LESSON 6: KEY CONCEPTS IN TEACHING PHILIPPINE GOVERNMENT

LESSON OVERVIEW

This lesson presents the importance of concepts in teaching about government. It will also
discuss the key concepts in government and how it should be emphasized in giving meaningful
understanding of importance of government.

LEARNING OUTCOME

1. define and explain government, its branches and its importance;

2. identify the supreme law of the land and appreciate its importance
3. identify the specific obligations of local governments; and
4. explain the importance of hearing both sides of an issue

LESSON CONTENT
Why concept is important in teaching government?
Government (Concept)
GOVERNMENT is a system of social control under which the right to make laws, and the
right to enforce them, is vested in a particular group in society.
There are many classifications of government. According to the classical formula,
governments are distinguished by whether power is held by one man, a few, or a majority. Today, it is
common to distinguish between types of government on the basis of institutional organization and
the degree of control exercised over the society.
Organizationally, governments may be classified into parliamentary or presidential systems,
depending on the relationship between executive and legislature. Government may also be classified
according to the distribution of power at different levels. It may be unitary—i.e., with the central
government controlling local affairs—or it may be federated or confederated, according to the degree
of autonomy of local government. The basic law determining the form of government is called the
constitution and may be written, as in the United States, or largely unwritten, as in Great Britain.
Modern governments perform many functions besides the traditional ones of providing internal and
external security, order, and justice; most are involved in providing welfare services, regulating the
economy, and establishing educational systems.
A Functional Approach to Define Government
A definition of government could well be operationalized in terms of the basic functions,
which it fulfils. This will enable an inspection and elaboration of the structure of government by
reference to these functions. Yet, these functions are not always clear.
In the literature, the following functions are often mentioned:
• Managing government, i.e. running the state (and its affairs);
• Ruling and regulating public affairs according to constitutional rules and conventions (Rule-
of-Law);
• Making decisions as regards the direction of policy-formation (i.e. political choice), and
• Exerting (political) leadership, both to mobilize popular support as to gain “legitimacy”.
 TEACHING TIPS IN TEACHING ABOUT GOVERNMENT IN THE ELEMENTARY GRADES
(AN EXPERIENCE)

Government is usually thought to be an abstract concept for third grader students, who have little
personal experience with the concept. Finding activities that enabled students to relate important ideas
about government in their own lives was my task. Students frequently ask, “Why do we have to do this?”
“Why do I have to follow the rules?” Being able to explain why we have rules and laws was the essence
of our introductory study of government.
For the first lesson, I gave students a board game to play, but I did not provide any rules. I simply told
students that everyone had to participate in playing the game. I divided students into small groups, four
students per group. I gave each group the game that I had assembled, which consisted of a laminated,
open file folder with random spaces and stickers on it, dice, and some plastic game pieces from various
board games. Not surprisingly, what resulted after fifteen minutes was chaos, with lots of bickering,
confusion, arguing, and accusations.
Initially, the students seemed to really enjoy the idea of a game. When they heard “no rules,” the
students’ eyes seemed to light up. But it didn’t take long for them to find out that the idea wasn’t as good
as it first sounded! Even though the dynamics of each group were different, the ending results were the
same.
“No, it’s my turn!” “You just went. It’s my turn!” “We don’t have to take turns because there aren’t any
rules!” —were phrases that sounded throughout the groups. Also, there was the ever-popular dialog,
“You can’t do that!” “Yes I can!” Some groups made up their own rules, and one group even voted on
how to play! Looking around the room, it was evident that some students were really enjoying the
opportunity to jump five spaces, or even to declare themselves the winner, because there weren’t any
rules. Yet in that same room, there were students who were pouting and arguing. Before time was called,
these students were muttering, “This isn’t fair! This game needs rules!”
I invited students to return to their seats and discuss the game. We talked about the strategies that each
group came up with in trying to play the game and how they dealt with problems that arose. Then we
applied the game experience to real life and asked, “If it is so important to have rules in a silly game,
then doesn’t it make sense to have rules for a town? For a state? For a country? For the world?” Students
nodded their heads in wholehearted agreement. Firsthand experience with what it is like NOT to have
rules set the stage by reinforcing the importance and need for rules.

What is a Constitution?
The vast majority of contemporary constitutions describe the basic principles of the state,
the structures and processes of government and the fundamental rights of citizens in a higher law
that CANNOT be unilaterally changed by an ordinary legislative act. This higher law is usually
referred to as a constitution.
The content and nature of a particular constitution, as well as how it relates to the rest of the
legal and political order, varies considerably between countries, and there is no universal and
uncontested definition of a constitution. Nevertheless, any broadly accepted working definition of a
constitution would likely include the following characteristics:
 A constitution is a set of fundamental legal-political rules that:
1. are binding on everyone in the state, including ordinary lawmaking institutions;
2. concern the structure and operation of the institutions of government, political principles and
the rights of citizens;
3. are based on widespread public legitimacy;
4. are harder to change than ordinary laws (e.g. a two-thirds majority vote or a referendum is
needed);
5. as a minimum, meet the internationally recognized criteria for a democratic system in terms
of representation and human rights.

The Functions of a Constitution

1. Constitutions can declare and define the boundaries of the political community. These
boundaries can be territorial (the geographical borders of a state, as well as its claims to any
other territory or extra-territorial rights) and personal (the definition of citizenship).

2. Constitutions can declare and define the nature and authority of the political community.
They often declare the state’s fundamental principles and assumptions, as well as where its
sovereignty lies. Our 1987 Philippine constitution declares that “The Philippines is a
democratic and republican State. Sovereignty resides in the people and all government
authority emanated from them.” – Article II, Section 1

3. Constitutions can express the identity and values of a national community. As nation building
instruments, Constitutions may define the national flag, anthem and other symbols, and may
make proclamations about the values, history and identity of the nation.

4. Constitutions can declare and define the rights and duties of citizens. Most constitutions
include a declaration of fundamental rights applicable to citizens.

5. Constitutions can establish and regulate the political institutions of the community— defining
the various institutions of government; prescribing their composition, powers and functions;
and regulating the relations between them. It is almost universal for constitutions to establish
legislative, executive and judicial branches of government.

6. Constitutions can divide or share power between different layers of government or sub-state
communities. Our 1987 Philippine constitution establish decentralized processes for the
sharing of power between national government and local government units.

7. Constitutions can declare the official religious identity of the state and demarcate
relationships between sacred and secular authorities. This is particularly important in societies
where religious and national identities are interrelated, or where religious law has traditionally
determined matters of personal status or the arbitration of disputes between citizens.
8. Constitutions can commit states to particular social, economic or developmental goals. This
may take the form of judicially enforceable socio-economic rights, directive principles that
are politically binding on the government, or other expressions of commitment or intent.
Fig. 1: A Constitution as a Legal, Social and Political Document
Constitutions as
17)—it makes the operation of power
procedurally predictable, upholds the rule
of law, and places limits on the
arbitrariness of power. It is the supreme
law of the land, and it provides the
standards that ordinary statutes have to
comply with.
Constitutions as
and shape society—for example, by
expressing the (existing or intended)
common identity and aspirations of the
people, or by proclaiming shared values
and ideals. These provisions are generally
found in preambles and opening
declarations.
Constitutions as
making institutions: constitutions ‘identify
the supreme power’, ‘distribute power in a way that leads to effective decision making’ and ‘provide a
framework for continuing political struggle’ (Lutz 2006: 17).
Branches of the Government
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.
The Legislative branch is authorized to make laws, alter, and
repeal them through the power vested in the Philippine Congress.
This institution is divided into the Senate and the House of
Representatives.
The Legislative Branch enacts legislation, confirms or rejects
Presidential appointments, and has the authority to declare war. This branch includes Congress (the
Senate and House of Representatives) and several agencies that provide support services to Congress.
The Senate is composed of 24 Senators who are elected at large by the qualified voters of the
Philippines.
The House of Representatives is composed of about 250 members elected from legislative
districts in the provinces, cities, and municipalities, and representatives elected through a party-list
system of registered national, regional, and sectoral parties or organizations.
The party-list representatives shall constitute twenty per cent of the total number of
representatives including those under the party list. For three consecutive terms after the ratification of
this Constitution, one-half of the seats allocated to party-list representatives shall be filled, as
provided by law, by selection or election from the labor, peasant, urban poor, indigenous cultural
communities, women, youth, and such other sectors as may be provided by law, except the religious
sector.
 The Executive branch
vote and serve a term of six years. The Constitution grants the
President authority to appoint his Cabinet. These departments
form a large portion of the country’s bureaucracy.
The executive
the Cabinet, executive departments, independent agencies, boards,
commissions, and committees.
The President leads the country. He or she is the head of state, leader of the national
government, and Commander-in-Chief of all armed forces of the Philippines. The President serves a
six-year term and cannot be re-elected.
The Vice President supports the President. If the President is unable to serve, the Vice
President becomes President. He or she also serves a six-year term.
Cabinet members serve as advisors to the President. They include the Vice President and the
heads of executive departments. Cabinet members are nominated by the President and must be
confirmed by the Commission of Appointments.
The Judicial branch
and enforceable. This branch determines whether or not there has
been a grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of
jurisdiction on the part and instrumentality of the government. It is
made up of a Supreme Court and lower courts.
The judicial branch interprets the meaning of laws, applies laws to individual cases, and
decides if laws violate the Constitution. The judicial power shall be vested in one Supreme Court and
in such lower courts as may be established by law.
Each branch of government can change acts of the other branches as follows:

 The President can veto laws passed by Congress.

 Congress confirms or rejects the President's appointments and can remove the President from
office in exceptional circumstances.
 The Justices of the Supreme Court, who can overturn unconstitutional laws, are appointed by
the President.
The Constitution expressly grants the Supreme Court the power of Judicial Review as the
power to declare a treaty, international or executive agreement, law, presidential decree, proclamation,
order, instruction, ordinance or regulation unconstitutional.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT

The Constitution of the Philippines recognizes the importance of local governments. It

provides as a policy that "the State shall guarantee and promote the autonomy of the local government
units – especially the barangays – to ensure their fullest development as self-reliant communities."
Local governments constitute the foundation of the entire structure of the government. The
acts of the local government units affect the ordinary citizen more directly than those of the national
government. The average citizen has more and closer contacts with the local governments and their
agencies than with the national or provincial government, and is more concerned with the local affairs
than with those of the national or provincial in scope.
The President of the Philippines exercises supervision over the whole country. But for
purposes of administrative control, the Philippines is divided into units of different sizes -- known as
political subdivisions. These are provinces, municipalities, cities, and barangays. These political
subdivisions enjoy autonomy, especially in local affairs. But, they are also under the general
supervision of the Chief Executive, through the Secretary of the Department of Interior and Local
Government (DILG). These local governments are agencies of the national government in the matter
of collection of taxes, law enforcement, and other governmental functions, which may be delegated by
the national government to these local governments.
TYPES OF LGUs UNDER THE 1987 CONSTITUTION Sec. 1, Art. X: The territorial and
political subdivisions of the Republic of the Philippines are the provinces, cities, municipalities, and
barangays. There shall be autonomous regions in Muslim Mindanao and the Cordilleras as herein
provided.
• Autonomous Regions – 2 regions were pre-identified but only one is existing
• Provinces – composed of clusters of municipalities or municipalities and component cities
• Cities – component (independent & dependent) and highly urbanized
• Municipalities – composed of barangays
• Barangays – basic political unit

As a future Social Studies Teacher, when teaching about Government, we should also
remember that we live in a Democratic country. As political tension arises nowadays and any time in
the future, it is our duty to always uphold just, fair and objective teaching. To help us guide and also
our students, here are some basic principles why multiple perspective is so important.

The Importance of Taking the Perspective of Others

In order to resolve conflict constructively, so that all parties are satisfied with the outcome, a
person must be able to hold all the opposing ideas, positions, and perspectives in mind at the same
time and still function effectively. Successful problem-solving and conflict resolution largely depends
on a person’s ability to take the opponent’s cognitive and affective perspectives and understand how
the conflict appears to the other person and how that person is reacting emotionally and attitudinally.
If a person cannot take the perspective of opponents, then his or her understanding of the issue is
limited and incomplete.

When people disagree, there needs to be a realistic assessment of common and opposed
interests and conclusions. It is often expected that each party will sacrifice some of the opposed
interests so that the common benefits, concerns, advantages, and needs may be met and built upon. To
obtain a realistic assessment of common and opposed interests it is necessary to see the situation from
the perspective of the other parties.
Social perspective-taking is the ability to understand how a situation appears to another
person and how that person is reacting cognitively and emotionally. The opposite of perspective-
taking is egocentrism or being unaware that other perspectives exist and that one’s own view of the
situation or issue is incomplete and limited. Overall (see Johnson & Johnson, 1989), perspective-
taking results in more information, both personal and impersonal, being disclosed; increases the
capacity to phrase messages so that they are easily understood by the other; increases accurate
comprehension of the other’s messages; increases understanding and retention of the other’s
information and reasoning; facilitates the achievement of creative and high- quality problem solving;
and promotes more positive perceptions of the interaction, the other person, and the joint cooperative
efforts.
Once people can view the issue and situation both from their own perspective and the other
persons’ perspectives, they can more easily find mutually beneficial solutions. Perspective-taking also
communicates that one really understands their thoughts, feelings, and needs. It is usually easier to
jointly solve a problem when the other people feel understood and respected.
There are five important aspects of perspective-taking.
The first is realizing that everyone involved has a unique perspective. No two people will see
a situation or issue in exactly the same way.
The second is that a person’s perspective selects and organizes what the person attends to
and experiences. Because all experiences are understood within the perspective in which they are
viewed, people tend to see only what their perspective allows them to see. Change a person’s
perspective and you change what the person attends to and the way the person interprets the events in
his or her life. Perspectives, furthermore, can create bias. Out of a mass of detailed information,
people tend to pick out and focus on those facts that confirm their prior perceptions and to disregard
or misinterpret those that call their perceptions into question.
The third is that people can have different perspectives at different times. As your job role,
experiences, assumptions, physiological states, and values change, your perspective will change.
When you are hungry, for example, you notice all the food in a room. When you are not hungry, the
food tends not to attract your attention.
Fourth, the same message can mean two entirely different things from two different
perspectives. A person’s perspective largely determines how a message will be interpreted. The same
message may be interpreted as friendly teasing or as hostile insubordination depending on the
perspective of the receiver.
Fifth, misunderstandings often occur because we assume that everyone sees things from the
same perspective as we do. If we are interested in sports, for example, we often assume that everyone
is interested in sports. Or if we like horses, we assume everyone likes horses.
To solve problems and resolve conflicts constructively participants need to understand each
other’s perspectives.
Doing so will help them get a clear understanding of all sides of the issue, an accurate
assessment of their validity and relative merits, and the ability to think creatively to come up with the
potential solutions that maximize joint outcomes and fulfill the interests of all participants. All this
requires them to see the issue from both their own and the other persons’ perspectives, and keep both
perspectives in mind at the same time as they search for a solution. This is difficult, given that
different people have different perspectives, each person may have different perspectives at different
times, the same message may be interpreted differently depending on the receiver’s perspective, and
misunderstandings often occur because we assume that everyone has the same perspective as we do.
Accurately understanding the cognitive and affective perspective of others results in
several positive outcomes.
First, perspective-taking, by influencing how messages are phrased and received, improves
communication and reduces misunderstandings and distortions.
Second, perspective-taking is essential for a realistic assessment of common and opposed
interests and an accurate assessment of their validity and relative merits. This understanding is
required if participants are to reach an agreement based on deciding which opposed interests need to
be sacrificed so that the common benefits, concerns, advantages, and needs may be built on.
Third, a broader view of the issue results from being able to take the other person’s
perspective. If you want to influence the other person, you also need to understand empathetically the
power of his/her point of view and to feel the emotional force with which he or she believes in it.
 Fourth, engaging in perspective-taking tends to improve the relationship with the other
person. You are more liked and respected when the other person realizes that you are seeing his or her
perspective accurately and using it to create potential agreements that benefit both sides equally.
It should be noted, however, that when the interests of parties are directly opposed,
perspective-taking tends to result in increased conflict and disagreement. Perspective-taking is most
helpful when there are multiple issues under discussion or when the conflict has multiple dimensions
that may be combined in creative ways.
Perspective-taking is the neglected secret of constructive problem solving, negotiations,
conflict resolution, higher-level cognitive and moral reasoning, and most other aspects of human
interaction.
While it is not always easy or comfortable to do, it is essential for building and
maintaining constructive relationships.
Teaching children how to take others’ perspectives is a needed aspect of schooling and
socialization.
Becoming skillful in taking the perspective of others will tend to significantly improve the
quality of one’s life.

FLEXIBLE TEACHING LEARNING MODALITY ADAPTED

1. Module
2. Edmodo
TEACHING AND LEARNING ACTIVITY
Please visit and watch the following links

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ec1m6AMfWgs
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iF6ukYYbG0U
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSbNxkASm7c

ASSESSMENT TASK
Direction: Answer the following briefly and concisely.
1. In your own words, define government and explain the importance of it and its branches.
2. What is the supreme law of the land in our country and how do you imagine our country
without it?
3. Identify your local government from provincial down to the barangay and its obligation to its
constituents.
4. Select a certain social issue that our country is having right now and interview two or 3
people with different stand. What insight did you get from their different perspective? Why is
it important to get different perspectives?

REFERENCES
IDEA. International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance. 2014. Available at
https://www.idea.int/sites/default/files/publications/what-is-a-constitution-primer.pdf
https://www.gov.ph/philippine-government
http://www.ph.net/htdocs/government/phil/loc-gov/index.html
http://socialstudies.org/sites/default/files/publications/yl/1501/150105.html
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/constructive-controversy/201906/the-importance-taking-
the-perspective-others