This document discusses corruption in Philippine politics and proposes psychological factors that allow corrupt politicians to remain in power. It suggests that voters exhibit "political Stockholm syndrome," where they refuse to fully acknowledge a politician's dishonesty due to ideological bonds. The document also references the "applied populism" theory, where politicians use strong political machines and populist tactics to form emotional connections with voters, causing them to ignore corruption allegations. The document aims to broaden understanding of corruption in the Philippines, identify its causes, examine the psychology of political support for corrupt officials, strengthen governance standards, and reduce corruption through ethical voting. It analyzes these concepts through the lenses of Philippine politics courses on topics like political ideologies, power, and elections.

1. DEL ROSARIO, LOREN DINGLAS, JOY LIM, JANNINE PRINCESS
LIBATIQUE, DIONELLYN GRACE ENCARNACION, CHARETTE
MARTIR, SAMANTHA DENISE ANGELA

7. Corruption is particularly pervasive in the Philippines where
politicians who are alleged corrupt or inclined to unlawful
behaviors are still elected. Given the ongoing political influence
of corrupt politicians, it is highly necessary to evaluate the
psychology behind Filipino voters' standards of good
governance and ideal political candidates, assess the character
and integrity of present officials, and provide practical measures
to alleviate corruption in the Philippine government.

8. This subject is conceptualized from the psychological
response known as Stockholm Syndrome, and it is then related
to the theory of applied populism in the context of Philippine
politics where it may actually be one of the psychological factors
as to how corrupt Filipino politicians are able to maintain power
despite their disingenuous records.
The objectives of this paper have been formulated in line
with the learning competencies of Philippine Politics and
Governance.

9. Political Stockholm Syndrome
used to describe a psychological reaction that
happens when kidnapped hostages or abuse
victims form bonds with their captors or
abusers. In a political context, Stockholm
Syndrome occurs when an individual is
aware that the government and politicians are
dishonest but refuses to accept the
complexity of that fact since it would upend
the ideology they presently believe in. While
discussing politics in particular, they will
readily concede that politicians are corrupt,
but when you start delving into how
completely disingenuous they really are and
point out any hidden intentions, they will
dismiss you as insane or a conspiracy
theorist.
Applied Populism Theory
in order to investigate what causes voters'
tolerance for corruption, this concept paper
draws on the theoretical justification offered
by Applied Populism. It focuses on the
candidate's background since it affects
whether corrupt candidates come from rich or
modest backgrounds. This contends that
voters will be willing to forgive allegations of
corruption against a candidate from a lowly
background, and this should be especially
true if one exhibits a strong record of
accomplishment.

10. 1. Corruption is still a concern in
Philippine politics. Along with Mexico
and Armenia, the Philippines are
ranked 95th on Transparency
International's corruption perception
index in which the Philippines had a
score of 35 out of 100 (Hegina, 2016).
Given how many politicians are
implicated in corruption scandals each
year, this is hardly surprising.
2. The persistent phenomena of corrupt
politicians being repeatedly re-elected
and the reason for their electoral
success remain empirically
unexplained is the primary motivating
idea of this concept paper. After all, the
Philippines is hardly an exceptional
case. Other nations, including India
and many others, elect candidates with
criminal histories

11. 1. Former president, representative of Pampanga, and now House Deputy
Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
2. Former first lady, member of the Philippine House of Representatives of
Ilocos Norte, and mother of the current president Imelda Marcos
3. Current Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Juan Ponce Enrile
4. Three incumbent senators namely, Ramon Revilla Jr., Jinggoy Estrada,
and Jose Estrada
5. the son of the previous dictator Ferdinand Marcos came within a hair's
breadth of winning the vice presidency in the 2016 national elections and is
currently the country's 17th president
Corruption fails to have electoral consequences in the Philippines. Voters believe that corruption
is ethically reprehensible, yet their moral convictions are not being reflected in their voting
behavior

12. Applied Populism. This is defined as a combination of strong
political machinery and populist tactics. Applied Populism is a theory by
Thomson (2010) that political candidates use in order to form an emotional
and psychological attraction on voters which may cause them to ignore
claims of corruption.
Corruption. This refers to the abuse of authority or resources for
one's own benefit. Corruption is a sociopolitical issue in the Philippines
which is the main subject of this paper. It pertains to the dishonest and
unlawful acts that manifest in the Philippine government.
Politics. Politics in the context of Philippine governance is utilized in
the making of this concept paper. This refers to a set of activities that
correspond to collective decision-making or other types of power dynamics
between people, such as the allocation of resources or position.

13. Power. This refers to the socially produced effect that
determines an actor's capabilities, actions, beliefs, or behavior. It
is the political power that corrupt Filipino politicians possess and
abuse in order to manipulate both the government and its people.
Stockholm Syndrome. In psychology, it is a psychological
reaction that happens when kidnapped hostages or abuse victims
form bonds with their captors or abusers. In this paper, Stockholm
Syndrome is used in a political perspective. It refers to an
occurrence where an individual is aware that the government and
politicians are dishonest but refuses to accept it since it would
upend the ideology they presently believe in.

14. Specifically, this concept paper aims to
1) broaden one’s understanding of corruption in the Philippines;
2) identify the factors that cause corruption;
3) determine and understand the psychological aspects as to how corrupt
Filipino politicians manage to secure their political power;
4) strengthen one’s political consciousness and governance standards to
achieve a better administration; and
5) alleviate corruption through the promotion of responsible and ethical voting
during elections.

18. The systematic principles approach will be used in
this concept paper to create a review strategy that
adheres to the fundamental principles of systematic
reviews, including rigor, transparency, and a commitment
to gathering evidence seriously, while enabling a more
versatile and user-friendly collection and processing of
retrieval and analysis methods (Hagen-Zanker & Mallett,
2013).

19. In accordance with the guidelines presented by Hagen-Zanker and Mallett
(2013) for gathering and verifying evidences using systematic principles, the
methodology that will be used in this paper to find significant sources
includes three distinct areas:
a) a literature search;
b) obtaining the grey literature, which required manual
searches of a number of pre-selected academic databases;
and
c) gathering of learning competencies that support the
concept.

20. Following each of the three tracks resulted to a targeted concept paper with
gathered data and resources from a variety of credible sources. Given the
variety of literature reviews and resources available, the following
methodologies were used in this concept paper to review the evidence
supporting this paper’s major concepts:
a) review of literature related to Philippine Politics using a non-
systematic approach;
b) systematic search on political Stockholm Syndrome and
Applied Populism, non-systematic approach on political/
developmental effects/impact of corruption in the
Philippines; and
c) systematic search on politician-voter relationship,
characteristics, and behavior.
A "systematic" search involved a detailed evaluation of academic and bibliographic databases
and publications for relevant literature, whereas a "non-systematic" search focused on a less
thorough check of the evidence base and interpretation of the synthesis of the available
information.

21. There are various topics and learning competencies which
are being taught in Philippine Politics and Governance. These
HUMSS subject of the curriculum contains the Most Essential
Learning Competencies (MELC) that presents the objectives
which are connected to the purpose of this concept paper.
HUMSS students can utilize the topics and learning
competencies from these subjects to better understand
corruption, how it significantly influences sociopolitical dynamics,
and its impact to the lives of the minority.

22. In Philippine Politics and Governance, students are
introduced to the fundamental ideas and essential
components of politics and governance from a historical-
institutional standpoint. It attempts to specifically
describe how key aspects of our nation's political
institutions, structures, and connections evolved over
time. As a result, the learners' understanding of their
rights and obligations as citizens and contributors to the
greater sociopolitical community is developed which
enhances their civic engagement and awareness.

23. Specifically, five main topics were reviewed and selected from this subject due to
the applicability of their corresponding learning competencies to the objectives of
this concept paper. These topics provide the learning competencies that are
connected to the aforementioned purposes of this paper. These topics are as
follows:
1) The basic tenets of the major political ideologies (i.e.,
liberalism, socialism, conservatism, etc.)
2)The nature, dimensions, types, and consequences of power
3)The role and responsibilities of the Philippine Senate and the
House of Representatives
4)The roles and responsibilities of the Philippine Judiciary
5) The nature of elections and political parties in the context of the
Philippines
.

24. Corruption in the Philippines continues to exist up to this
day, an undeniable issue that reflects in the daily struggles of
Filipinos. This concept paper is crafted with the knowledge
gained from prior lessons in Philippine Politics and
Governance, drawing on the genuine interest in the
sociopolitical problems facing the nation as well as in
psychology and theories. As poverty and inflation continues
to worsen in today’s administration, there is a dire need of
evaluating the current government system and digging
deeper from the origins as to why Filipinos are experiencing
all these crises today.

25. It is important for everyone to be politically and
socially aware, not just HUMSS students or individuals
who are interested in such areas. As Filipinos, it is a
duty and a responsibility to take part in political
matters of the country that needs to be addressed and
corrected. As a democratic country, it is important to
exercise freedom in line with truth and righteousness.
Crafting this concept paper takes courage since not
everyone will be open to such discussion and not
everyone will agree to the concepts covered in this
paper.

26. Despite the possible consequences of revealing
detailed opinions about criticizing and assessing the
present administration through the lens of an existing
political Stockholm Syndrome and practice of the so-
called Applied Populism, this concept paper stands in
pride and bravery. It takes more than just effort to
confidently defend the points of the concepts stated in
this paper.

27. DEL ROSARIO, LOREN DINGLAS, JOY LIM, JANNINE PRINCESS
LIBATIQUE, DIONELLYN GRACE ENCARNACION, CHARETTE
MARTIR, SAMANTHA DENISE ANGELA