Essay On Philippine Democracy

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Having read Landé and Hutchcroft’s articles, Philippines’ democratic legitimacy is questionable. Which may seem surprising since historically they have had the longest experience with democracy. Through Presidents Estrada and Arroyo’s term, a spotlight has been cast on the challenges the country faces. These two individuals share a similarity that their term began with a promising outlook. Estrada a champion for the poor and Arroyo a seemingly “clean” politician that is capable of bringing reforms to the state. Despite the controversy of Arroyo’s ascension to power, she has managed to reform the country’s economic policies to contribute to its economic growth. However both Presidents both experienced a decline in popularity, one for his corruptness and one for her lack of substantial reform. Then where does the question of the state’s legitimacy stem since it seems like a personal factor, which propelled the country into further destitution? I agree…show more content…
What constitutes these weak institutions include the inadequacy of the electoral system and fragile political parties. First, electoral systems are weak due to the low threshold level (2%) used in the List-PR system. This low threshold has enabled many small parties to be elected. With an increase of players in politics, there exists a problem of intra-party competition. This makes political parties foundationally weak. Thus leading us to the second point, indistinct political parties who champion similar causes make it tough for society to vote for the right representation. In a democracy, parties are supposed to be responsible for translating the demands of the public into policies. If a party makes empty promises to get elected into power, the whole democracy is flawed. The issue of accountability would then step into play. How do you remain accountable when elections are no longer always free, fair and,

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