Participation in Democracy

• Democratic participation involves engagement that is freely done, without coercion, threat, or fear.

Importance of Participation in Democracy

• Democracy ensures equality and provides opportunities for all its citizens to participate in the government.
• Checks and balances within the government prevent potential abuse of political power by officials.
• Suggesting policies and laws allows citizens to influence and suggest policies and laws through plebiscites in selecting delegates or representatives.
• Freedom is promoted where citizens enjoy human rights, enabling engagement in business and innovations.
• The popular majority is empowered to remove a representative or politician who abuses their power.
• Competence, firmness, and stability are achieved when the state is governed by dedicated and transparent leaders.
• Political education is provided to the people, informing them of state affairs.
• The opportunity for citizens to participate in government upholds change.

Assessment Questions

• Undemocratic practices are not legal in a democratic country.
• Democracy is a way to choose leaders during elections.
• Vote buying is not ethical.
• Democracy involves government rule and citizen decision-making.
• In a democracy, the majority wins.

Evaluation Multiple Choice

• A plebiscite is an electoral process for approving or rejecting changes to the Constitution.
• Participation in democracy allows people to engage in business and innovations.
• Representative democracy is when sovereign power remains with the citizens, but its exercise is delegated to elected representatives.
• The EDSA People Power of 1986 was a popular demonstration of participatory democracy.
• If 18 years old, Rina is eligible to elect and cast her votes in a democratic practice called suffrage.

Evaluation True or False

• Democracy provides equality and admission to opportunities for all citizens.
• Participating and contributing ideas is not an undemocratic practice.
• Problems in a democratic society can be solved more easily without manipulation and abuse.
• Participatory and representative democracy encourage active and wider involvement of citizens.
• Choosing who or what one wants to become is a democratic practice.

Performance task

• A performance task requires students to choose a theme about democratic significance and compose a three-stanza poem, rap, or song. Each stanza should contain four lines. The task will be graded via a rubric.

Video Documentary Performance task

• The lesson involves producing a 3-5 minute video documentary that explains the current state of democracy and democratic practices in the Philippines, which also includes the effects of undemocratic practices related to factors such as gender biases, poverty, political marginalization, racial inequality, cultural domination, crisis of representation, and politics of recognition.
• The documentary is based on research questions that address the current state and trends of democracy of practices in the Philippines, undemocratic practices as related to factors such as gender biases, poverty, and any ill effects of undemocratic practices.
• The overall Video will be graded on criteria include clarity of content and sources; media elements; structure; variety and pacing; and production values.