of
senator every 3 years?
If political parties in the Philippines
have failed to realize their primary goal
of articulating and aggregating
interests , it is material to ask- have
civil society and social movements
taken the place of political parties in
the prospect of development and
governance?
Are civil society organizations and
interest groups and movements now in
the process of replacing political parties
as crucial links between the
The relationship between civil
society and social movements,
and the Philippine state. This
section thus highlights another
aspect of group politics, but its
focus is on actors outside the
government. This part assesses
the roles taken by the civil
society in the Philippine