NGOs and Its Participation in Policy-Making | 71

CHAPTER I

PROBLEM AND ITS SETTING

IntroductionAs students of Political Science, we have constantly seen how the political curtain unveils one controversy after another. We have seen how actors became politicians and politicians became actors in the stage of public service. Early on, we have seen politicians misrepresent themselves as statesmen and how they flaunt their moves for political advancement. However, we noticed that socio-civic groups or NGOs have entered the curtain of politics. Although a congregation of individuals, they collectively behave as one of the prominent political figures in the government. They have thrust themselves to check and protect the interest of the citizenry. Like that of corporations with juridical personality, with an intellect of a collective hive, NGOs have emerged as a political force to be reckoned with.

Non-Government Organizations have taken the political sphere where and their presence cannot be ignored. They have actively taken the helm in addressing the most pressing political issues. NGOs have been in the forefront of the cameras, and front pages of the news. It is only but natural that we take interest in their activities. Given the foregoing, our group has taken notice of their presence. However, their existence has not been actually considered an exact science in our local setting so to speak. Because of this, our resources are short and scarce. However, this set back has not deterred us from choosing this subject. To digress a little, we have actually considered other topics that could have given us a plethora of ideas to work on. Even if these other subject matters can give us more pages easily, we decided to work on the said topic because this frontier have been very seldom charted as aptly placed by Scott Peck.

Non-Government Organizations, to put it simply are organizations created outside the government to tend and answer to certain issues, usually humanitarian in nature. Supposedly represent the power and initiative civil society possesses in a democratic government and the novel spirit of man that who seeks to help his fellow. Which is all well and good, for the more involvement private citizens in public affairs the more democratic a state seems and the state could use a little extra help. NGOs act as lobbyist, activist, watchers, patrons, benefactors, organizers and some extra hands for whatever cause they think is worth their time and effort, and for that they should be commended.

However at the turn of the 21st century, there was a common perception that NGOs were beneficial. But now, there seems to a shifting view regarding their involvement in state matters and their role in present day politics; for as NGOs steadily rose into power during the last ten years many have begun to question NGOs and some even begin to denounce them as threats to democracy and state sovereignty. The purpose of this study is to give an in-depth state study regarding the roles rather the new role NGOs play in todays political arena their relationship and their dynamics with state, as well as other institutions, and in re-examining them as formidable political force.

One must also keep in mind that NGOs are not political parties. NGOs, in theory, are primarily concerned with specific social issues and while they may organize for a voice in political debate. They do not organize for the sake of winning elections or to gain access to the corridors of state power. NGOs are rooted in civil society rather than the state. They may provide assistance or even pay lip service in order to promote political causes and agendas, but theyre doing to only in pursue of a social end. Apart from that they, again in theory are completely detach from politics just like the word non-government suggests and would preferably having nothing with the whole business.

Background of the study

The entire idea was actually born out of a moments fancy. We were brainstorming on possible subjects for our group thesis and we decided upon the subject of NGOs ultimately. We had initially assumed that everything was going to be pretty simple and that collecting materials for our arguments was going to be easy. It was only when we were reading up on it more and as our knowledge of the subject matter grew did we realize as well as reinforce that age old adage that you find out how little you know the more you know-how intricate the dynamics regarding NGOs and governments really were and began to find it fascinating.Its a wonder why in this world so many things, especially those involving people, are unsure. NGOs are no different; their role in society-whether that of benefactor or pest-cant be cut into a single form. Like with everything else involving people we began to understand that NGOs can take almost any role and any combination of traits imaginable and can have whatever purpose: grand, obscure or downright silly- they care enough to raise banners for and call for numbers. Basically, our growing interest in the subject of NGOs can be explained by this little line: people are fun. Knowing the concept of the NGOs is a difficult thing to grasp, its because of the nature itself that it is not just another organization or a group that you can easily predict unlike any traditional organization. Aside from it, NGOs are a large sector of the society which is diverse (TAFP 2001), although the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has its list of NGOs in the Philippines, the lack of a catalog is a constraint in identifying them.

The researchers interest grew even more because of the increase of NGOs participation on politics- this made the team to pursue the study. Nowadays, NGOs mushroomed and it seemed like they came out of nowhere. From what the group has researched so far, this is not the time that NGOs have made their success; it is only because grassroots politics have come to life again. Their involvement with policy making is newly recognized,

Statement of the ProblemThe research aims to provide a better understanding of Non-governmental Organizations and the role they play in our political realm, especially in their involvement in policy making. The focus of this study is on the subject of NGOs and their involvement in the formulation of policies. Drafting new policies require extensive amount of research and considerable capital-something which some officials, and sadly, our own government lacks. NGOs fill in this unfortunate gap and conduct research on certain subjects, issues, and circumstances upon request by an official or out of their own volition to assist in the legislative process. Here are few questions that our study will try to focus on.1. How and why do NGOs engage in policy-making?

2. What can NGOs do well in legislation? What part in the legislation process are the NGOs an indispensable part?

3. Are NGOs significant or merely marginal political actors in policy-making?

4. Are there any bad impacts of NGOs participation in policy-making?

5. What do NGOs have at present that affect their long-term participation in policy-making? What are their weaknesses and limitations?

Hypothesis

As a catalyst of political improvement, we assume that Non-Governmental Organizations partake of a constructive critic in our political scenery. If NGOs are players in the political scene then understanding their nature and how they move is necessary if we are to predict or at least get a good idea of what may happen in the political playing field in the next few years or possibly even the next decade. As political scientists, that is our primary purpose. To read between the lines, find or confirm peoples true intentions, to look for inviolable truths in the subject of human affairs, and to destroy faulty perceptions.Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) have become an important factor in policy-making and an indispensable part in modern political affair. They have been very useful in formulating policies and giving input in every issue that need to be immediately addressed.

The reason we do so, is because from all these different factors, all these different elements and circumstances, the researchers can predict possible futures and outcomes so that we may direct our actions in the most favorable way and therefore increase our chances of always emerging in the greener side of things. For this particular case, have decided to focus ourselves into the study of NGOs; to study their role in determining political circumstance, then from there maybe we can get a picture of how they move, and their true roles in Philippine politics, and hopefully along the way, get an idea on what may be in store for the political arena in the next decade.

Theoretical Framework

Non-Government Organization (NGO) has been widely seen in the political aspect as a face for political change. The numbers of NGOs continuously increase as well as their prominence as they enter the political arena. The relationship of civil society and the state give rise to the growing prominence of NGOs in political arena especially in policy-making. Given the fact that the civil society consist of many interest groups, the government needs to recognize peoples participation in order for them to minimize their works and prevent chaos. In order to better understand the action of NGOs toward politics, we should better understand the theories and perspective regarding civil society which was presented in the works of different political thinkers. In addition, the theory on political contentions will also help in this study.

The Notions of Civil Society

Understanding civil society will help explain how it affects NGOs participation in policy-making. Before they enter the political curtain, they were just merely an advocacy group promoting the interest of the citizens. Many political thinkers give different perspective regarding civil society and how they become significant actor in political change. They present ideas, theory, and concepts that will make us understand how are these non- political actor became a significant actor in politics.

At first, the notion of civil society is that it is essentially a market society in which it has its own life independent to political organization (Baccaro, 2001). According to John Locke, civil society is an arena of self-standing sphere of pre-political activities (Baccaro, 2001). They usually deal on economic activities in order to accumulate property. However, the enjoyment of property is difficult in the absence of centralized authority. For this reason, civil society needs to create a central authority which is the state. Thus, the participation of the people is needed for the ensuring the effectiveness of the state to protect the enjoyment of natural rights, especially the right to property.

There are different approaches of the concept of civil society which were use in early modern Europe and North America, and to the debates of contemporary governance. Civil society tended to enclose the aspect of commercial society which they struggle against despotism (Reid, 2008). According to Tocqueville (1988), the formation and creation of these organization is the response to the process of democratization. The effects of democratization give greater scope for peoples participation and they became growing influence in politics. Neo- Tocquevilleans believe that civil society is the solution to the threats of democracy. Civil society is also important because they weaken the tendency of rampant individualism, which, according to Tocqueville, is inherent in democratic societies (Baccaro, 2001).

After the theories of John Locke and Alexis de Tocqueville, we will present the theory of JugerHabermas in order to further understand civil society. In Habermasian tradition, civil society is the process in which the people reach to understand issues of common interest takes place (Baccaro, 2001). Unconstrained communication taking place within civil society organizations renews the political debate and forces the government officials to be attentive and responsive to new issues arising at the boundary of the system (Habermas, 1996). People can participate in politics of deliberation, but the essence of democratic discussion cannot be widely seen in the process. On the one hand, these associations contribute to identify new problems and then pass them along to the actors of institutional politics which process and transform them into policies.

Contentious Politics

During the 20th Century, war, revolution, and disorganization of people occurred all over the world. Many different actors and identities appear and transform in episodes of contention. The behavior of the people depends upon the behavior of the society and state as well. Their ultimate interest lies in the dynamic of processes through which new political actors, new identities, organizations, and form of actions emerge during episodes of contention (McAdam et. al, 2004).

Social movements, revolution, ethnic and religious conflict, nationalism, civil rights and transnational movements are forms of contentious politics presented in the books of McAdam, Tilly, and Tarrow. This represented how the civil society struggle for a change in the current status of their environment. The contentious politics is the episodic rather than continuous event occurs in public which entailed the participation of the makers of claims, other group which recognized their claims with same interest as what they are claiming, and the government as mediator, target, or claimant (McAdam, Tilly, Tarrow, 2004).

Contentious Politics was divided into two subcategories: contained contention and transgressive contention. Contained contention refers to those cases which all parties are previously established actors employing well established claims. On the other hand, transgressive contention is a kind of contention in which grows out of existing contained contention, that the interaction between the old established one and new claims entitled to absolute attention. The episodic public events expressing social and political change often emerges from transgressive contention rather than contained contention.

To explain how the theory of contentious politics came into action here are some events including Philippines Yellow Revolution. Parisian revolutionary struggles, American civil rights, Italian postwar conflicts are well known varieties of contentious politics (McAdam, Tilly, Tarrow, 2004). In the case of the Philippines, the anti-Marcos mobilization of 1983-1986 was part of political contentions. The movement against the Marcos administration was known as the Yellow Revolution. The struggle brought new, mainly elite and middle class group, against the Marcos regime. The assassination of his rival, Senator Benigno Aquino Jr., solidified and broadened the opposition to the regime and set new challenges. As long as the Marcos administration didnt respond to the growing and struggle of Filipinos, there were continuous contentions in the society.

Figure 1. The Simple Polity Model (McAdam, Tilly, and Tarrow, 2004)

The theory on political contentions explains how the makers of the claims, which is the civil society, press and pressure the government, which is the claimants , target, or mediator, when an issues or problems remained unresolved. The theory somehow gives a broader perspective and better understanding on what was happening right now in the society. In addition, this explains how and why do civil society get involve in the political arena.

Civil society has become a term always present in every debates on politics and policy making, and used as a subject for categorizing different phenomena occurring in the society (Reid 2008). It includes the active participation of civil society in policy-making whereas they have been a significant actor. Civil society is arguably an indispensable element in a well- functioning democracy. In fact, many issues and problems of the society are being resolve not only through institutional channels but also through the help of social movements.

Conceptual Framework

The variables are also identified: Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) (variable A) and the policy-making (variable B). We have set this as our variables, because of the fact that these two parameters affect each other. One is the dependent variable (variable B), and the other is the independent (variable A). The perspectives from our selected sample will correlate them, and it was analyzed on how it affects each other. We had set citizens interest and policy or legislation as the indicators to avoid further biases. Both are indicator in the two concepts, because they are both critics of the state and the society.Significance of the Study

Non Governmental Organizations have been in the political scene for quite some time. They have been in the forefront of policy making and major political turn in the government. Their presences have been felt and will continue to be felt in the coming regime. Also called civil society, these organizations have become some sort of political pressure group that may lobby varying interest covering all spectrums of society.

The relevance of this study is to provide an understanding on how Non-governmental Organizations participate in the politics especially in the policy making. This research would help many people to understand how vital NGOs are in the society, thus, it can be a solution to many complexities in our political system. This will also be helpful in many scholars researching further on the concepts of NGOs as a little reference for them. Realizing how important they play a role in the policy making, they are really influential to the policy makers of this country; helping them constructs policies that are more efficient and substantive.

The researchers believed that participation of NGOs in the process of policy making is significant as they seemed to be part of the whole, contributing to every bill passed in the congress. This study gives you a clearer notion on how they play their game in the political arena.

Scope and Limitations

The study of NGOs and its political participation will be explained in Philippine context under contemporaneous events. NGOs being the main concept here will be our focus of study. To best explains the involvement of NGOs in politics, the researcher focused on the policy-making.

This study provides significant materials and information scrutinizing the participation of Non Governmental Organizations in the politics as well as their barrier in the system of policy making in the Philippines. The reviews and content analysis of this study accommodates the insight into the quality and quantity of NGOs in engaging their participation in the Philippine politics. The strategies we used to form our outline in this study can help determine if the NGOs may become the aids or worse comes to worse it may end up being the hindrance in the policy making process of the Philippines. Many experts have made a study about the importance of understanding the politics in disseminating the relationship of NGOs to the political system, also in connection to the civil society, scholars, and if the scope of the study is within the reach of the target coverage of the study.

The information regarding the NGOs and political system of the Philippines is very useful not only for further study in this area but also in a better indulgent of a particular target group. This shall help in designing interventions for this group and sending the right message across to the right people through the use of the right medium.

The relationship between the state and the society gives the study two sides of perspective. One problem has been looked at from many directions before any conclusions drawn. This study can be used as a base for many further researches as the data which was pertinent to the objectives of this research paper was used by the researcher. Various data are available for further research.

Definition of Terms

1. Non-government Organizations NGOs are private organizations that pursue activities to relieve suffering, promote the interests of the poor, protect the environment, provide basic social services, or undertake community development (World Bank, 2009). They include many groups and institutions that are entirely or largely independent of government and that have primarily humanitarian or cooperative rather than commercial objectives. (Tigno, 1993 )2. Civil Society

Civil Society refers to the system of social relations based on the association of people independently of the State and the family which first emerged in Europe in the seventeenth century. Civil society is characterized by "free" labor and a commodity market, a system of law enforcement and voluntary association. Civil society focuses or emphasizes more on either values or beliefs or on institutions (Reid, 2008)3. Civil Society Organization

CSOs refer to different types of non-corporate private voluntary institutions promoting a variety of public causes that includes Non-Government Organization (NGO) as one form of CSO, though these two are taken to mean the same thing (Serrano,1994).

4. Peoples Organization

1987 Constitution defines Peoples Organization (POs) as bona fide associations of citizens with demonstrated capacity to promote the public interest and with identifiable leadership, membership, and structure (Tigno, 1993)

5. Policy-Making

Policy-making has been defined as the process by which governments translate their political vision into programs and actions to deliver 'outcomes' desired change in the real world (Ogurida, 2009)

6. Lobbying Lobbying is an act of attempting to influence government decisions, more often the legislations by any group of people or an individual from the private sector or corporation (www.dictionary.com)7. Lobbyist

A person who tries to influence government decisions in behalf of the interest of the civil society (www.dictionary.com)8. Political Contentions

Political Contentions mean episodic, public, collective interaction among makers of claims and objects when (a) at least one government is a claimant, an object of claims, or a party to the claims, (b) the claims would, if realized, affect the interest of at least one of the claimants (McAdam, Tarrow, Tilly, 2004 ).9. Neo- Tocquivillean

Theorists like Robert Putnam who believes that the key to successful democracy lies in societal and cultural factors. They see the participation in the civil society as machinery for producing the patterns of individual behavior and social interaction necessary for democratic governance (Berman, 1997).10. Contained Contention

Contained contention refers to those cases which all parties are previously established actors employing well established claims. transgressive contention is a kind of contention in which grows out of existing contained contention, that the interaction between the old established one and new claims entitled to absolute attention (McAdam, Tarrow, Tilly, 2004).11. Transgressive Contention Transgressive contention is a kind of contention in which grows out of existing contained contention, that the interaction between the old established one and new claims entitled to absolute attention (McAdam, Tarrow, Tilly, 2004).CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

Review of Related Literature and Studies

I. What we know about the Non-Government Organizations (NGO) in the Philippines

Non-Government Organizations are organizations that have ingrained itself into Filipino politics during the course of the last decade. They used to be nothing more or less than charity organizations but as time went on they have attained a broad reach of influence that can now influence political decisions and direction. The state has even taken into using them as auxiliary forces; augmenting the powers of the state by their cooperation and assistance. We can expect NGOs to be active in years to come as the political and social landscape of the Philippines shifts and one can expect that NGOs will play a significant part in its transformation. The focus of our study will strictly be in the Philippine context, being that this subject matter is much to be broad to be covered in its entire. This literature review will discuss on: 1) rise of NGOs to a position of political influence; 2) relationship of state and NGOs; 3) relationship of NGOs and POs. 4) the participation of NGOs in the policy making.Civil Society Organizations (CSO) became fashionable during the United Nations summits of the 1990s. CSOs refer to different types of non-corporate private voluntary institutions promoting a variety of public causes that includes Non-Government Organization (NGO) as one form of CSO, though these two are taken to mean the same thing (Serrano,1994). NGOs strengthens civil society organizations by advocating and supporting the reform of the state and to give supplements to the traditional institutions of democracy such as political parties, trade unions, and the media (Farrington and Bebbington 1993). During the early 1990s, the title civil society invaded the Philippine discourse, supersede the changes that happened in the Eastern Europe in the 1980s (Serrano,1994). Civil society focuses or emphasizes more on either values or beliefs or on institutions. In the Philippines the use of civil society includes both.

In the Philippines, it is hard to find a concrete count of NGOs or CSOs yet the number is presumed to be large and growing. On 4 July 1946, Philippines was freed from its colonizers and attained its independence. During the dictatorship of Marcos, the broad fields of civil societies were limited; civil, human and political rights are brought down and as a result, underground organizations seeking for redemocratization was formed. The latter eventually contributed a lot to end the Marcos regime through the famous people power revolution of 1986. This gave inspiration for the beginning of the recovery in civil society. Post-Marcos governments partnered with NGOs in service delivery and public policy for the reason that strong relationships with poor communities was built up in the time of dictatorship. Not all of these NGOs formed with charitable and good intentions, some are formed to advance personal, rather than public welfare. In response to this, Caucus of Development NGO Networks (CODE-NGO) was formed, CODE-NGO aims to promote professionalism, expand reach and increase the effectiveness of NGOs. In other words: CODE-NGO aims to empower civil society-getting people more involved in social issues and increase the efficiency of NGOs as well to answer to organizations that have formed in the name of personal interests.

Brought by the challenges of Globalization, a new set of concerns roomed. Growing numbers of NGO, have conducted wide range of activities, and undertook measures to resolve these concerns such as implementing sustainable development, human rights activism, social justice, environmental issues and many more, that are ignored by the government agencies (Barghouth 1994; Bratton 1989; Chazan 1992; Fouler 1991; Fox &Henandez 1992; Frantz 1987; Ndegua 1993, 96; Ngethe&kanyinga 1992; Sauyal 1994). NGOs serves as an arena which people help others for reasons other than profit or politics. Economist and development planners acclaim the role of associations in alleviating rural poverty and helping communities to adapt to modernization. The relationship of NGOs to social movement and their capacity to both empower people and contribute to the alternative discourses of development and democratization have profound impacts on sustainable development (Fisher 1997). NGOs have the capacity to efficiently transfer training and skills that guide individuals and communities to compete in markets. They are also involved in a struggle for ideological autonomy from the state, political parties and the development apparatus (Friedman 1992, Lind 1992). NGOs politicize issues that were not formerly politicized through the discourses of development or democratic participation. The reasons why these NGOs have expanded its role is because of the national problems the government cant easily address. In addition, the expansion of NGOs is also the result of the personal interests of politicians because they notice how effective NGOs are. They are being used as machinery to advocate politicians interests.

In the political space created by the political actors, new concerns have mushroomed brought by globalization, contests, and also by the failure of states. Growing numbers of groups entered the scene, thus overtaking the governmental functions of the state. According to the work of fisher (1997), there is a realization of NGOs becoming a potential in development planning, policy making and activism, however there are few studies on the impact of NGOs on the relations of power among individuals, communities, and the state, and thus this literature is limited only as there is little discourse on the study of NGO practices (Fisher 1997) in resolving problems of social welfare, service delivery and democratization. But few works from different scholars presented some little knowledge on this.

Scholars have reexamined the role of non-government organization to the society, as well as the relationship of State and NGOs (Fisher, 1997). NGOs have become an important arena of activities in politics. These institutions have provided opportunities and developed a political role independent from the main political organizations in the Philippines. Organizations help in complementing government services and in building civil society. However, it is still debatable whether they are independent on the structure of government. There are some instances that NGOs are notably seen in political process and sometimes involve themselves in the policy making.

Critics have foreseen that NGOs benefit the expanding diverse society like providing training for those who are less fortunate, in order to cope up and engage into competence, as a result, greater participation can be achieved, thus, democratization can be more appreciated (Fouler,1991; Frantz 1987 &Hyden, 1998). In this process, people are educated in the sense that they are being informed about the existing problems of the society. As Alexis de Tocqueville stated, NGOs strengthen and improve interest of the civil society. De Tocqueville distinguished the relationship between the political associations organized independently on the state. NGOs as an institution that is autonomous local-based organization that is necessary for decentralizing and participatory system of the state. These institutions coincide with the power of mass and counter-hegemonic organizations and the declining appeal of coherent class-based political characters. They committed to relief and welfare activities; improve small-scale local development projects and reforming both national and international political empowerment.

NGOs beg to be considered nonpolitical but their political nature can hardly be denied. The development of NGOs in the Philippines can be rooted from the political aspect, specifically during the time of dictatorship. NGOs traditional role in politics is mainly advocacy in which they promote popular interest and agendas. Whenever the issues take on a more comprehensive scope, NGOs may play front line roles in the advocacy efforts together with other cross-oriented groups (Alegre 1996). NGOs such as mass media tend to popularized issues and campaigns and tend to influence decision makers.

Philippines is an example of a developing country, wherein the civil society is strong and possesses high degree of clientelism and semi-clientelism. Activism and reformation have been an important agenda in the late 17th century and latter 20th century (San Juan and Alegre 1996). This time, substantial efforts made by POs joined force with NGOs. This section examines the relationship of non-governmental organizations and Peoples organization with the state.

The politically left-of-center development nongovernment organizations and peoples organizations have attempted to crossover to state positions in order to implement social and economic reforms (Reid 2008). Ben Reid argues that the Philippine experience suggest that some NGOs and POs, far from challenging issues of defined semiclientilism, are themselves in these very relationship. Engagement with the state brings explicit dilemmas and proposes that activist political groups would be better served by being observant of the structural and historical constraints that constantly set limits on the capacities for intervention in policy making in order to achieve social and political changes. Thats why NGOs and POs personnel are sometimes advised to enter government positions because the state cannot manage to resolve the growing dilemmas of the society.

In contrast to the Tocquevilleans, Gramscis conceptual approach on explaining the involvement of NGOs and POs is in the civil society in which he locates as a central component of traditional relationships of power. The power being talked about is the clientilism and semiclientilism existing in the society. The weak nature of dominant section of class interests meant that these interests had to rely upon civil society to stabilize social relationship. The dependence of section of class interest to the society will result as the clientilist relation. The conflicting interests of different classes will cause chaos on ideologies. Similar features of this kind of relation are clearly evident in NGOs and POs. Conflict constantly takes place within this field, NGOs and POs, are invariably spheres of contestations between competing ideologies. The state and the historical bloc can adopt discourses of good governance on the field of works of NGOs and POs. In this process, NGO and PO leaders can be co-opted to give the appearance of legitimacy to the state and political elite.

The policy making is often undervalued, yet it is a vital course of action in the city, municipalities, provinces, and at the national level. Policy making determines what services will be provided to the residents and the level of those services, what kinds of development will occur in the community, and it determines what the communitys future will be. Public policies are guide to decision making of a state, be it a city, town, province or a country. These policies are based on a consultation which the law making body have agreed upon governments are consulting their constituents. This process is a complex one, which requires the very best of the legislators.

In the international policy making, different actors are involved in the process. According to the work of GeorgetaNae in NGOs engagement in International Public Policy Making, it is necessary to know the actors involved: public actors and private actors - which NGOs belong. And so with the Philippines, there are public and private actors too, one is from the government, on the other hand, belongs from the private sector. These two actors are the key players in the making of public policy, but how do these two actually get themselves connected in the process? Legislative body are vested with the power to make laws, therefore, they directly participate in the process.

How NGOs get involved in the policy making?

Non Governmental Organizations have been active since their very beginning in different socio civic activities. Brought by the changes of globalization, NGOs have entered the world of policy making. NGOs are really been effective in delivering welfare and services in many parts of the world, indeed, these organizations have supported marginalized sector of the country (Miller, 1994). Their efforts are an improvement for the economic, social, ecological, and political.

With the transition of true democracy in 1986, Filipinos and many organizations began playing major roles in the policy making, mainly according to Miller (1994), because of two factors: 1. the Aquino administration paved way for the civil society to participate in the policy making by the 1987 constitution and 1991 LGC 2. the continuing government obstacles that groups encountered when trying to promote more equitable and sustainable approaches to development. As the voice of the unheard, NGOs are there to represent them. Just as the state failed to require their citizens satisfaction, NGOs had the chance to penetrate the political sphere, or more specifically in the policy making process. Filipino NGOs increasingly identified political obstacles that blocks their work and saw opportunities for actual influences, they place policy advocacy above other agendas (Miller, 1994). In particular, NGOs are able to introduce new set of issues to public agenda - concerns which are not acquiescent to political action (Silliman,1998).

Policy Making Process

1. Agenda Setting

The political agenda is set by the government, but can also be shaped by NGOs thru campaigns, and lobbying for issues, needs and concerns.

2. Drafting

This step in policy making is drafting bills regarding on the agenda they have set for. Usually, the policy making formally starts here. Here, NGOs are involved in areas such as problem identifying, proposing solutions and researching (INGO OING, 2009). Consultation is the key element in this stage.

3. Decision

At this very crucial moment of the process, forms of political decision-taking differ according on the national perspective and legislation (INGO OING, 2009). Common characteristics are the organization of a government policy directive a legislation, such as passing a law by public referendum or parliamentary vote, which requires enabling legislation. NGOs are open to participate and should be involved in the decision making since, they are part of the civil society, and the government is mandated to encourage civil society in the policy making. Public authorities evaluate the different views and opinions before the decision is taken. When bills are approved by the congress which is the law making body of the government, it goes to the executive for approval. When the law is vetoed, it goes back to the legislative branch for review, and after measures have taken, the bill will now become a law or a public policy.

4. Implementation

NGOs are very active in this stage. Much of the work done by the NGOs in the previous steps is to influence and to make sure that they will legislate policies efficiently. In this phase, they make sure that the outcome will be fulfilled. NGOs are focused in awareness building, public awareness raising, and explanations of advantage and disadvantages or the impact of such policy.

5. Monitoring

NGOs participation does not end in the implementation alone, at this point; NGOs are monitoring the outcomes of the implemented policy. They make sure, the purpose of the policy is achieved.

II. What we need to know about NGOs?

Given the history of NGO and how it was formed, the perplexity of its creation should be answered in view of its context in the local setting. They have virtually been in all facets of government and our society. NGOs have been involved with social services working hand in hand with Peoples Organization and the Government itself to promote better standards of living.

But this aspect is merely one of the many socio-political fields they have parked their channels at. NGOs can be seen delving into law and policy making as one of the component part of Governance. NGOs have been considered a political pressure group which can be an ally or a strong adversary for politicians depending on their stand and the interests affected. NGOs have sprouted from the grass roots and reached out to the most influential echelons of society.

Therefore in order to formulate and answer what we really need to know about NGOs, we need to rise from the mundane levels of our perception and actually understand what makes these groups thick and tick. Considering our level in the thresholds of the academe, as college students we are limited by mass media and the books that are readily made available by the internet and local respectable libraries. NGOs have been shrouded for the longest time and their existence seems to have caught very little interest among society. Despite their clamor and the righteous cause they lobby for, our generation has perceived the NGOs with scant consideration. It is therefore imperative not only to know their cause but how they get their message across. With this in mind let us construct plausible questions and issues that may be hurled to the cauldron of knowledge as what we need to know, to wit:

1. We need to know what areas have been scaled by the NGOs and what areas of our socio-political environment they still need to enter or improve.

In the Philippines, there is an NGO involved in helping the urban poor. There is an NGO involved in organizing workers and upholding their interest. There is an NGO keeping a close eye on the standards of the government. There is an NGO delving into the complexity of policy making in various levels of the government from the LGU up to the Senate and House of Representative. There is an NGO extending its hands for education and child welfare. There is an NGO upholding women and childrens rights.

In all of these aspects and facades of politics, there is always an NGO that can be identified maintaining their interest as well as the people specifically they cater to. According to the Philippine Council for NGO Certification, there are several areas of concern these Organizations have engaged into including but not limited to the following:

a. Athletic, Character Building, Youth and Sports Development.

b. Charitable

c. Cultural

d. Education

e. Environmental

f. Grant-making

g. Health

h. Micro Finance

i. Non-formal Education

j. NGO Network

k. Rehabilitation of Veterans

l. Religious

m. Research

n. Social Development

o. Social Welfare

p. Training

Considering the number of areas these NGO have already engaged in, we are left with the voluminous task of identifying NGOs that have considerable influence and effect on each of the subject. However, the list of NGOs (over 60,000) and their actual number presents a very trivial value. Hence, choosing a field that is close to politics should be a more intelligent approach in the matter.

At the moment, our political arena seems to have a plethora of issues related to Social Welfare, Peace and Order, and Corruption. A more viable choice of field would definitely include Social Development, social Welfare, and the NGO Network.

Aside from the foregoing, we should also seek other fields that NGOs should penetrate and consider as a strong partner of the Government in Nation Building. Given the list above, we will compare the said enumeration with relevant social issues plaguing current politics to determine if these areas are enough and all socio-political bases are covered. Verily, we would monitor current events scenarios and check if said area has been considered and covered in the abovementioned list.

2. We need to know the role of these groups in the government?

What precisely is the role of an NGO in the Government? It hardly seems in consonance considering that they are non-government in nature. They are basically out of the governmental hierarchy, but we need to know how they interact and intertwine as a factor in nation building.

NGOs have spawned in the time of former Presidents Aquino and Ramos. NGOs have been a part of policy making by being consulted in each policy which have been cued for implementation by various Local Government Units. This comes in the form of public consultation.

Whenever a local government unit intends to enact a policy to improve service towards its constituents, various NGOs are invited and consulted especially if it will affect the constituents of interest. Consequently, NGO have been a partner in Good Governance by effectively conveying the needs of their area of interest.

In passing the Reproductive Health Bill, NGOs involved in the area of Religion and Social Welfare have been consulted. This is one of the methodology of policy analysis that aid the legislatures analyze policy relevant information. With this method employed, the government is sure to see both spectrums of the bill and how it will affect each side of the coin.

NGOs can actually inject their own interest in policy making. They can directly contact legislators and air their grievances. If the legislator deems it fit, their proposal shall be considered and the appropriate study for it shall inevitably be conducted.

Likewise, a legislator may call upon several NGOs concerned with their proposal to help them lobby for the said cause. Hand in hand with media, NGOs have been known to steal the limelight and effectively push for their cause over multi mass media network. This gives a boost to legislation.

According to Ira Sharkanskys Model, NGOs have involved themselves in between Input stage and Output stage of policy making. They continually make their presence felt and raise the needs of their constituent or area of interest during the administrative process of creating their policy.

Aside from being consulted by in policy making, NGOs have been known to be a force to reckon with in checking political issues. Using the same means to lobby for their cause, NGOs have the ability to question and hold in check the conduct of government officials. The number and influence of NGOs have become a political pressure group involved in the dynamics of politics. It is therefore important to have a more in-depth view as well as identifying the issues of the NGO.

If we view the political set up of the government, we can readily see that there are various players in the Political Environment. We have decided to delineate the field into two sides namely: Government Based Environment and the Outside Government Environment.

Government Environment consists of the Executive, Judiciary, and Legislative branches including independent bodies forming part of the Government. On the other hand, Outside Government Environment would include the NGOs, Public Organizations, Private Sectors, Public-Private Partnership, the constituents, and International Relations.

It is likewise paramount to understand how both environments collide and cohere as an integral part of one complex primordial soup of political interest. Understanding their relationship and knowing the role of the NGO becomes more relevant because it will help us determine the next question which begs to answer the benefits we can derive from their existence.

Lastly, NGOs have been known to act as watch dogs in the government and they constantly check the spectacles of government transparency. This is one role of the government that should be considered noteworthy of correlation in consonance with good governance.

3. We need to know the benefits that can be derived from the existence of these groups.

Knowing the role of NGO should be coupled with determining the benefits we can actually derive from them. However, there is really no way to gauge the benefits they rightfully provide because the spectrum of interest and area NGOs covered is too vast. However, based on the chosen area mentioned above, we can narrow down the role and the effect of several NGO to gauge their value.

The degree of benefits would also vary from the perspective of the person affected. For instance, students who have not yet experience most of the walks of life can hardly relate to the causes and benefits which Agricultural NGOs have been fighting for. It is therefore a more prudent step to make a limited approach of methodology to the topic and hopefully come up with a general conclusion from the chosen areas of interest.

NGOs have been also known to extend help and use their resources in favor of the less fortunate, the elderly, and other areas where the government fall short of help for citizen and society in general. This is an instant and apolitical benefit which can be derived from the NGOs. This should also be highlighted and considered with high regard in order to understand the nature and benefits we can derive from NGOs.

4. We also need to know their organizational structure including their funding and subsistence.

Every group has to have a system of administering its affairs. It has to have a set of officers that run the said organization. Considering that NGOs have been known to shape the system of government and politics as we know it, it would also be relevant to know how they are organized and how they operate.

In the same light, each organized group cannot actually perform without any operational cost to reckon with. Therefore, the financial system and how they source their funding should be considered in our topic. How and where they get their funding becomes relevant to us because the magnitude of their operation is directly proportional with their resources and funding.

6. We need to know how these groups interact among each other and who regulate these groups including the disciplinary process in case of abuse or violations.

There are several NGOs involved in a particular interest. We should therefore determine how they attain their ends. The possibility of partnership is actually not remote, however, in cases where their interest conflict in a certain area should be considered as very relevant.

As mentioned in our earlier example, religious groups and social welfare groups could not help but run conflict with each other as regards the reproductive health bill. How these are resolved or if they are settled at all appear to be relevant in our topic.

7. We need to know the political inclination of these groups and how they float among other bodies that shape the future of our country.

Most NGOs have been clearly criticizing the government and continuously act as the watchdog as regards the standards of the government. As a result, most NGOs have been perceived as left leaning and not pro government. This is a natural side effect of being in consistently a contra pose to balance the wheels of good governance.

Knowing their political inclination becomes a part of our mission to understand the role of NGOs in the Political environment to ascertain their motive.

With this in mind, we can readily see if their movement are merely reactionary or genuinely pro people or whatever area they intend to protect.

NGOs have been seen in the news as front-liners in criticizing as well as openly opposing the government. It is therefore important to determine their real agenda in order to size up their real role. Are they genuine allies of the people or just another enemy of the government opening other venues for their causes?

With these questions in mind, we should get a better view and understanding of the NGOs. However, the process at how to arrive at the answers is a very tedious process. Methods to attain the ends of the quandary should be employed considering that these issues are sensitive and often time hidden from the prying eyes of the public.

Our group intends to employ by way of methodology the conduct of interviews, among others, combined with contextual research among available books which we have already scouted, Including but we would not limit our references to political science and public administration books. We also intend to use relevant current events indicator such as newspapers and the internet to aid us in arriving at the answers for each respective questions.

After having answered most of the foregoing, we hope to have a deeper understanding of NGOs. As political Scientist, this knowledge would arm us not only with predicting the political climate but also understand how the political chess board of the government actually works knowing how and why the political chess piece called NGOs move in the manner they do.

Synthesis

Despite the name, NGOs are political organizations. Organizations that can form out of any cause under the sky and have extended their influence to almost every single imaginable aspect of Filipino life; their power and influence is undeniable-they are literally involved in everything-while one NGO may only be involved in only one particular issue; collectively speaking, the sheer number of NGOs that are involved in the vast number of possible rally points have made the NGOs one of todays great political movers. This growing power may be what led the creation of the CODE-NGO which serves as guideline (but certainly not a rulebook) for NGOs on how to organize and work more efficiently: they needed rules now. With power comes a certain need for discipline-a newly budding organization can work without them just fine, but when you get past a certain point in the organizations growth that it becomes increasingly difficult to maintain order over its numbers. As such, the fact that some people have decided to suggest certain codes of procedure for NGOs are a testament to their growing influence in society-especially during the last 10 years or so( or to be more in tune with our context, during the Aquino and Ramos administrations). It seems to be an inescapable truth that any organization will inevitably be involved in politics at some point; but that aside, NGOs and other civil organizations, become much more understandable when they are looked at as political groups-they are pushing for certain interests that they wish to realize; these can range from the personal to the communal and being that they are born out of civil initiative dealing with them can be tricky. They also have access to certain powers which, though not official, the reality of how the Philippine political system works firmly allows them to possess.

There can be many interpretations for this phenomenon: such as the fact that the Philippine government is relatively weak while its society is quite strong which of course leads to conflicts and maintains an air of friction between the two wills, and according to the our findings it that society is winning-for good or bad, it appears to be the people who are truly calling the shots, which again adds to the reason of why NGOs are currently flourishing. The state grows weaker as NGO grow stronger. But as the NGOs usually do a much better job at certain things than the government; the government relies on them quite often. It is speculated, that this might cause a problem along the way as it forms a degenerative pattern: the state will grow weaker and weaker until eventually it will be the NGOs who holds true power. Or rather, to use a different term, it will be private groups and collectives, who determine how public policy is to be made and executed- the NGOS grow stronger which is bad for the state in consideration, especially if they cannot but as the state cannot perform certain services due to certain realities they employ the help of NGOs who happily do the job. As this continues, what was feared becomes the reality and the government is made dumb and useless while the NGOs, who as private interest groups often conflict with the interests of other different groups, which at some cases have little hope of compromise. Further study into this theory might be required and the points made here a source of meditation.

CHAPTER III

METHODS AND PROCEDURE

Research Design

In order to provide a better understanding on this matter, this research study on NGOs and its Participation in Policy-Making provided a descriptive type of research in order to offer you an overview of our research design and the methodologies. This research utilized both descriptive and exploratory research methods in the conduct of the study. Descriptive research is a method used to obtain information relating to the current status of an issue or phenomenon to describe what exists within the variables or conditions of the situation. This allowed us to familiarize ourselves on the concepts of the problems under study. We employed descriptive research in order for us to support our hypotheses as well as the significance of this study, and exploratory research as it tries to attempt the political participation of NGOs especially in policy-making and to political development. This allowed our study the flexibility in conducting data gathering, research analysis and interpretation of gathered information.

This study is a qualitative research that attempts to accumulate existing information and data regarding on the participation in policy-making of NGOs in the present time. The researchers used a qualitative type of data to give details on the matters. Trochim (2006) stated that a key reason for qualitative research is to investigate and become more experienced with a particular phenomenon of the researchers interests in order to deliver a detailed description.

Sources of Data

The data that we used in this research study are primary and secondary data. To accomplish this, we had identified the primary data and as well as secondary data that we used in this study. The primary data that we used are the facts that we gathered through an interview. Existing literature reviews are our secondary type of data. Major works from different authors were used here to verify the data gathered and to come up with preliminary ideas regarding the research problem. Literatures on Theories and Practices on political contentions, as well on NGOs, are one of the secondary data we already have. A qualitative analysis shall be included in this section to further verify the literatures in relation with the research problems.Gathering Procedures

The data gathering procedure that was conducted was by means of series of research and interview. Limitations are also applicable in our methodologies; we opt to resort by means of libraries, online journals, books, working paper, and case study. We used these materials in order to provide better analysis for this research. Outside the scopes and limitations of this study will not be subject to any forms of methods we had employed, because of the mere fact that it is just a waste of time and effort. All the data, facts, and information that were gathered and collected were analyzed and studied.

Respondents

Our respondents are from Congress and Non- Government Organizations, Kalayaan Foundation Incorporated and KABAKA Foundation in particular. We had interviewed two representatives from the legislative branch namely Cong. Amado S. Bagatsing of 5th District of Manila and Cong. Bienvenido Benny M. Abante Jr. From the side of the Non- Government Organization we have Mr. Roberto G. Brillante Sr., president of Kalayaan Foundation Incorporated, and Mr. Carlito Guiang, executive director of KABAKA Foundation.Research Instrument

To achieve pertinent information, series of interviews were conducted. On the interview, we divided it into two parts following our conceptual frameworks; the political development and the civil society. We asked them about the civil society, NGOs, its role in policy-making and how they influence the policies. Selected persons and entities selected as our sample. We selected persons who are knowledgeable about the topic, specifically on NGOs, political contentions, and on the state-society relations; as we aim to determine if NGOs participation in policy-making is important in shaping the laws. Their perspectives, views or sentiments were evaluated and analyzed. The data that we gathered helped us in elucidating the truth; moreover, this validated or at least supported our statement of the problem.

CHAPTER IV

PRESENTATION, INTERPRETATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA

Table 1. SIGNIFICANT NGO IMPACT AREAS

Public PolicyPublic Program

The Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA) (R.A. 8371)recognize, protect and promote the rights of indigenous cultural communities/ indigenous people, creating a national commission on indigenous peoples, establishing implementing mechanisms, appropriating funds

National Integrated Protected Areas System (R.A. 7586)Integrated social forestry, reforestation, integrated protected area systems management, coastal resources management, wild life conservation, patrolling and enforcement of law against illegal logging and fishing, sloping agricultural land technology.

Antitrust Law (Senate Bill 123)Prohibition of monopolies, attempt to monopolize an industry or line of commerce, manipulation of prices of commodities, asset acquisition and interlocking memberships in the board of directors of competing corporate bodies and price discrimination among customers

Urban Development Act of 1992Development and continuing urban development and housing program

Violence Against Women and Childrens ActProtective measures for victims, prescribing penalties for the aged, battered children, and women.

National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009Conservation of the national cultural heritage, strengthening the national commission for culture and the arts (NCCA), and its affiliated cultural agencies, and for other purposes.

Peoples Participation in Budget Deliberations Act of 2010Participation of bona fide peoples organization (POs) and Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) in the deliberation of the annual budget in congress and local government units (LGUs)

R.A. 9502 or Cheaper Medicine ActCheaper and quality medicines.

R.A. 9710 or Magna Carta of Women

Elimination of discrimination against women by recognizing, protecting, fulfilling and promoting the rights of Filipino women, especially those in the marginalized sectors

Women in Developing and Nation-Building Act (R.A. 7192)Integration of women as full and equal partners of men in development and nation building

Constructed by the researchers based on the interview with Cong. Amado S. Bagatsing, Cong. Benny M. Abante, and Mr. Brillante.

As one sees in the table presented, the NGOs are involved in the number of social issues that together encompasses almost the whole of the Philippine problem in general. Theres a Non-Government Organization for every problem and this has, in turn, made the NGOs a very tangible presence in our current world. Because of this we can also infer from the data since NGOs are such a huge influence on some of our most deeply held issues (some rooted in the very fundamentals of Filipino culture) the role of NGOs are unlikely to fade anytime soon.

The table was constructed by the researchers based on the interview and available data that were gathered in the research study. It shows selected public policies that were being implemented in the Philippines and the public programs that are address by these policies. The policies presented were based on the interviews conducted during the research study. We used these policies to give the readers an overview on how NGOs have been an effective actor in policy-making and how they formulate the policies based on the advocacy they are promoting.

The table shows how NGOs can be significant actor in policy-making. They have able to passed laws that will probably help the needs of the people. These selected laws show that NGOs provide for effective policies that will address the problems that the government can barely solve by their own. Thats why the number of Non-Government Organizations are continuously increasing and their involvement is irrefutable.

In addition, the table shows how NGos can be useful in helping the government address different problems and could assist in the development of the nation. As one NGO tackles each of these issues, the country grows one problem less strong.

Table 2.NGOs Participation in Policy-Making on the Perspective of the Policy- Maker and the Non-Government Organization.

Policy-Maker (Cong. Amado S. Bagatsing)Non-Government Organization-KABAKA (Mr.CarlitoGuiang)

Non-Government Organizations serve as resource person in Congress for the formulation of policies.NGOs go to a certain congressman and suggest or recommend some policies on a specific area, e.g. Health, Education, Women empowerment.

Non-Government Organizations can draft their own policy and present it to the Congress. Non-Government Organizations can directly participate in policy-making through the party list system.

The Policy-Maker consulted the NGOs to pursue their own interest.NGOs go to the congress and lobby their advocacy to a certain congressman with similar interest.

Some NGOs used to support politicians in order for them to be appointed in office and involve themselves in policy-making.NGOs create party list in order for them to directly participate in the policy-making.

Constructed by the researchers based on the interview with Cong. Amado S. Bagatsing and Mr. Carlito Guiang.

This table was constructed by the researcher based on the interview with Cong. Amado S. Bagatsing and Mr. CarlitoGuinag. Their insights and information that were given during their interview were used to construct the table. KABAKA Foundation is one of the NGOs that Congressman Bagatsing is supporting or rather KABAKA is affiliated to the representative of the 5th District of Manila. The researchers interview the two to better understand the relationship of the legislative branch which is the Congress and the Non-Government Organizations.

The participation of Non-Government Organizations in policy- making in the perspective of these two men are significantly important. Congressman Bagatsing and Mr. Guiang presented their insights and opinion regarding the participation of NGOs in policy-making with the positive thoughts. Being with the both side of advocacy, Congressman Bagatsing and Mr. Guiang somehow presented different thoughts on how NGOs are involve in the formulation of policy. They have viewed NGOs participation in a different way but it doesnt mean that their ideas are contradicting with each other.

Because their heart belongs to the low-level of society, they know what is best. They are far more experienced than us, thats why usually enacted comes from a resource person which is NGOs in this aspect, they help the government.

Congressman Amado Bagatsing is affiliated to a non-government organization called KABAKA Foundation. The said organization was established to help highly marginalized sector of the society like the poor people. They help less fortunate people in the field of education, health, burial assistance and also financial assistance. Giving scholarships are one of their activities.

As regards to policy making, Congressman Bagatsing held that KABAKA is not involve in the policy making directly, instead as representative, proposals form his organization will be included in his inputs.

Policy proposal NGOs made their spot in engaging in policy making. There are lots of NGOs who does this style, like CHREBA, a professional group active in housing projects and development. Often, these groups of professionals come to their advocacies. It is up to the congressman to adopt their proposal; congressmen only entertain proposals that are in accordance with their own interest and if so, there is a high probability that these proposals will be brought to the congress for embracing these new concepts.

Specific House Bills were persecuted By Congressman Bagatsing: Urban Development Act of 1992, Women in Developing and Nation-Building Act, and National Integrated Projected Areas System Act. NGOs were involved in creating such bills; their participation is recognized by the constitution. (Bagatsing, 2011)

As the representative of 5th district of Manila, Bagatsing have notices that they have penetrated into the political scene. Though, Congressman Bagatsing is not generating all NGOs, some of them are being used by politicians in exchange for a position in the government. He sternly asserted that, NGOs should fight for their advocacies and should not be blinded by all these temptations, a real NGO is objective not subjective

Upon their little access to the policy making, they have merely affected the process, even though by invitation, they sometimes put the government into pressure especially coming from credible NGOs.

According to Congressman Bagatsing, Non-Government Organizations can serve as a resource person in the formulation of policies through invitation. He discussed how NGOs participate in policy-making and how they promote their advocacy and be included in the policy. Non- Government Organizations can also draft their own bill and lobby it to the Congress. He also added that the Congressmen consulted NGOs to acquire input needed in the policy that they need to draft in order to address the problems of their constituents. But there is a negative thing in that, Congressman Bagatsing said that certain congressman only consulted these NGOs to pursue and protect their personal interest. This act of consultation is only for acquiring the support of the people. If there is congressman that uses NGOs for their own interest, there are also NGOs that used to support politicians in order for them to be appointed. The latter is a good thing because these NGOs asked for position in order for them to engage in the drafting and formulating policies.

From the practical view of Congressman Amado Bagatsing, NGOs and law-makers relationship is sometimes mutual. NGOs need them or the other way around; sometimes conflict arises between them. Not all the time, NGOs can respond to the needs of the marginalized sector, they represent, they sometimes fail. To know whats best, it is a must to weigh the pros and cons. There are two things that must be considered at this instance: when one treat it as either too personal or different point of views.

On the side of the Non-Government Organizations, Mr. Carlito Guiang started to present ideas by discussing how NGOs at present be involve in the policy-making process. According to him, NGOs can directly participate in Congress through the party-list system and they can elect their own representative in Congress. Other NGOs that cannot participate in the election as a party-list can suggest or recommend some policy to a certain congressman with similar advocacy in order for them to be heard in Congress. These representatives serve as their voices in the Congress during the policy formulation. He discussed how the party-list system creates opportunities to Non-Government Organizations in the policy-making. Unlike before, wherein there was no party-list system, NGOs were merely an advocacy group in which they can participate in politics through campaign, advocacy program, and support groups.

We can see how the interaction between the policy-maker and the Non-Government Organizations happens during the formulation of policies. The interviews show that there is a big impact on policy-making if these NGOs participate in policy-making. Congressman Bagatsing and Mr. Guiang have similar standpoint on how and why NGOs engage in policy-making and their importance in the policy being implemented.

Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) are indispensable actor in policy-making because they are the one who can oversee the problems of the community. The state cannot deny the fact that these NGOs really help them in solving the primary problem of the government. By engaging in the formulation of policies, NGOs can voice out the grievances of the people in Congress. As what we can see in the present situation, the government and the private sector help each other to provide effective programs for the people.

Table 3. Laws that were passed with the help of Non- Government OrganizationsLAWSDESCRIPTIONDATE OF PROPOSALDATE PASSED/ENACTMENTNGOs INVOLVED

1. Antitrust Law (Senate Bill 123)An Act prohibiting monopolies, attempt to monopolize an industry or line of commerce, manipulation of prices of commodities, asset acquisition and interlocking memberships in the board of directors of competing corporate bodies and price discrimination among customers, providing penalties therefor, and for other purposes.June 30, 2007April 29, 2009

2. Urban Development Act of 1992 (R.A. 7271)An Act to provide for a comprehensive and continuing urban development and continuing urban development and housing program, establish the mechanism for its implementation, and for other purposes. July 22, 1991March 24, 1992GawadKalinga (GK) and Habitat for Humanity (HfH)

3. Women in Developing and Nation-Building Act (R.A. 7192)An Act promoting the integration of women as full and equal partners of men in development and nation building and for other purposes.February 12, 1992GABRIELA Womens Party

4. National Integrated Protected Areas System Act (R.A. 7586)An Act providing for the establishment and management of national integrated protected areas system, defining its scope and scope and coverage, and for other purposes.July 22, 1991June 1, 1992Haribon

5. THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLES RIGHTS ACT (IPRA) (R.A. 8371)An Act to recognize, protect and promote the rights of indigenous cultural communities/ indigenous people, creating a national commission on indigenous peoples, establishing implementing mechanisms, appropriating funds therefor, and for other purposes.July 28, 1997October 29, 1997PAFID, Anthrowatch, Assisi Foundation, and Mangyan Mission, Inc.

6. R.A. 9502 Cheaper Medicine ActAn Act providing for cheaper and quality medicines, amending for the purpose Republic Act No. 8293 or the Intellectual Property Code, Republic Act No. 6675 or the Generics Acts of 1988, and Republic Act No. 5921 or the Pharmacy Law, and for other purposes. September 4, 2007June 6, 2008

7. R.A. 9710 Magna Carta of Women

The Magna Carta of Women is a comprehensive women's human rights law that seeks to eliminate discrimination against women by recognizing, protecting, fulfilling and promoting the rights of Filipino women, especially those in the marginalized sectors.July 28, 2008August 14, 2009GABRIELA

8. National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009An Act providing for the protection and conservation of the national cultural heritage, strengthening the national commission for culture and the arts (NCCA), and its affiliated cultural agencies, and for other purposes.July 27, 2009March 26, 2010Henares of the Heritage Conservation Society

9. Peoples Participation in Budget Deliberations Act of 2010 An Act institutionalizing the participation of bona fide peoples organization (POs) and Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) in the deliberation of the annual budget in congress and local government units (LGUs), providing effective mechanisms therefor, and for other purposes.September 20, 2010June 1, 2011

(Consolidated/Substituted in the Committee Report)Alternative Budget Initiative (ABI)

10. VAWC (RA 9262)An Act defining violence against women and their children, providing for protective measures for victims, prescribing penalties therefore, and for other purposes. July 28, 2003March 8, 2004GABRIELA, FILIPINA

Constructed by the researchers based on the interview with Cong. Amado S. Bagatsing, Cong. Benny M. Abante, and Mr. Brillante.

Given the information above, the researchers have assessed the data to be of relevant in arriving into conclusion. Taken their advantages in the participation of policy making, researchers have analyzed that they have been a significant contributor in the law making. Evident in the existing data gathered, it shows that bills were passed together with the help of different NGOs such as the Women in drafting the VAWC and Magna Carta of Women. The aforementioned statements show that they have an indispensable part in creating public policies. These data illustrate how the relationship of the NGOs and the government are somehow mutual because of their common interests. Furthermore, at present, the bills have proven to be effective in promoting social welfare, justice, protection and alleviating issues of the society.

For policy- making, according to Brillante (2011), you can only do policy research and then make recommendations and submit papers to the agency concerned. But NGOs can participate to the policy-making to the extent that they can only distribute papers, suggestion and mass action (rally) to let the government identify our grievances. NGOs are not directly involved in the process, they are outside the means of the government system. They can only recommend on how a government should be ran, especially if they see the government doing wrong things.

Brillante (2011) considers NGOs as significant political actors, because he sees that there is an enlightment among Filipinos this is another reason why there is such an increase of NGO proliferation. With the prominence of NGO, encouragement and leadership among Filipinos are prevailing, taking upon themselves to pursue the interest of the people, notwithstanding the diverseness there is unity in action in order to advance and protect the interest of the many as against the few.

The bottom-line of this interview, Brillante (2011) assessed NGOs as beneficial. Not only in proposal are NGOs do well in policy-making but also in the implementation. More and more congressman are now watching their backs. NGOs credibility is often looked on how they execute their advocacies. NGOs serve as watchers; they are watching the government, just like putting them in their glass house.

The staggering number of laws passed despite the Philippine legislative notoriously slow process, one can see that NGOs, or rather their assistance is indeed a very significant factor in the process of policy-making. Their support can be a determining even quantifiable factor in whether or not a bill gets passed or not. While this is good for certain concerns, the predictability of human nature that is introduced into the law-making process by the NGOs could be the cause of the problems. One can also see that most of the laws passed are of civil matter and are related to social concerns rather than political. It reflects the NGOs spirit as the embodiment of the peoples interest.

CHAPTER VSUMMARY, RECOMMENDATION AND CONCLUSION

Summary

NGOs are influential part of the modern politics and society. Serving advocates, middlemen, pressure groups, and partly government watchdogs- they have the power to make the varying interests of the people known to the government.

However, due to the already weak nature of the Philippine government the NGOs and other civil organizations have risen to a position of power that has rewritten modern political dynamics. NGOs, now armed with funding and popular support now have to dictate what policy should be pressuring officials and offering assistance making deeds to streamline formed polices white constricting those which are not favored. They have risen beyond mere interest groups and government helpers to become (collectively speaking) one of the most powerful and kingmaking political factors that must and deserves consideration.

Whether or not this will result in a favorable outcome is yet to be seen. It is highly recommended that this assertion that NGOs have grown to such power be checked and possibly even contested with the purpose of falsification. But if findings to align with those of this paper then the state misjudged to be in a difficult situation, though does not necessarily need to be a bad thing for the Filipino people, nay, there are certain parts in the findings that point to some benefits fot them, while the state suffers a deterioration of power. The findings are interesting, but as this perceived pattern is rather new it is still only in its theoretical stage and shoul be experienced on by future researcher delivering into the subject.Recommendation

The research has noticed a pattern which is believed to deserve some attention. As NGOs grow more and more in numbers and in influence as the years go by, the state grows weaker in comparison; this effect, is confounded by the fact that is the state itself that makes and allows these NGOs to grow to such power and the sad fact that the Philippine state is already weak to the point where if it did not rely on the assistance offered by these NGOs-theyd be unable to do much of anything nay, some projects may even be impossible to execute without their help due the governments lack of resources. Ultimately, this could cause the state to dwindle to a state of lameness.

Further studies into the verification of this pattern are suggested. As well as studies to counter it if deemed necessary or to speed it effects if proven to be beneficial to the overall good of the nation.

On the part of the students and researchers who wish to conduct the same research study, they may further research on this topic. Students should identify what specific type of NGOs their study will focus on.

And lastly, the government should provide a law that will identify to what extent or limitations can Non- Government Organizations intervene in the process of policy-making.

Conclusion

After a series of research and interviews that have been conducted and the data that were gathered that will support our hypothesis, the researchers arrive into conclusions that:

Non-Government Organizations have been significant and influential actor in Philippine policy-making.

Non-Government Organizations partake of a constructive critic in our political scenery by engaging in the formulation of policies. Non-Government Organizations have become indispensable to the modern government. While Non-Government Organizations grows in power; the state grows weaker in relation.

Non-Government Organizations, in reality, had much more influence than earlier presumed and imagined. Theyre also unbelievably active in the legislative process and are involved even in its implantation and adjustment stages. They also serve as constructive input provider for the law-makers in virtue of the NGOs usually specializing in a single area of expertise. Their criticisms and advice regarding certain matters are very important for laws to be called well-thought and informed-which of course in turn reflects well upon the legislator and the assisting NGO. Their involvement in the government, despite their alleged nature being supposed apolitical, has made the NGOs indispensable and their presence necessary for the current government to continue with their projects due to lack of resources which the NGOs handily provide. However; this reliance of the public government upon the private NGOs has caused an effect comparable to the ingesting of a poison that builds up in the body and slowly kills it while providing some temporary relief: the state grows weaker and steadily loses its ability to support itself as its reliance on NGO assistance grows, which could prove disastrous if left unchecked

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