Kindly read the following to give you insights on your essays:1. a. PHILIPPINE POLITICS - Abp. Oscar. V. Cruz, DDViews and PointsPHILIPPINE Politics is curious and intriguing, interesting and entertainingand particularly detestable as well as disgusting. Philippine politics is not simply for the vicious but also for the avaricious, not merely for those wanting to serve but the more so, for those wanting to be served much and well. Philippine politics is the origin of wonderful promises and as well as the cause of big disappointments productive of misery and poverty.Philippine Politics is not simply the purveyor of hope but likewise the cause of despair. It is the jumping board of gross graft and corrupt practices instead of a response to the call of what is right, proper, and just. Philippine politics is anything but admirable even for those harboring optimismif not hallucination. Would that it were otherwise. And would that following thoughts and impressions were but in the realm of fallacy:It is a great business.While there are exceptions, most, however, enter the sphere of Philippine politics not really to render public service but to ascertain fast and fruitful self-service. This is precisely why it is very much worth making all the required capital investments in seeking elective public office whereas politics in the Philippine is a very profitable investment. Poor Filipino politicians are a rare breed. They are the picture of few small needles in a huge haystack.It is a distinctly advantageous way of life.Philippine politics is not only a convenient and advantageous way of making a living. It is also a highly profitable means of livelihood. This is why it is primarily the wealthy who aspire for, who hold on and cling to political positions. They have many family interests to protect, a good number of clan concerns to promote. Politicians need only talk much and act welland the beneficial returns are many and spectacular.It is an addictive adventure.It is not true that the maxim Once a boy scout, always a boy scout, is an exclusive claim and principle of scouting. There is the living and vibrant reality that once a politician, always a politician. Otherwise, it would be hard to explain the so-called political dynasties. How true it is that Philippine politics is very addictive indeed. Husband and wife and kid, father and son and daughter etc. etc. all in politicsthese are but few examples of the living proofs that politics is addictive.Would that Filipino politicians think of and work for the countrynot for themselves! Would that they dedicate themselves to the socio-economic development of the Philippinesnot that of their family and clan! Would that Philippine politics be for the public welfare and the common goodnot for dynastic well-being and progress!The People of the Philippines can dream, cant they?

b. Christopher Ryan Maboloc , Philippine Daily Inquirer:In times of great evil, we are often reminded of Epicurus who famously questioned the notion of an omnipotent God. Epicurus argued: If God is unable to prevent evil, then he is not all-powerful; if God is not willing to prevent evil, then he is not all-good; and if God is both willing and able to prevent evil, then why does it exist?Indeed, the answer is that if God designed a perfect world for each one of us, then there would be no value to human freedom. Precisely, we have to learn from our mistakes, suffer from the consequences of ill-fated decisions, but most important of all, the reflexive attitude toward human action means we must not commit the same mistake over and over again.This, however, is not true in the realm of Philippine politics. Our political leaders are still in their usual intramural debates and politically motivated legislative investigations. In 2010 we saw President Aquino as some silver bullet delivered from above, thanks to the death of a democracy icon, yet what we have seen so far is that the job of cleaning the terrible mess of corruption is next to impossible. The issue of the Disbursement Acceleration Program only showed that he also fell into the indispensable necessity of party politics.The difference between Third World politics and First World politics is not really in the efficiency or the scientific way developed countries do things. The difference is more fundamental. Mature democracies determine the fate of their country on the basis of political principles. The formula we are using is like the one filmmakers use in their movies, and that is: Some superhero will save the day for all of us. We think that there is some superhuman who will finally bridge the gap between rich and poor.Theorists in this country talk about all-inclusive growth, yet one government think tank is recommending relaxing minimum-wage regulations in order to solve the high rate of unemployment. That suggestion is not even a Band-Aid solution; it simply hides the real problem by artificially improving employment numbers. People do not need just jobs. People need jobs that are sustainable, that will give them the capability to send their children to school and to afford healthcare.The rumor that Manuel V. Pangilinan will supposedly bankroll the presidential campaign of Vice President Jejomar Binay is not at all good news. It means simply, if confirmed, the marriage of business and politics. While both camps deny it, it is nevertheless a matter of fact that politicians get their campaign kitty from corporate patrons. The reason is simple: Businessmen expect returns.The difference between public service and business needs no further explaining. In the corporate world, you hire the brightest and weed out the incompetent. In electing people to public office, everything will depend on the decision of the majority. While the right of suffrage is an equalizer, a vote is always counted as one regardless of the voters IQ. The reality, however, is that new forms of control, subtle and obvious, are employed by cunning politicians in order to influence voters. There are many examples. There is no need to mention one.A politics based on personalities is the root cause of all evil. But I suppose this is not something that God willed for the Filipino people. We can point to history, culture and tradition as to why the future of our children has been compromised. Some of our intelligent legislators are even proposing useless bills in Congress. There are good bills, though, like those that are intended to enhance the role of the middle class by easing the burden of income taxation.In the Philippines, politics is always about the glamour of public office. Marriage proposals take more space in social media than the achievement of a teacher who has committed his life to serving the children in tribal communities. The facts are glaring. Dynasties in the South have stifled human development. The poorest provinces are ruled by pseudo-kings.Many bright academicians feel that politics is nothing but a chaotic phantasmagoria. For them, it is a hopeless case. Those who say that there is a light at the end of the tunnel are actually outside of it. They want nothing about political engagements. The poor, in this regard, have two problems: Many good men who refuse to get involved in designing a better country for our children, and plenty of evil politicians who continue to bully their way into the future of this nation by way of political machinations.In 2010, I put a lot of faith in President Aquino. I was wrong. It was a mistake. A mistake cannot be undone. However, while the courage to be is still preferred over falling into the abyss of despair, I suppose we have to change the way we see things. We have to encourage civil society to heighten discussions of public issues rather than recommend political heroes. The face of Philippine politics has not changed. Not because we still have the same maniacal leaders in office, but because many Filipinos have remained in the dungeons of human poverty.Christopher Ryan Maboloc teaches philosophy at the Ateneo de Davao University.

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2.Sources: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KeQicCAUishttp://www.democracy-building.info/switzerlands-political-system.htmlSwitzerland No. 1 Best Governed Country in the World (2014)Switzerland's Political SystemDirect DemocracyIt is astonishing how little the rest of the world knows about the way Switzerland runs its politics. Even its next-door neighbors in Europe, though vaguely aware that it is a deeply decentralized country, do not really understand the other, more important part of the Swiss system -- the part that could turn out to be a model for everybody's 21st century democracy.Brian Beedham, United Press International, in a book review on Gregory Fossedal'sThe road to full democracy.Switzerland is a small country located in the heart of western Europe, at the intersection of German, French and Italian language and culture. Switzerland has beenmulticulturalin its own way for centuries.DemocracyandDirect Democracyin particular, has a long, but not undisputed tradition in this country.Switzerland's unique political systemis today world's most stable democratic system, offering a maximum of participation to citizens.Switzerland'sDirect Democracyis not the result of pure tradition and harmonic development, however. Much to the contrary, the very basics (decentralisation of power) and the unique instruments ofDirect Democracy(frequent referendumsandpopular initiative) have been established throughhard political struggle, including a violentRevolution in 1798, decades of rioting (1830's and 1840's: the termputschfor a violent overthrow of government is one of the few Swiss German dialect words that have been adopted in a large number of foreign languages ...) culminating in a shortcivil war in 1847.Basic Features of Switzerland's Political System Switzerland is aConfederation of 26 cantons. The cantons [member states of the federation] do enjoy quite some autonomy. Governments, parliaments and courts on 3 levels:- federal- cantonal- communal small villages have reunions of all citizens instead of parliaments, local courts are common to several communities Two features ofDirect Democracygrant an unusually detailed level ofparticipation to ordinary citizens:Popular Initiative:Ordinary citizens may propose changes to the constitution, if they can find a number of supporters (100,000 out of about 3,500,000 voters, smaller numbers on cantonal and communal level).The parliament will discuss the proposals, probably set up an alternative and afterwards all citizens may decide in a referendum whether to accept the original initiative, the alternate parliamentary proposal or to leave the constitution unchanged.Common FeaturesShared with other Democratic Political SystemsAlldemocratic political systemsshare the separation of powers (independence of government/administration,parliament (legislation)and courts of justice). Several political parties compete with each other to propose solutions to the country's problems.The federal system is not mandatory for a democracy, but it can be found in many other countries like the U.S.A., Germany, Austria etc.In other words: most aspects of Switzerland's political system are just normal features of a modern democracy.Exclusive Featuresof Switzerland's Political SystemThe two chambers of Switzerland's national parliament meet several times annually to sessions during several weeks and between them to preparing meetings in numerous commissions. But being member of parliament is not a full time job in Switzerland, contrary to most other countries today. This means that members of parliament have to practise an ordinary profession to earn their living - thereby they are closer to everyday life of their electorate.The really remarkable thing about Switzerland's political system isDirect Democracy: the extraordinary amount of participation in the political process that is granted to ordinary citizens. In other words: it is not the mere existence of direct democratic instruments (federalism is widespread and referendums are not completely unknown to other democratic systems) but rather thefrequent useof them, not only asencouraged bySwitzerland's Constitution, but aspractised with enthusiasmby the citizens.Frequent referendumsdo have a stabilizing influence on parliament, government, economy and society: Referendums will increase the willingness to compromise (otherwise a party defeated in parliament will call for a referendum).This effect is not so strong, however, as we see from the fact that there are several non-mandatory referendums in Switzerland every year (and even some successful ones leaving the uncompromising majority and the goverment in the rain) despite the fact that every politician should know and "fear" them ... Referendums favour big coalitions:Shared power motivates compromise, exclusion from power motivates obstructive referendums. Referendums increase stability:As extreme laws will mercilessly be blocked by the electorate in referendums, parties are less inclined to radical changes in laws and voters are less inclined to call for fundamental changes in elections. There is no need to dismiss the government after a lost referendum, because the referendum solves the problem - preventing an extreme law - more efficiently and also more precisely: On the very same day, three new laws may be accepted and two others rejected.1 | Page