The “politicians”

The “politicians” are people who 1resolves and disputes conflict peacefully within the area he
covers. Politicians also commit to the process of discussion, bargain, and compromise. In short their goal
every time there is a conflict in a society is to provide an acceptable solution in a peaceful manner. They are
skillful in negotiating and they choose to use this over force.
Ex. Local Politicians – mayor, councilors, brgy. Captain
National – president, senators, prime minister
● The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) said an arbitral tribunal has ruled in favor of the
Philippines in its historic case against China over the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) but still
open to bilateral talks with china after the release of the ruling – led to offering a 60-40 deal to
China in West PH Sea joint exploration.
• Government entices rebels to quit
https://www.rappler.com/nation/199566-duterte-task-force-reintegration-communist-rebels
Elites-who are they
According to, elites are the people who claims superiority over the rest of the society. The basis of
superiority varies from social status, intellectual brilliance, wealth, and position of super ordination. This
also includes political elites who does more in value allocation. Political world is stratified; classification
between those who have less or more power.
Elites – the government officials – who can exercise power because they are in the position to rule
over the people
Farmers and the poor losing heavily rice price increase
● The farmers and the poor people engage in more strenuous work in order to get enough wage.
Therefore, they need more rice in order to compensate for the energy they’ve lost for the day.
Which means that they are to buy a lot of rice for their consumption. Unlike people whose works
are not that strenuous compared to the farmers and the poor, they have a different diet like they
can shift to bread and some other alternatives.
● Farmers and the poor aren’t oriented to the alternatives available in the market
● Despite that farmers are the ones who is responsible for the production, they are paid for a low
price and when the rice is made available in the market it is much more expensive than they are
paid for.
Elites vs. masses as political actors
Elites, as superior over the rest of the society, does not cover the concern of the masses as their
own concern and are not responsive to such concerns. Elites are superior than the rest thus they have
more access and opportunity to influence and have a say in the policy and decision making of the
bureaucrats or the government through financial support of foundations and positions. According to
Gaetano Mosca, the classifications for the elites is as the ruling class and masses is the class being ruled
over. The masses, despite being large in numbers, have a no basis for superiority (social status, intellectual
brilliance, wealth, and position of super ordination) which are critical for being influential.
● Telecommunications company – the govt can’t let other telecom companies to enter because it will
cause loss to the current telecom companies monopolizing the business in the country
 ● Meralco – and other privately owned energy producing company which monopolizes the business in
the country. If the govt. provides energy alternative, meralco will be one of the companies which
will be affected.
● Compared to the people who does not belong to the ruling class – our demand for a cheaper and
not too costly commodities like electricity is not addressed.
Power pyramid
Power can be illustrated in a pyramidal form with only a few elites on top, many masses at the
bottom and government in the middle which consists of officials and bureaucrats who carry out elite
directives. In the Philippine setting, some of the elites that we have are owners of big corporations (Henry
Sy, Lucio Tan, etc.), people who own large lands (Cojuanco), etc. In between is our
government/administration that we have a the current time and at the bottom are the masses which
includes the people classified in the lower class, income poor (middle class, working class, unemployed)
and the food poor (farmers).

Tra-po vs. political families

Traditional politicians are politicians that are typical and as a “TraPo” entails a negative connotation
as a filthy politician. These are politicians who are leading for the past elections. Examples of trapos are
Benigno Aquino III, Jejomar Binay Political families are families who have several members that are involved
in politics and most likely in the electoral politics, an example of this is a political dynasty. In the Philippines
we have a lot of political dynasties like the Marcoses, Dutertes, Ampatuan, etc.
Heads up lang guys! May ma encounter kamo nga ABCDE, it is like the new classification sa socioeconomic.
For background if you want, you may read this:
https://www.nielsen-admosphere.cz/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Nielsen-Admosphere-ABCDE-classificat
ion-specification-2018.pdf

(Social) Class
-- it is a concept and a political theory where people are stratified hierarchically; large group of individuals
who are similar in possession or control of a certain value; group of people with commonality
-- Karl Marx’ definition was based on a capitalist type of society, class is the relationship between those
who own the means of production (proletariat) and those who work yet do not own the means of
production (bourgeoisie)
-- Max Weber’s definition of class is closely related to Marx’ but is more related on the social context;
emphasized that class, status and party are three different concepts but are all related as sources of power

Examples

-- This news article is an example of a situation wherein we could evidently see social classes and the
varying perspectives or ways of viewing life. The expectancy of Filipinos that life would be better depends
on the current status of their living and much more on the prediction of possibilities that may happen
brought by their stand on the way they are being managed and governed. This survey was conducted
during heightened discussions and contradictions on the current implementation of TRAIN Law. --

Fewer Filipinos expect lives to improve — Social Weather Stations

Helen Flores (The Philippine Star) - October 4, 2018 - 12:00am
https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2018/10/04/1857185/fewer-filipinos-expect-lives-improve-social-wea
ther-stations

Net personal optimists in Mindanao declined from +48 (excellent) in June to +30 (very high) in September.
It fell in balance Luzon, from +49 (excellent) in June to +34 (very high) in September. It also went down in
the Visayas, from +31 (very high) in June to +25 (high) in September.

Net personal optimism also fell in all classes, the SWS said. It fell in class ABC, from +43 (excellent) in June
2018 to +17 (fair) in September. It dropped in class D, from +45 (excellent) in June to +27 (high) in class D. It
also fell in class E, from +41 (excellent) in June to +29 (high) in September. Meanwhile, the number of
Filipinos who expect the economy to get better also dwindled in the past quarter.

-- This is also a good example of showing classes within the society and their difference. As much as the
upper class does not concern themselves with inflation (since they could still afford commodities and even
luxuries), the lower class consider this issue as a matter of life and death. The income poor, the food poor
and even those in the middle class is greatly affected. It simply tells us that social class is also a matter of
economic class and monetary power. --
Food crisis, inflation due to lack of gov't direction – groups
Ralf Rivas (Rappler) Published 2:55 PM, September 14, 2018
https://www.rappler.com/business/211975-food-crisis-inflation-lack-of-government-direction

"Wala talagang malinaw na plano. Lahat ng solusyon ay reactive lang (There is no clear plan. All solutions
are reactive)," said UP School of Economics professor Toby Melissa Monsod in a roundtable discussion on
food inflation held on Thursday, September 13.

"The long-term challenge is this: What is the issue? Is it rice? Is it food? Is it farmer income? These are 3
different things, and the government needs to understand that there is a trade-off," she said. Monsod also
slammed the National Food Authority (NFA) for being unable to bring down rice prices. (IN CHARTS: This is
how bad August 2018 inflation is in regions)

"If you import a small amount, it won't do anything to impact the market. It has to be decisive," she added.
Monsod also warned that relying on rice importation means that the government would be at the mercy of
global prices.

"Clearly, the demand is going to cost money. People in the world know we're desperate for rice and it's a
seller's market. They will bring up prices," she said.

Class Conflict
-- also called as class warfare or class struggle, is the existing tension between classes due to varying and
competing socioeconomic interests or desires; structured inequality
-- may appear in various forms such as direct violence and coercion (war, threats) or through diplomatic
forms
-- (Marx) class conflicts are inevitable because people’s interest are at odds or opposition to each other
-- a certain class gains at expense of the other opposing class

Examples

Police slammed for 'violent dispersal' of workers in NutriAsia

By Lara Tan, CNN Philippines Updated 12:06 PM PHT Tue, July 3, 2018
http://cnnphilippines.com/news/2018/06/15/NutriAsia-violent-dispersal-contractualization-strike.html
"(The) violent dispersal of the NutriAsia workers' strike shows Duterte's commitment to stifle all forms of
dissent and resistance. It shows his commitment to sacrificing the lives of the working Filipino to ensure the
profits and welfare of his rich, big-business buddies," it said in a statement on Thursday.
The House Makabayan bloc said someone has to be held accountable for the "blatant use of force" against
the workers.
"Didn't President Duterte himself say that he would eradicate ENDO and contractualization? The NutriAsia
workers are just demanding their right to security of tenure, now why disperse them with such violence
and many workers were injured," it said in a statement.

Duterte’s approval, trust ratings suffer double-digit decline in September

By JON VIKTOR D. CABUENAS, GMA News, September 25, 2018 11:38am
http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/668976/duterte-s-approval-trust-ratings-suffer-double-d
igit-decline-in-september/story/

According to the results of the September 1 to 7 poll of Pulse Asia Research Inc, Duterte's approval rating
dropped to 75 in September from the 88 in June. "At the national level, President Duterte experienced a
decline in his approval ratings and a rise in indecision during the period June to September 2018," Pulse
Asia said.

"The President's overall disapproval score also goes up during this period. Across geographic areas and
socioeconomic classes, appreciation for presidential performance eases in the rest of Luzon and Class D," it
elaborated. "Trust in the President becomes less pronounced not only at the national level but in basically
all geographic areas and socioeconomic groupings. The exceptions are Mindanao and Class ABC," said Pulse
Asia.

Modern take on Class

-- the lower class (poverty, homelessness and unemployment; has less confidence in the legal system), the
working class (also called as the working poor; minimally educated and mostly engaged in manual labor; 1.
working poor and 2. blue collar workers), the middle class (also called as white collar workers), and the
upper class (comprises only 1-3% of population but holds more than 25% of a nation’s wealth; 1. lower
upper class - ‘new money’ and 2. upper upper class - aristocrats and ‘high society’ families with ‘old money’
* Food Poor - 7.9% or 1.55M families with 11,773 php annual income
* Income Poor only - 12.6% or 2.5M families with 16,872 php annual income
* Lower class - 74.3% or 14M families with 57,396 php annual income cut-off
* Middle class - 25.2% or 4.7M families with 702,822 php annual income cut-off
* Upper class - 0.1% or 21.7K families
Examples
TRAIN 2 seen to lessen Philippines competitiveness
Lawrence Agcaoili (The Philippine Star) - March 14, 2018 - 12:00am
https://www.philstar.com/business/2018/03/14/1796391/train-2-seen-lessen-philippines-competitiveness
#s7bpSKZQ4JUOT28b.99

-- This news article shows the aftermath if the current TRAIN Law will be followed by another TRAIN 2.
“According to BMI Research, the proposal comes at a time when other countries in the region are trying to
offer more tax incentives in order to attract foreign direct investments.” As we all know in our econ class,
people respond to incentives. Now if tax increases, foreign investments may decrease, affecting all classes
yet those of the lowest class will be severely affected compared to others. --

The 1% versus The Poverty Class

The inequality debate is dominated by binary thinking. Scholars typically worry about the gap between rich
and poor, the “haves” and “have nots” or – most recently – between “the 99% and the 1%.”
1% v. 99%? No, It’s Affluent, Squeezed, and Entrenched Poverty
Richard V. Reeves Wednesday, February 19, 2014

To be considered in the top 1 percent of taxpayers nationally, you’d need an annual income of $480,930.
The top 10% of taxpayers make at least $138,031
What Does It Take To Be In The Top 1%? Not As Much As You Think
Forbes, Aug 1, 2018, 10:42am