Philippines’ Amendment of the Qualifications of Candidates for the Executive and
Legislative Branch
Modifying legislative and executive branch qualifying requirements in the Philippines
is a very significant issue that requires further investigation and consideration. According to
Coffé & Theiss-Morse (2016), there have been several debates and studies on the subject, but
as of today, there are no present plans to modify the qualifications for positions in the legislative
and executive branches of government in the Philippines (Coffé & Theiss-Morse, 2016). Since
then, I've been thinking about whether changing the qualifications would make the Philippines
a better place. I conducted research on numerous qualifications from different countries with
legislative and executive branches, and what I discovered was that the qualifications of other
countries are significantly higher than the standards of the Philippines. Countries in which I
checked in Mason’s research (2016) have strong senses of leadership among their leaders, and
their countries are among the best-performing countries in the world, according to my research.
The first thing that sprang to my thoughts was if it would be appropriate in the Philippines.
In research from Catchuela and Santiago (2017), the conduct of national elections has
long been one of the most serious issues and sources of concern in the sphere of political
administration and leadership, and this has been the case for a long length of time (Catchuela
& Santiago, 2017). According to Maden (2010), for every citizen to perform his or her essential
duty and commitment, he or she must choose and vote for the most qualified presidential
candidate who will honestly serve the general public while simultaneously supporting the
country's most vital interests and beliefs (MADEN, 2010).
As indicated in the current suffrage statute of the Philippines, in order for the executive
department to be functional, the qualification standards of the executive department must be
commensurate with internationally known best practices and standards. In the case of a person
who is not a natural-born citizen of the Philippines, who is not a registered voter, and who is
unable to read and write, he or she will be ineligible to be elected President unless he or she
has resided in the Philippines for a minimum of ten years immediately prior to and on the day
of election. When it comes to people who must meet specific legal requirements in order to be
eligible for participation, the exclusivity rule applies (Pring, 2013). Without wishing to offend
anyone, the assumption that these needs are only the bare minimum of what is required cannot
be supported by empirical facts.
According to Frias & Regala (2016), there are provisions for a democratic form of
governance, which is what the Philippines has chosen as its own system of government for now
(Frias & Regala, 2016). In accordance with the country's constitution, Filipino citizens are
guaranteed certain rights and privileges, which are made available to them at no further cost to
them. This includes the right to vote, which is one of the rights guaranteed by the constitution.
It is the right of the people to vote in elections, as well as the right of those who vote for them
to be elected by the people who vote for them. Important to note is that this privilege is not
without its limitations, as there are still requirements that must be completed before a Filipino
citizen can be considered for election to a position of public trust and confidence. For every
post in the Philippine government, a specific set of criteria governs the decision-making
process, which varies from position to position (Isaac, 2007).
Before a competitive election, Filipino voters must be presented with the greatest
number of feasible political candidates in order to make the most qualified candidate their top
priority. To put it bluntly, the criteria for posts in the administrative and legislative branches of
government in the Philippines must be updated as soon as possible and put into effect as soon
as possible. The foregoing suggests that if the necessary attributes for leadership are lacking, it
follows that the perception of leadership will be lacking as well.
References
Catchuela, L., & Santiago, A. (2017). Qualification Standards of National Election Candidates
in the Executive Department (Inputs to New Electoral Reforms). Imperial Journal of
Interdisciplinary Research (IJIR), 3(6), 531. http://www.onlinejournal.in
Coffé, H., & Theiss-Morse, E. (2016). The effect of political candidates’ occupational
background on voters’ perceptions of and support for candidates. Political Science, 68(1), 55–
77. https://doi.org/10.1177/0032318716640611
Frias, S. D., & Regala, M. A. (2016). No sense candidates: A thesis on the constitutionality of
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Thesis:
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https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_bachelors/5659
Isaac, S. (2007). National Vocational Qualifications: the candidates? experience. Health
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https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-
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MADEN, S. (2010). Turkish Teacher Candidates’ Views About Teacher Qualifications.
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https://doi.org/10.7827/turkishstudies.1683
Mason, A. (2016). Appearance, Discrimination, and Reaction Qualifications. Journal of
Political Philosophy, 25(1), 48–71. https://doi.org/10.1111/jopp.12099
Pring, R. (2013). Another Reform of Qualifications-but Qualifying for What? The Political
Quarterly, 84(1), 139–143. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-923x.2013.02429.x