Summary
Highlights
This lesson introduces the roles of civil society and social movements in Philippine politics and governance, beginning with an understanding of current theories. The content standard emphasizes understanding elections, civil society, and social movements, while the performance standard focuses on analyzing state-society interactions. The learning competency is to explain the concept, role, and contributions of civil society and social movements to Philippine democracy.
Civil society consists of groups operating outside governmental and for-profit sectors, championing issues for marginalized citizens such as poverty, environmental protection, and human rights. Examples include labor unions, non-profit organizations, churches, and service agencies. The United Nations refers to civil society as the 'third sector,' independent of the state and market, comprising Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs). CSOs are non-state, non-profit voluntary organizations that pursue common interests through collective action. NGOs are non-profit and voluntary citizen groups, organized locally, nationally, or internationally, providing services, bringing citizen concerns to governments, and advocating policies.
Successful civil societies are separated from the state and market, formed by people with common needs, interests, and values, and developed through an endogenous process not easily controlled externally. Civil society positively influences the state and market, promoting good governance, effectiveness, and accountability. Its role in good governance includes policy analysis and advocacy, regulating state and official performance, building social capital, articulating citizen beliefs, and mobilizing participation for community well-being.
There are five main types of CSOs: religious (e.g., Philippine Red Cross, acting on religious precepts to provide education, health, and relief), community-based (focused on solidarity, resource sharing, and community building), philanthropic (serving causes based on generosity and humanism, without religious affiliation), expert (acting in fields requiring scientific knowledge, publishing technical reports), and business (defending business and industry interests, often through lobbyists). Hybrid organizations include government-oriented CSOs (influenced by national authorities, seen in countries like China) and trade unions (organizations of workers protecting and promoting common interests, like the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines).
Civil organizations are crucial for democratization, enabling wider participation, protecting citizens from state abuse, and ensuring state accountability. They act as protectors, guardians, change advocates, and generators of social welfare. Specific functions include protecting citizens' lives and freedom, monitoring government for accountability (e.g., human rights, public spending), advocacy and public communication (articulating marginalized interests), socialization (promoting democratic attitudes and social cohesion), intermediation and facilitation between citizens and the state, and service delivery (providing essential services like shelter, health, and education, especially when state services are weak).
Social movements have historically driven social change in the Philippines. They are defined as sustained, purposeful collective mobilizations by self-organized groups confronting specific power structures to achieve socioeconomic and political change. They exhibit high commitment and political activism, are not necessarily formal, and operate outside governmental institutions to change society through collective action. They mobilize people with common interests and goals.
Social movements progress through four stages: Emergence (widespread discontent, little organization, can be supported by a social movement organization - SMO), Coalescence (popular stage with a clear sense of discontent and identification of responsibility, overcoming initial obstacles), Bureaucratization (success leads to a need for coordinated strategy and trained staff, moving beyond rallies), and Decline (can be due to success, organized failure from strategic errors, co-optation of leaders by authorities, or repression by authorities).