PHILIPPINE POLITICS &

GOVERNANCE
Civil Society and Social Movement
I. Civil Society
Civil society is a web of human relationships made by individual people, their
networks, organizations, and in situations around which social and community
life is built. It is dynamic, adaptive, at times nebulous, at times well-structured,
though much of it is informal. A civil society city is seen as a social sphere
separated from both the state and the market. Civil society is termed by the
United Nations (UN) as the third sector of society, along with government and
business. It comprises civil society organizations and non-governmental
organizations. The term civil society organizations (CSOs) refers to those non-
state, non-profit, voluntary organizations formed by the people in this social
sphere.
Types of Civil Society Organizations
● Religious Civil Society Organizations
● Community-Based Civil Society Organizations
● Philanthrophic Civil Society Organizations
● Expert Civil Society Organizations
● Business Civil Society Organizations
● Government-Oriented Civil Society Organizations
● Trade Unions
a. Company union (house union)
b. General union (industrial union)
c. Craft union
Functions and Contributions of Civil Organization

● Protection of Citizens
● Monitoring for Accountability
● Advocacy and public communication
● Socialization
● Building Community
● Intermediation and facilitation between citizens and state
● Service delivery
Below are the roles of Civil Society Organizations in good
governance
a. key agent in policy analysis and advocacy;
b. regulates and monitors state performance and behavior of policy officials;
c. builds social capital and enables citizens to identify and articulate their beliefs,
values and ideals;
d. mobilizes particular constituencies – especially the marginalized sectors of the
masses – to participate in public and political affairs; and
e. participates in development work to improve the well-being of its own and of
other communities.
II. Social Movement
Philippine politics and the struggle for genuine social change are best demonstrated through the
country’s social movements. Social movements have been making a mark in our history since the colonial
period up to the present time. A social movement is a collective effort to promote or prevent social
change so that a new order of social thought and action can be taken place. A large number of people act
together with some degree of leadership and organization. Social movements arise during periods of
unrest and dissatisfaction in the political, social, economic, and cultural dimensions of society. The
people unite in an organized manner to bring changes with the hope that social and political ills of society
can be changed.
According to Charles Tilly, as mentioned by Baleña et. al. (2016), there are three major elements to a
social movement namely:
1. Campaigns are sustained, organized public effort making collective claims of target authorities;
2. Repertoire involves employment of combinations from among the following forms of political action:
creation of special purpose associations and coalitions, public meetings, solemn processions, vigils, rallies,
demonstrations, petition drives, statements to and in public media, and pamphleteering; and
3. WUNC displays which means that there is participants’ concerted public representation of worthiness, unity,
numbers, and commitments on the part of themselves and/or their constituencies.
The Development of Social Movements
According to Smelmer, as mentioned by Zulueta (2011), social movements evolve through a series of
stages as a precondition of the development of any type of behavior and they are as follows:
1. Social Unrest
2. Popular Excitement
3. Formalization
4. Institutionalization
For Blumer (1985), there are four stages in the life cycle of social movements and they are as follows:
5. Emergence
6. Coalescence
7. Bureaucratization
8. Decline
Types of Social Movements
A. According to Scope

1. Reform Movements- They seek to modify specific types of social change in various areas of life
such as political, economic, social, cultural and religious dimensions without destroying or changing
the entire system.

2. Radical Movements- These are dedicated to changing the value systems in a fundamental way.

B. According to Change

1. Innovation Movements- They aim to introduce or change particular norms and values.

2. Conservative Movements- These movements strongly resist change because they want to protect
the status quo or existing order.
C. According to Targets

1. Group-Focused Movements- They fixed on moving groups or society in general like advocating
change in the country’s political system.

2. Individual-Focused Movements- They are focused on affecting the individuals. The different
religious movements are categorized here.

D. According to Methods of Work

1. Peaceful Movements- They are non-violent. Their means of protest are diplomatic and they
campaign for nonviolent resistance.

2. Violent Movements- Members of these type usually resort to violent means of protesting and
campaigning. They are somewhat revolutionary – seeks to change the whole social order and establish
a new one in a radical and violent means to achieve their purpose.
E. According to Age

1. Old Movements- These movements have existed for many years or even centuries.

2. New movements- These movements came into realization just at the turn of the second half of the
20th century.

F. According to Range

1. Global Movements- These are movements whose objectives and goals are globally. They pursue
change at a global level.

2. Local Movements- These movements are local in terms of scope. They are focused on the local or
regional objectives like protecting a natural park or area and lobbying for the lowering of tolls in a
certain tollway.
III. Civil Society in the Philippines
The legal framework for civil society in the Philippines is provided in the 1987 Philippine
Constitutions, including, but not limited to:
a. “ The State shall encourage non-governmental, community-based, or sector organizations
that promote the welfare of the nation.” - Article II, Section 23
b. “ The State shall respect the role of independent people’s organizations to enable the
people to pursue and protect, within the democratic framework, their legitimate and
collective interests and aspirations through peaceful and lawful means. “ – Article XIII,
Section 15
c. “ The right of the people and their organizations to effective and reasonable participation
at all levels of social, political, and economic decision-making shall not be abridged. the
State shall, by law, facilitate the establishment of adequate consultation and mechanics.” -
Article XIII, Section 15
There are different types of CSOs in the country, but three are considered more important ones.
These include the following:
1. People’s Organizations. They represent marginalized groups and are often organized
based on sector, issue, or geographical area.
2. Development Non-Government Organizations. These are immediate agencies that operate
with a full-time staff.
3. Cooperatives. These are associations of individuals who voluntarily joined to make
equitable contributions to the capital required, patronize their products and services, and
accept fair share in risks and benefits of the project.

The civil society organizations in the Philippines are seen to to be involved in a broad range of
activities which include: (a) education, training, and human resource and development; (b)
community development; (c) enterprise development and employment generation; (d) health
and nutrition; (e) law, advocacy, and politics; and (f) sustainable development.
CSOs found in the Philippines:
1. Association of Foundations (1972). It advocates education, culture, science and technology,
governance, social development, environment, and sustainable development.
2. Affiliated Network for Social Accountability in East Asia and the Pacific (2008). It promotes the
practice of social accountability that capitalizes on existing in-country networks working in
governance reform.
3. Asian NGO Coalition for Agrarian Reform and Rural Development (1979). It is focused on food
security, agrarian reform, sustainable agriculture, participatory governance, and rural development.
4. Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (1985). It fights for national and social liberation against
imperialism, feudalism, and bureaucratic capitalism.
5. Caucus of Development NGO Networks (1991). It represents more that 1, 600 development NGOs,
people’s organizations, and cooperatives nationwide.
6. National Confederation of Cooperatives (1977). It is composed of around 1.6 million individual
members coming from several cooperative federations and around 406 rural-based and urban-based
cooperatives.
7. National Council of Social Development (1949). It was considered the first NGO network given
license and accreditation by the government for community-based programs for children and families.
8. National Secretariat of Social Action-Justice and Peace (1966). It focuses on poverty alleviation,
democratic governance, ecology and integrity of creation, peace, and development.
9. NGO Forum on ADB (1991). Its main objective is to make the ADB responsible and accountable
for the impacts of its own projects and policies.
10. Philippine NGO Council on Population, Health, and Welfare (1987). It promotes reproductive
health, gender equity and equality, women’s rights and development, non formal education, sustainable
development, and HIV/AIDS prevention and care.
11. Philippine Partnership for the Development of Human Resources in Rural Areas (1983). It is
involved in community organization and the provision of health, education, and livelihood services to
marginalized groups in the countryside.
IV. Social Movements in Philippine History
1. Philippine Social Movements before Martial Law - During the Spanish colonial period, political resistance
against the existing order was expressed through the priest-led revolts and the millenarian movements. Their
concerns were framed within the context of their economic rights and for the former, the return of communal
autonomy. The rise of principalia and ilustrado class, who already had economic power, wanted political and social
change through reforms. The Revolution of 1869 led by the Katipunan, mainly represented by the farmers and the
working class, resorted to armed struggle to achieve Philippine independence. In the American period, the persistent
suppression of the peasants and the working class gave impetus to the rise of socialist/communist movements.
2.Social Movements During the Martial Law During the Martial Law-During the Martial Law, social
movements continue to perpetuate but this time they took a different form on how they framed issues as well as the
strategies they used. The socialist/communist movements like the Communist Party of the Philippines or CPP
remained dominant. Still, social movements continue to perpetuate but this time they took a different form on how
they framed issues as well as the strategies they used.
The socialist/communist movements like the Communist Party of the Philippines or CPP remained dominant. Still,
social movements framed their context within the socioeconomic inequalities and social injustice. Martial law years
were one of the darkest phases of Philippine history. The evils of Martial law and how the Filipinos triumphed
against the dictator who took them for granted were elaborated on in the section about the importance of social
movements.
3. Social Movements After the Martial Law Up to the Present Administration- Social movements are reminders
that poverty and socioeconomic equalities continue to linger, not only in Philippine society, but in other countries as
well. This can be explained by the continuing communist insurgency, which had been a pre-Martial law
phenomenon. Today, one can see students participating in the mobilizations on the busy streets of Mendiola. The
students did not limit themselves to their schools but went to the surrounding cities and countryside to organize the
workers and the peasants. The rallying burgeoning studentry framed their issues in the context of the fight against
neocolonialism, imperialism, militant repression of IPs, and most recently the haste burial of the late dictator
Ferdinand Marcos. Social movements took a different form in the era of the internet and social media. Organizing
people, spreading awareness, and voicing out one’s opinion is much easier today because of social media platforms
(Tadem,T and Morada, N. 2006).
Thank you for Listening!
I hope you have learned something!