VALLEJOS, ANGEL ROSE B

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

(Major in Marketing Management)

Readings in Philippine History

Philippine Governance
Unit 1 – The Study of Political Science

Activity 1: Guide Questions

1. What are the functions of political science? Why do you think you
have to take this course in college?

The functions of political science are:

To discover the principles that should be adhered to in public affairs

und to study the operations of government in order to demonstrate
what is good, to criticize what is bad or inefficient, and to suggest
improvements.
Findings and conclusions may be of immense practical use to
constitution-makers, legislators, executives, and judges who need
models or norms that can be applied to immediate situations. Again,
they may be of immense practical use to individuals who seek to
understand the state in which they live.
Study of political science deals also with problems of social welfare,
governmental economic programs, international cooperation, and a
wide range of other matters that are urgent concern to public officials
and to private citizens.

Source: Philippine History Module (GClassroom)

2. What is a state? Discuss each element of the state.

A state is a community of persons permanently occupying a definite portion of

territory that have a government of their own to which the great body of
inhabitants render obedience, and enjoying freedom from external control.
The Philippines is a state.

Elements of a Sate are as follows:

People – refers to the mass of population living within the state.
Territory – includes not only the land over which jurisdiction of the
state extends. The domain of the state may be described as terrestrial,
fluvial, maritime and aerial.
Government – refers to the agency through which the will of the state is
formulated, expressed and carried out.
Sovereignty – defined as the supreme power of the state to command
and enforce obedience to its will from people within its jurisdiction and
to have freedom from foreign control. It has two manifestations:

a. Internal or the power of the state to rule within its

territory
b. External or the freedom of the state to carry out its
activities without subject to or control by other states.
This is referred to as independence.

3. How will you differentiate state from nation and from government?
State distinguished from Nation
state is a political concept while the nation is an ethnic
1. The
concept. A nation is a group of people bound together by certain
characteristics such as common social origin, language, customs, and
traditions, and who believe that they are one and distinct from others. The
term is more strictly synonymous with people.

state is not subject to external control while a nation

2. A
may or may not be independent of external control; and
 3. Asingle state may consist of one or more nations or
peoples and conversely, a single nation may be made up of
several states.
State distinguished from Government

They are usually regarded as identical as ordinarily, the acts of the

government (within the limits of the delegation of powers) are the acts of
the state, the former is meant when the latter is mentioned, and vice
versa.

4. What do you think is the form of government in the Philippines?

Cite justification on your answers.

The 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.

The Philippines is a democratic and republican State. Sovereignty

resides in the people and all government authority emanated from them.

One basic corollary in a presidential system of government is the

principle of separation of powers wherein legislation belongs to Congress,
execution to the Executive, and settlement of legal controversies to the
Judiciary.
Source: https://www.gov.ph/about-the-government.html