The Philippine state constitutes a democratic republic based on a presidential system, a bicamera... more The Philippine state constitutes a democratic republic based on a presidential system, a bicameral legislature and an independent judiciary. The President is both the head of state and of government. Unlike most prime ministers, the Philippine President holds a purely executive role, as s/he is not a legislative leader with membership in Congress. The legislature, composed of the House of Representatives and the Senate, has the power of the purse. It exercises the power to screen, review, and scrutinize every single centavo proposed in each agency's budget. As such, the executive branch initiates the preparation of the annual national budget whereby Congress scrutinizes and approves this procedure in form of a national legislation. However, before it becomes a law, it is subject to the final approval of the President. The 1987 Constitution also provided additional safeguards and system of checks and balances with the creation of constitutional commissions and bodies, notably the Commission on Audit (COA).
This paper discusses the realities and challenges of the media coverage of the ongoing ‘ethnic’ c... more This paper discusses the realities and challenges of the media coverage of the ongoing ‘ethnic’ conflict in Mindanao. It explores the media’s role as purveyor of truth, as advocate of a free press, and as a guardian of public good. It also looks into the ethical parameters in its coverage of Mindanao events. To provide the needed context to understand the role of the media, a brief history of the Mindanao problem is presented. Recommendations are made with the end in view of making the role of the media relevant. This paper argues that the media, especially the national media, continue to play an active role in perpetuating the biases and prejudice against Muslims.
The objective of this article is to explore the role of parliament in police governance in select... more The objective of this article is to explore the role of parliament in police governance in selected countries in Asia and Europe, including Belgium, Germany, India, Indonesia, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Thailand and the United Kingdom. Based on a comparative framework of analysis, the country case studies demonstrate that parliaments apply their generic functions to the police, including the legislative, budget control and oversight function. Furthermore, parliaments in all case studies have a dedicated committee or subcommittee dealing with police affairs, endowed with subpoena and contempt powers to compel government and police officers to appear before committee meetings and to submit required documents. In addition, for police to be fully accountable, parliaments have legislated and set up independent oversight bodies, including independent police complaints bodies, ombudspersons and national human rights institutions as well as anticorruption/financial audit bodies and dataprotection commissioners.
The Philippine state constitutes a democratic republic based on a presidential system, a bicamera... more The Philippine state constitutes a democratic republic based on a presidential system, a bicameral legislature and an independent judiciary. The President is both the head of state and of government. Unlike most prime ministers, the Philippine President holds a purely executive role, as s/he is not a legislative leader with membership in Congress. The legislature, composed of the House of Representatives and the Senate, has the power of the purse. It exercises the power to screen, review, and scrutinize every single centavo proposed in each agency's budget. As such, the executive branch initiates the preparation of the annual national budget whereby Congress scrutinizes and approves this procedure in form of a national legislation. However, before it becomes a law, it is subject to the final approval of the President. The 1987 Constitution also provided additional safeguards and system of checks and balances with the creation of constitutional commissions and bodies, notably the Commission on Audit (COA).
This paper aims to provide knowledge at the local level on the role of the security sector in ach... more This paper aims to provide knowledge at the local level on the role of the security sector in achieving SDG 11 (making human settlements inclusive, safe and resilient), by presenting General Santos City, Philippines, as a case study. More specifically, it aims to identify SSR entry points for improving the city’s safety and to provide evidence and lessons on which conditions contribute to achieving SDG 11 and how they do so, as well as linkages with other SDGs, notably Goals 5 and 16. This is in the hope of providing guidance to stakeholders (states, civil societies, media, etc.) on how to assess and report the implementation of Goal 11 from the security sector governance point of view. It also hopes to provide relevant lessons that could be offered to other cities. This study is primarily descriptive in its nature and qualitative in its analysis. Its primary data was obtained through in-depth interviews with key informants such as the city mayor, head of the military, police officers and other concerned city officials, as well as representatives of civil society organisations. It also made use of government documents such as the analysis of national laws and local ordinances, the city’s development plans, and agency documents and reports.
The Philippine state constitutes a democratic republic based on a presidential system, a bicamera... more The Philippine state constitutes a democratic republic based on a presidential system, a bicameral legislature and an independent judiciary. The President is both the head of state and of government. Unlike most prime ministers, the Philippine President holds a purely executive role, as s/he is not a legislative leader with membership in Congress. The legislature, composed of the House of Representatives and the Senate, has the power of the purse. It exercises the power to screen, review, and scrutinize every single centavo proposed in each agency's budget. As such, the executive branch initiates the preparation of the annual national budget whereby Congress scrutinizes and approves this procedure in form of a national legislation. However, before it becomes a law, it is subject to the final approval of the President. The 1987 Constitution also provided additional safeguards and system of checks and balances with the creation of constitutional commissions and bodies, notably the Commission on Audit (COA).
This paper discusses the realities and challenges of the media coverage of the ongoing ‘ethnic’ c... more This paper discusses the realities and challenges of the media coverage of the ongoing ‘ethnic’ conflict in Mindanao. It explores the media’s role as purveyor of truth, as advocate of a free press, and as a guardian of public good. It also looks into the ethical parameters in its coverage of Mindanao events. To provide the needed context to understand the role of the media, a brief history of the Mindanao problem is presented. Recommendations are made with the end in view of making the role of the media relevant. This paper argues that the media, especially the national media, continue to play an active role in perpetuating the biases and prejudice against Muslims.
The objective of this article is to explore the role of parliament in police governance in select... more The objective of this article is to explore the role of parliament in police governance in selected countries in Asia and Europe, including Belgium, Germany, India, Indonesia, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Thailand and the United Kingdom. Based on a comparative framework of analysis, the country case studies demonstrate that parliaments apply their generic functions to the police, including the legislative, budget control and oversight function. Furthermore, parliaments in all case studies have a dedicated committee or subcommittee dealing with police affairs, endowed with subpoena and contempt powers to compel government and police officers to appear before committee meetings and to submit required documents. In addition, for police to be fully accountable, parliaments have legislated and set up independent oversight bodies, including independent police complaints bodies, ombudspersons and national human rights institutions as well as anticorruption/financial audit bodies and dataprotection commissioners.
The Philippine state constitutes a democratic republic based on a presidential system, a bicamera... more The Philippine state constitutes a democratic republic based on a presidential system, a bicameral legislature and an independent judiciary. The President is both the head of state and of government. Unlike most prime ministers, the Philippine President holds a purely executive role, as s/he is not a legislative leader with membership in Congress. The legislature, composed of the House of Representatives and the Senate, has the power of the purse. It exercises the power to screen, review, and scrutinize every single centavo proposed in each agency's budget. As such, the executive branch initiates the preparation of the annual national budget whereby Congress scrutinizes and approves this procedure in form of a national legislation. However, before it becomes a law, it is subject to the final approval of the President. The 1987 Constitution also provided additional safeguards and system of checks and balances with the creation of constitutional commissions and bodies, notably the Commission on Audit (COA).
This paper aims to provide knowledge at the local level on the role of the security sector in ach... more This paper aims to provide knowledge at the local level on the role of the security sector in achieving SDG 11 (making human settlements inclusive, safe and resilient), by presenting General Santos City, Philippines, as a case study. More specifically, it aims to identify SSR entry points for improving the city’s safety and to provide evidence and lessons on which conditions contribute to achieving SDG 11 and how they do so, as well as linkages with other SDGs, notably Goals 5 and 16. This is in the hope of providing guidance to stakeholders (states, civil societies, media, etc.) on how to assess and report the implementation of Goal 11 from the security sector governance point of view. It also hopes to provide relevant lessons that could be offered to other cities. This study is primarily descriptive in its nature and qualitative in its analysis. Its primary data was obtained through in-depth interviews with key informants such as the city mayor, head of the military, police officers and other concerned city officials, as well as representatives of civil society organisations. It also made use of government documents such as the analysis of national laws and local ordinances, the city’s development plans, and agency documents and reports.
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Papers by Mario J Aguja
This study is primarily descriptive in its nature and qualitative in its analysis. Its primary data was obtained through in-depth interviews with key informants such as the city mayor, head of the military, police officers and other concerned city officials, as well as representatives of civil society organisations. It also made use of government documents such as the analysis of national laws and local ordinances, the city’s development plans, and agency documents and reports.
This study is primarily descriptive in its nature and qualitative in its analysis. Its primary data was obtained through in-depth interviews with key informants such as the city mayor, head of the military, police officers and other concerned city officials, as well as representatives of civil society organisations. It also made use of government documents such as the analysis of national laws and local ordinances, the city’s development plans, and agency documents and reports.