Local Studies

Emphasizing Womens Political Participation (WPP)

Philippine politics is patriarchal and elitist. Rich, famous men dominate the political
scene. The few women who make it into significant government positions are elite
women from wealthy families who do not experience the same problems faced by
ordinary women. Overall, women occupy less than 11% of all elected positions in
government.
The importance of effective and meaningful womens political participation cannot be
overstated. DSWP firmly believes that advocacy will be easier if more feminist
grassroots, community and sector-based women are in political positions, both in
government and within mixed organizations and movements. Participation in elections as
candidates, organizers and supporters is important, but it is not enough to make politics
more inclusive and participatory. Politics continue long after the election winners are
proclaimed. Continuous and sustained womens political participation through informal
and formal channels is imperative.
Election-related activities
Electoral advocacy has primarily focused on increasing the numbers of grassroots women
elected to public office at the local level. To this end, DSWP has been involved in:
Discussions and training on politics as an arena of womens organizing;
Orientation on the electoral system, laws, guidelines and other technical matters;
Training and support for community-based women to run for public office at the local
level;
Developing area core groups which fulfill election-related technical requisites;

 Planning, coordinating and implementing campaigns, including fundraising, media

work, and managing, conflicts;
Assisting in the development of the platform of government;
Monitoring elections;
Training on the Local Government Code (LGC) with focus on opportunities for
womens participation in
Local Government Units (LGUs) and Local Special Bodies (LSBs); and
Negotiating with women candidates and select men candidates on the Womens Agenda.
One key advocacy issue was the need for the LGUs to implement the 5% budgetary
allocation for gender-specific initiatives. This is a provision in the General
Appropriations Act (GAA) which mandates government agencies at all levels to reserve
at least 5% of their budgets for womens concerns. The provision has existed since 1995
but has been poorly implemented. Few candidates and incumbent officials know about it.
The women of the DSWP have become the source of information as well as materials on
this issue.
In 1997 DSWP decided on criteria for chapters to use in selecting candidates. These
were: a) the candidates positions and track record on womens issues, such as VAW,
health, poverty, womens political participation and the delivery of social services; b)
commitment to the Womens Agenda; and c) the candidates program of government.
Where there were specific candidates averse to womens issues, DSWP groups actively
campaigned against them. (Cunanan-Angsioco, 2000)

Republic Act No. 7160, also known as the Local Government

Code of 1991, formed the Katipunan ng Kabataan (KK) to tap and harness the energy,
enthusiasm, and idealism of young people. Those aged 15 to 17 years old in a barangay
could register in the KK and have the right to vote and be voted into a governing body
called the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK). The SK chairperson assumes a seat in the
Barangay Council, and is given full powers and authority like any member of the
Council. The idea is truly ahead of its time: a pioneering effort that sets the Philippines
apart. The law sets the stage for the youth to acquire leadership skills by actually
becoming leaders: learn how to speak and be heard in the world of adults, and be
empowered to create programs and policies that will help solve societys problems.
(Balanon, et. al., 2007)

Since independence, however, the Philippines has enjoyed remarkable cultural cohesion
within its political elite. The Muslim or Protestant segments in a dominantly Catholic
society have fitted in well on all except the most ecclesiastical occasions. Families of
Chinese origin frequently intermarried with Filipinos and were rapidly assimilated to
national society. Tagalogs, Ilocanos, and Visayans were balanced by an unwritten rule
which distributed presidential, vice presidential and senatorial nominations among the
major tongues. Nor did these linguistic differences represent significant cultural
cleavages and in any case the language of all government transactions, until recently,
was English.

Furthermore, old families of great wealth without losing their own disproportionate
influence welcomed or even sponsored poor boys with talent into the elite circle, so

that differences in social origin did not become the basis for lasting elite cleavages either.
Despite the contrasts in wealth, there were no impermeable class barriers. Differences in
economic interest within the elite have been more open causes of controversy in the
Philippines than elsewhere in Southeast Asia, however. This was permitted because of the
very cultural unity we have described. Thus examination of socio-economic backgrounds
becomes more important for Philippine elite analysis than for that in most Southeast
Asian countries.

Filipino elite cohesion helped produce a period of political stability for twenty-six years
after independence, consistent with the expectations of the conventional political science
wisdom. That stability was nevertheless disrupted in 1972 by the intensity of
interfactional struggle, despite that cohesion. It is our primary purpose here to review the
changes that have taken place in the Filipino political elite in recent years and to assess
the implications that they hold for the future, both for the Philippines and for developing
countries generally. (Wurfel, 1979)

Foreign Studies
The UN Millennium Project (2005) emphasized that to be empowered women, they must
not only have equal capabilities (such as education and health) and equal access to
resources and opportunities (such as land and employment), but they must also have the
agency to use those rights, capabilities, resources, and opportunities to make strategic
choices and decisions (such as is provided through leadership opportunities and

participation in political institutions). And for them to exercise agency, they must live
without the fear of coercion and violence.
In a UN Habitat (2008) publication on Best Practices in Gender Mainstreaming, it
highlights that women empowerment involves practical measures to enhance womens
participation in decision-making and in governance processes, and generally to uplift
their status through literacy, education, training and raising awareness. It also includes
poverty reduction programmes which lead them to generate income and enhance access
to job opportunities; underlying issues are also taken into account such as the protection
of a womans human rights, her reproductive health as well as property ownership.
(Alvarez,2013)

Class voting is a much disputed scientific debate nowadays. But it is not only the party
preference that might differ with social class, but also the propensity to vote itself. As
from an economic perspective voting can be understood as an act that is connected with
costs (time and information costs), persons might have different motivations to
participate in a vote. In addition, as the individualisation of society accelerates, social
pressure to vote diminishes and especially individuals from a lower socio-economic
background are left behind with a feeling of frustration towards party politics.
Disoriented and disappointed citizens, if not offered any alternative by parties that claim
to act in their interest might choose to use vote abstention as a sign of disapproval
towards the political system that they feel more and more alienated from.
Furthermore, while not being a sign of active disagreement, abstention can also express
general disinterest in politics.

(Franke, 2012)

Ethnic and religious minority groups across Europe are often excluded from political
participation by formal as well as informal barriers, despite the fact that participation in
political processes is a fundamental human right and a crucial requirement for
integration. Political participation is essential to functioning democratic systems; it is
important that everyone plays an active role as voters, community participants, workers,
activists and political party members. However, ethnic and religious minorities are unable
to exercise their political and civil rights.
Finally, while two aforementioned approaches tend to underline the political context and
organizational factors in affecting migrants political participation, research also shows
that the socio-demographic and socio-economic characteristics of individuals, their
education, income, gender and age tend to be important factors as well. This holds true
for immigrants and ethnic minorities too. Consequently, where policies tend to encourage
the participation of immigrants in specific sectors of the labour market producing an
ethnic segmentation of the labour market structure, this may be not only an impediment
to immigrants socio-economic integration but it may also have negative effects on the
political integration of immigrants and the possibility of representing their interests and
identities in the political sphere. (Onyeji, 2010)