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CHAPTER I

THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

INTRODUCTION

Philippines is the only presidential democracy in the world that employs plurality-rule

electoral system to decide on its chief executive (Choi, 2001). Every year, presidential candidate

has its own strategies of getting the trust of the registered voter that will participate in an

election. Philippine Presidential Election results often change vividly. A lopsided victory for one

party may be change by a landslide for the other party in the next election. Electoral process are

sustained or altered as people acquire their attitudes and values. The most attention-grabbing

questions about an election are not concerned with who won but with why people voted the way

that they did or what the implications of the results are. These questions are not always simply

answered. Looking only at the campaign events and incidents will not be sufficient.

Judging and selecting whom will be the ideal candidate especially during National election

has never been easy, confusion and deception might occur because of the variety of factors that

affects the choice of the voters such as Influence of Family and Kinship, schools, power of Mass

Media, peer groups, religious institution, political propaganda, social class and political parties.

Most children acquire their basic political values and behavior patterns by adolescence. At any

specific time, a person’s political beliefs are a combination of various feelings and attitudes.

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There are general identifications of a voter, such as nationalism, ethnic or class self-images,

religious and ideological commitments, and fundamental sense of rights and duties in the society.

At some level, people develop attitudes towards politics and governmental institutions. Finally,

there are more immediate views of current events, policies, issues and personalities. These

factors and many others that people are introduced to as they are growing up will affect their

political views throughout the rest of their live.

Furthermore, Theories of Political behavior, as an aspect of political science, attempt to

quantify and understand the influences that define a person’s political views, ideology and levels

of political participation. Voting is a constitutional right to choose your representative in a

government. It is tremendously important to maintain the democracy of a country. In a

democratic society it is vital to ensure a government that only goes after the will of the people.

Elections socialize and institutionalize political activity. It solicits accountability and

responsibility from the elected representatives. By electing leaders who will be the representative

in all branches of government, the fate of the country literally rests in the hands of its residents.

In a large election, the probability that a vote is vital is small, but to the benefit of country

associated with deciding the election outcome is large. The larger the jurisdiction in which the

election applies, the larger the potential effect on the general welfare. Therefore, when the entire

nation vote there must be number of consideration a voter has. Registered voters should be very

watchful of their votes and must create an informed decision.

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BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Voting process also becomes the source of hope of the citizens who are aiming for

change. By which, they can either remove those whom they think are not serving them with full

purpose of bringing social contentment. They are those authoritative persons who, while in their

positions do less service and focused more in bringing self-contentment. Maybe they were not

taught and do not fully understood the essence of how a real public servant should be, or they are

really not worthy to be in position of being the head of the state. This happens in reality, for

many years, the Philippines seem to be struggling to have a worthy public servant to head its

government. But this might be hard and even impossible to come to pass because of the kind of

the world we are living wherein most of the people are much into the things of the world. In

spite of this, the Filipinos, especially the elder ones is still remain firm in their conviction and

hope that will lead them to a brighter administration, brighter Philippines.

During national elections, a set of candidates are being presented to the citizens, leaving

them the right to judge and to choose. The ones who are eligible to vote are those who are (1) a

citizen (male or female) of the Philippines, (2) not otherwise disqualified by law, (3) at least

eighteen (18) years of age and, (4) have resided for almost one (1) year and in the place wherein

he proposes to vote for at least six (6) months preceding the election.

The researchers have seen from the past 2010 Presidential Election that the first time

voters especially those who are from ages 18-21 years old, how being surrounded by many

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external social factors, had greatly influenced their voting preferences. Some were lead to give

their votes for those candidates either referred or preferred by their own family, peer groups

which he/she goes with, religious institutions where he/she is affiliated with and by many other

social factors. These will give way for the researchers to see what are the different factors that

affect the voting preferences of the above mentioned voters and to be able to weigh and to know

which one does greatly affects and influence their will to choose.

Not only the researchers have the enthusiasm to conduct a study that seeks to know the

factors that influence the voting preferences of the first time voters. In the study done by the

Institute for Political and Electoral Reform (2003), they concluded that the determinants of the

voters are as follows: (1) candidate’s public image which the voters may easily identify with

which says to be by being an actor, good public speaker, good in campaign (2) endorsement of

traditional network and organization (3) characteristics that can be of benefit to the voter, and (4)

the party and its platform or program of governance. On the other hand, Dy (1998) believes that

Region also influences a voter’s political choice behavior. “These political bailiwicks are often

the home province or region where the voters were born, were raised, and reside.” De Venecia

sought the support of his fellow Pangasinense as what happened in 1992 when they supported

Ramos. Enrile, as an independent candidate, counted the people of Cagayan to back him up.

Santiago also believed that her Iloilo province would support her in the elections. Marcos also

relied on her home province of Leyte while Osmena believed to receive huge votes from Cebu.

While Mangahas (1998) concluded that Socio-economic class is one of the factors that determine

a voter’s political choice behavior. In the 1998 SWS National Exit Poll, even though a small but

significant margin of the middle to upper classes rejected Estrada, nevertheless, the lower classes

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characterized by immense poverty supported him overwhelmingly. Roco, as another aspirant

receive a wide margin of votes from the middle to upper classes. Mangahas (1998) explained that

Estrada’s strength really come from themasa while Roco enjoys a high popularity from the

educated and professional classes.

The conclusion made by the Institute for Political and Electoral Reform was based on the

response given by the voters as general regardless of their age, civil status, on what particular

election and educational background, while the other researches’ conclusion made by Dy and

Mangahas focused only to a single or particular determinants of the voters that affects their

voting preference.

The findings that the researchers will be gathered as a result will help to (1) show how,

for a first time voters having been surrounded by social factors will vote in a National Election,

(2) understand changes in individual vote intentions over the course of a Presidential campaign,

(3) help the above mentioned voters to assess their selves if these factors really affected their

voting preferences last 2010 Presidential election, and (4) strive to help above mentioned voters

to conquer these external influences for bringing forth their personal will and choice.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

This study aims to answer the following questions:

Main Problem

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1. What is the level of Political Socialization of the first time voters of Barangay 181,

Pangarap Village, Caloocan City?

Sub Problem

1. What is the demographic profile of the first time voters of Barangay 181, Pangarap

Village, Caloocan City in terms of :

1.1 socio-economic status

1.2 educational attainment

1.3 gender

1.4 age

2. What is the Social history of the first time voters of Barangay 181, Pangarap Village,

Caloocan City?

3. What type of media has accessed by the first time voters from Pangarap Village,

Caloocan City?

4. What is the level of Social Political participation of Barangay 181, Pangarap Village,

Caloocan City?

5. What is the significant relationship between demographic profiles of the first time

voters from Pangarap Village, Caloocan City and their political choice behavior?

HYPOTHESES

H1 : There is a significantrelationship between demographic profiles of the first time voters from

Pangarap Village, Caloocan City and their political choice behavior

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THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

The theoretical framework used in this study is the Structural Functionalism Theory. It

concentrates on the positive and negative functions of social structures. Societal functionalism is

a particular type of structural functionalism that aims to explain the role of social structures and

institutions in society, the relationship between these structures, and the manner in which these

structures constrain the actions of individuals. ( Talcott Parsons’s Structural Functionalism )

This Structural Functionalism seeks out the ‘structural’ aspects of the social system under

consideration, and then studies the processes which function to maintain social structures. In this

context, structure primarily refers to normative patterns of behavior (regularized patterns of

action in accordance with norms), whilst function explains how such patterns operate as systems.

FamilySchool

Religious Institutions Peer groupsSocial class

Interest groupsPolitical parties

Mass mediaDirect contact with the

government

Interest articulation

Interest aggregation

Policy making

Policy implementation and adjudication

Voted Presidential Candidate

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RESEARCH PARADIGM

INPUT PROCESS OUTPUT

FEEDBACK

(Figure 2.3- Comparative Politics Today p. 34)

The Agents of Political Socialization was used as the input materials. These are the

external factors located within the voter’s sphere of life, which includes family, school, mass

media, religious institutions, social class, political parties, peer groups, interest groups and direct

contact in government.

The factors that

influence the voting

preference of first time

voters who are 18-21 years

old of Barangay 181,

Pangarap Village, Caloocan

City

Interest articulation

Interest aggregation

Policy making

Policy implementation and adjudication

Voted Presidential Candidate

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The influence of these agents will be carried out by the voters through voting or election,

wherein they will have the discretion on who they will give their votes. After the proper

authority has tallied, the result whether or not the above mentioned has been the source of voter’s

preference will be known.

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

RESEARCH PARADIGM

INPUT PROCESS OUTPUT

FEEDBACK

(Figure 2.3- Comparative Politics Today p. 34)

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The figure indicates the level of political socialization of the registered voters

in Barangay 181, Caloocan City and their reason of choosing their candidates during Presidential

Election 2010.

The Factors that influence the political behavior of the registered voter is the

independent variable. It refers to a first time registered voters who are eighteen to twenty one

years old (18-21 y/o) from Barangay 181, Zone 16 Pangarap Village, Caloocan City and the

factors the affects their voting preference during 2010 Presidential Election. On the other hand,

the reason why they voted a particular candidate serves as the dependent variable of this

research.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

According to Farrel (2002) in his published work entitled, “Do Political campaigns

Matter? Campaign effects in election and referendum”the issue of voting behavior is certainly

significant to a number of fields in political Science. According to him, countless studies in the

voting behavior literature on the ingredient that voters take into account when deciding which

party or candidate to vote for at elections, or which proposal to support at referendums.

Aditionally,Theory of Political behavior, as an aspect of political science, attempt to quantify and

understand the influences that define a person’s political views, ideology and levels of political

participation

To the first time voter, for them to be more watchful and be able to conquer the factors

that influences their voting preference and stand for their own will and choice in choosing a good

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leader. This study will boost level of awareness of the Filipino masses in the upcoming National

Election.

To the Politicians, this study will serve as a self-evaluation to the political campaign and

will help them to know their limitations on campaigning.

To the Future Researchers, this study will serve as a reference material when they

conduct a correlated study.

SCOPE AND LIMITATION

This research focuses on factors that greatly influence voting preference of first time

voters from ages 18-21 years of Barangay 181, Pangarap Village Caloocan City during the 2010

Presidential Election.

To make this justifiable, this study aims to get the answers from 30 persons, who are

registered voters here in Philippines and are randomly selected, which will come from Barangay

181, Pangarap Village, Caloocan City.

The information we will be getting from the respondents will answer the question of what

is the level of Political Socialization of the first time voters of Barangay 181, Pangarap Village,

Caloocan City.

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Definition of Terms

Agents of Political Socialization – these are the individuals, organizations and institutions that

influence individual’s political attitudes.

Family – It is the basic unit of the society. It is also the first socialization that an individual

encounters.

Interest Groups – it provides valuable political cues to its member and reinforces distinct social

and political orientations. It also provides setting to learn about how making political choices in

small groups can be extended to politics.

Mass Media – the prime source of information on the politics today.

Peer Groups – one of the factors that shape the individual’s political attitudes.

Political Parties – it is a group people who share the same ideas about the way the country

should be governed. 

Political Socialization – process in which political values are formed and political culture is

transmitted from one generation to the next.

Religious Institutions – important sources of partisan preferences and can guide people in

making other political choices.

School – source of information about political process and political institutions and which

provides citizen a knowledge about politics and government.

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Social class – it is a status hierarchy in which individuals and groups are classified on the basis

of esteem and prestige acquired mainly through economic success and accumulation of wealth.

Social class may also refer to any particular level in such a hierarchy.

Structural functionalism-studies the processes which function to maintain social structures

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CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

This chapter presented a summary of related literature and studies, both local and foreign,

which were related to the study for the reason of facility and expediency in organization and

interpretation.

Foreign Literature

In study made by Hayes et al (2009), findings showed that that television has

“personalized” voting behavior in American presidential election by encouraging citizens to cast

ballots on the basis of candidate image and personality. Many voters profess to cast ballots “the

person, not the party”. Implicit in voting for its person” is an emphasis on personal

characteristics- charisma, leadership, empathy and the like (p 231). According to him, candidate

personality is taken as substandard criteria for a voter’s choice. The concern about the

“personalization” of voting behavior has become acute in recent decades. Television encourages

politicians to become “confessional,” baring their souls as a way of connecting with their

constituents. And in high-profile races, candidates’ personal background, character traits and

physical attributes are subjected to study by the political punditry (p 237). Candidate personality

is but one of a number of influences on voters’ choices. Long-term factors such as ideology,

party identification, and social group characteristics have argued to have a much more substantial

effect on voting behavior than a candidate’s traits or physical features. Short-term factors, too,

can affect voting behavior, especially for those citizens who claim for political independence,

leaning toward neither party. Voters see politicians’ personal characteristics, both inside and out,

as relevant. Perceptions of candidates’ character traits−whether they believe to be strong leaders,

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caring and compassionate, moral and decent, honest and trustworthy−have a strong influence on

voting. Image, in other words, may not be everything, but it matters (p 238). The author used

descriptive method to explain his findings.

In the similar study of political behavior, Gerber (2010) explained that partisanship is

strongly associated with attitudes and behavior of registered voters, but it is uncertain from this

pattern whether partisan identity has a causal effect on political behavior and attitudes. This

research reported the results of a field experiment that investigates the causal effect of party

identification. Prior to the February 2008 Connecticut presidential primary, researchers sent a

mailing to a random sample of unaffiliated registered voters who, in a pre-treatment survey,

leaned toward a political party. The mailing informed the subjects that only voters registered

with a party were able to participate in the upcoming presidential primary. Subjects were

surveyed again in June 2008. Comparing post-treatment survey responses to subjects’ baseline

survey responses, they found that those informed of the need to register with a party were more

likely to identify with a party and showed stronger partisanship. Further, study finds that the

treatment group also demonstrated greater concordance than the control group between their pre-

treatment latent partisanship and their post-treatment reported voting behavior and intentions and

evaluations of partisan figures. Thus, our treatment, which caused a strengthening of partisan

identity, also caused a shift in subjects’ candidate preferences and evaluations of salient political

figures. This finding is consistent with the claim that partisanship is an active force changing

how citizens behave in and perceive the political world (p 720).

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Han (2009) in his work entitled, “Does the Content of Political Appeals Matter in

Motivating Participation? A Field Experiment on Self Disclosure in Political Appeals” presented

his effort work about the content of political appeals in motivating participation. Robust citizen

participation is essential to a healthy democracy. This study presents the results of the

experimental study designed to see if the content of political appeals matter in motivating

participation.

These findings of Han (2009) have important implication for how political organizations

can structure motivational appeals to enhance participation. In particular, the results highlight the

importance of relational goals in participation−appeals that cause targets to feel more affiliation

with the requester are more effective than appeals. Insofar as politics is about the interaction of

human beings to achieve a set of collective goals, motivation is at the heart of all theories about

politics. During an effective political appeal is central to the work of political parties, campaigns,

and other advocacy organizations. Study ascertained a clear condition under which the content of

political appeals matters in inspiring voting participation. Despite the centrality of political

appeals to politics, previous research on this topic had been limited and the findings that have

emerged are mixed. Some research had found that appeals containing political threats (Miller and

Krosnick, 2004) and then specter of social pressure (Gerber et. Al. 2008) are more likely to

motivate participation. In contrast, other research finds that appeals focusing on civic duty the

closeness of the election, neighborhood solidarity, or national and ethnic identities have no effect

on increasing participation (Gerber and Green 2009 Trivedi2005 ). This study argues that the

content of political appeals can matter.

Central to the effort to motivate participate is the ability to craft a persuasive appeal.

Accoding to Han (2009) , political organization uses multiple methods to motivate support for

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their cause, including leaflets, telephone calls, door to door canvassing, television and radio

commercials, and small group meetings. Han showed that successful appeals encourage greater

participation, while unsuccessful appeals do not. The strength of the appeal can thus be a crucial

determinant of the organization’s success (p 105). Research examining the differential effect of

appeal has found more evidence for the idea that the mode of interaction matters- interpersonal

appeals are more motivating than impersonal appeals−but only limited evidence that content of

the appeal matters.

Since cultural theory was introduced by Mary Douglas (966, 1970), it has become an

influential explanation of why people choose which potential hazards to fear and which to

ignore. According to De Castella(2009), Cultural theory maintains the four world views-

egalitarianism, individualism, hierarchism, and fatalism; it can be used to describe people and

societies. He enlightened cultural theory as patterns of social relationships which determined by

two variables. The first, “group,” is the extent to which people are incorporated into communities

or other social groupings. The greater the incorporation, the greater the group influence on

individual decisions and the lesser the individual’s choice. In strong groups, people interact

frequently in a wide range of activities and are influenced by group norms.

Local Literature

Vila (2004) stated in his article in Business World that candidates, specifically those

running for the presidency, therefore do not have reliable information that could help them in

choosing regions or provinces for campaign sorties. “We do not have data on voting behavior

that is low enough in the administrative structure of the country to be able to have a sharp

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instrument “, said Mr. Joel Rocamora, the executive Director of the Institute of Popular

Democracy.

According to Dr. Joel Mangahas, the College Secretary of UP and also the Director of the

Center for Public Administration and Governance Education at National College of Public

Administration (NCPA), that the only data presidential candidates and voters alike can rely on

for strategies and other information is the pre-election surveys. Even if they can only get still

pictures out of these surveys, candidates can use these to their advantage, as survey “certainly

have bandwagon effects”. And as for the voters, it can be a tool for reflecting if they are

choosing the right candidate.

Aaron Dish (2010) stated in his article “Do Mass Media Influence the Political Behavior

of Voters” that one should not forget another fascinating fact about the media. Their political

influence extends far beyond newspaper reports and articles of a right away political nature, or

television programs connected with current affairs that bear upon politics. In an exceedingly

abundant more subtle approach, they can influence folk’s thought patterns by other means, like

"goodwill" stories, pages coping with entertainment and common culture, movies, TV "soaps",

"educational" programs. All these types of information type human values, ideas of excellent and

evil, right and wrong, sense and nonsense, what is "trendy" and "unfashionable," and what's

"acceptable" and "unacceptable". These human value systems, in flip, form individuals' angle to

political issues, influence how they vote and therefore confirm who holds political power. 

In the same study made by Pedro Laylo and Laylo (1999), he conceptualized image as

stimulus-determined and perceive determined (p. 6). Stimulus determined refers to the image that

the candidate projects while perceived-determined refers to the perception of a voter relative to a

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candidate’s attributes. They also defined candidate whose views are similar or closer to his own

views or homophily.

Pablo (1998) also established a research about voting behavior; he wrote the Professor

Felipe Miranda agreed that ethnic blocs are very crucial in determining the outcome of the May

11, 1998 elections. A regional or linguistic group who tend to root for candidates belonging to

their group exemplifies ethnic vote. “Ethnic vote establishes the base you score added votes with

extra resources, and it’s something you’re born with (p. 1).”

Foreign Studies

There are factors affecting a voter’s political preference behavior. Newman and Sheth

(1987) proposed the theory of political science behavior in his published work entitled, “.A

Theory of Political Choice Behavior”. The theory has a broad definition of independent

variables that affect a voter’s behavior in choosing a candidate (p. 31). Political issues according

to the author have an effect on a voter’s behavior. It denotes that the individual beliefs of a

registered voter about the candidates stand on economic social and foreign policy issues coerce a

voter’s political choice behavior (p.33). Aside from political issues, Newman and Sheth (1987)

also expounded that social imagery, as used in the theory or socio- demographic characteristics

influences voters in picking their presidential candidates. It means that the candidate’s socio-

demographic qualities, based on his association with specific demographic, socioeconomic,

cultural-ethnic, or political-ideological segments of society, influence the behavior of voters (p

34). Candidate personality or candidate image also bothers the voting choice of voters. It

understands that emotional feelings like anger, hope, patriotism and pessimism stimulate by the

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candidate’s personality, expect a voter’s political choice behavior ( p 35). The author used

descriptive method to present his studies.

Farrel (2002) cited that the issue of voting behavior is certainly relevance to a number of

fields in political Science. According to him, countless studies in the voting behavior literature

on the ingredient that voters take into account when deciding which party or candidate to vote for

at elections, or which proposal to support at referendums (p. 1). He tried to explain the definition

of campaigning; he said that campaigning is the core feature of the Political Parties in

contemporary democracy. Election campaign see parties and their candidate wage battles for

votes and political office (p.2). It occurs not only in political realm; they are important in all

walks of life. Election campaigns have attracted, and continue to attract, considerable academic

attention (p.37).

Farrel(2002) also mentioned that media are by no means the only channel through which

campaigns reach their audiences. While inquiries into the effects of Political Campaigns cannot

ignore the mediating role of mass communication, equally they cannot restrict themselves to

looking only at the media (p.2). He has argued that public television is likely to be very central

weapon in election campaigning in many new democracies. A relatively poor supply of

campaign resources for parties and weak party loyalties in electorate on the hand, and likely

governmental control of an unusually important channel of political communication on the other,

make the partisan use and abuse of the media both highly likely and potentially a major , political

issue in itself (p 71).

Similarly, Berelson, Lazarsfeld and Mcphee (1954) explained in his research that the

registered voter gets his information about the presidentiables from reading, listening, and

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discussion. This is subject to selective gathering information, forgetting of disturbing elements,

reinterpretation of what the candidate really means – all mechanism familiar in social

psychology. According to him, political party does not particularly affect the voter’s perception

of where the candidates stand on the basis. Voters who feel strongly about their choice are more

likely to misperceive the candidates’ stands on the issues as favorable to their own positions. He

also indicate that voters who disagree with both candidates’ stands, as perceived, support their

own candidate more strongly than those who agree with both (p 233).

They examined three new variables: the degree of authoritarian personality, the degree of

intergroup prejudice, and the range of attitudes toward large corporations. Their findings proved

that socio-demographic characteristics are related to voter’s political choice behavior,

emphasizing the individual and his or her environment as mutually influencing systems.

Similarly, Milbrath (1965) stated that most of the attitudes of the voters will probably be

conditioned by their education or his social class or his party identification− or any other

politically relevant but stable attributes−but it is also true that the voter’s attitude will reflect

changing events on the political scene. Although a person’s educational background or his

religion or his party identification seldom undergo change between different elections, some of

his partisan attitudes towards the affairs of politics do change in response to new events and new

situations (p 252).

The vote, in many ways, is a very crude of a man’s political hopes and fears, his

aspirations and commitments. A vote according to Milbrath (1965) is vote is a vote. Each person

cast a vote only once and it cast to more and no less than any others. It will be for one party’s

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candidate and no more partisan when cast by fanatic partisan identifier than when cast by a man

who mentally flips a coin to decide his vote.

According to Polliby and Wildausky (1980) in their works, “Presidential Elections:

Strategies of American Electoral Politics, the role of political parties in presidential elections is

to compromise and incorporate the wishes of a wide range of citizens in programs that

encompass a multitude of issues and stretch across a greater span of time than a brief term of

office that may or may not renewed. Only political parties can marshal the resources and develop

the strategy to recruit, train, support and guide a succession of highly qualified individuals to

advance those programs during their terms in office. Only political parties can provide an

effective means of holding elected representatives accountable to the people who elect them on

the basis of such programs, by being ready to deny their resources to unworthy incumbents

seeking reelection.

Nimmo (1976) said that County researchers found that voters give selective attention to

the content of campaign messages that support their images of candidates. Partisans tended to

perceive their preferred candidate’s stand on issues as favorable to their own, perceiving their

candidate’s stand as similar to their own and opponent’s stand as dissimilar; further, they often

failed to perceive any differences that they have with their own candidate or any similarity of

stands they might share with the opposition.

Local Studies

Gamalinda (1992) said very simply in his book “Opinions, Polls, and Presidents”, that

presidential campaign strategies have only one objective: to package, market and sell the

candidate as they would any product. Although a candidate with a relatively extensive history of

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achievements is preferable, the success of his campaign will depend on the credibility (or

incredibility) of his made-over image, political machinery—a lot of money (p 284). Additionally,

he explained that American introduced the concept of presidential elections, Filipinos were

unshakably attuned to the politics of patronage, and none of the presidents, Manuel Quezon

down to the present line, did anything to alter that. Centered on personality and only incidentally

on issues, presidential elections have relied on candidates’ image to bring in votes.

Lorenzana (2005) in her research seeks to gather information and data on the day to day

conduct of political campaigns of selected political candidates. The study focused on the

practices, symbols and strategies that candidates employed as they went through campaign trail.

Moreover, the study penetrates into the experiences, thoughts, reflections and decisions of such

politicians in the light of running alternative political campaign. Political Culture has been

originally defined by Almond and Verba (1996) as the set of shared attitudes, beliefs and values

within an entire population with regard to politics. It is thus defined by the value system of that

group as well as its orientation towards social and political structures. Political culture includes

“an individual or group’s knowledge of institutions of and processes, evaluations of how well or

poor they work and emotional responses to the political system as a whole” (Mendoza, 1999).

Following the definition of politics as the making of common decisions for a group of

people with the use of power, political culture is then the consolidation of a group’s behavior,

attitudes, values and total paradigm with regard to power relations and various decision-making

processes that affect the state. The behavior of a group of people vis-à-vis politics can be

understood by probing its political culture (p 13).

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Lande(1973) stated in his research “Political Behavior in Philippines Region” that

relations between candidates and voters are quite weak in the Philippines. These links become

markedly weak because of the number of candidates increases.

According to Lande, Personal alliances between candidates and local political leaders or

individual voters serve as relatively strong links, and are relatively relied upon to mobilize voter

support. Many of these alliances cut across party lines. He also stated that the Socio-economic

variables have relatively low explanatory power with respect to aggregate political behavior in

general, and political party preferences in particular. This is the case especially in local-level

politics. Linguistic- regional and local loyalties are among the major determinants of individual

voting decisions in the Philippine in national and subnational elections respectively. Language

group and local loyalties are most marked in the most rural, most isolated and least modern

localities. Violence, actual, threatened and anticipated is a fairly common occurrence at elections

in the Philippine. It is most likely to be used to influence the outcome of elections for sub-

national elections (p 94).

Mangahas (1998) mentioned that Religion plays an important role in a voter’s political

choice behavior. As reflected in the 1998 SWS National Exit Poll, Estrada attained 81 percent of

the Iglesia Ni Cristo, 63 percent of the Muslims, and 35 percent of the Aglipayans. There was no

sign of a Catholic vote. In the charismatic groups, Estrada also got 52 percent of the Jesus is

Lord Movement, 39 percent of the El Shaddai, and 43 percent of the Jesus Miracle Crusade.

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CHAPTER III

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This chapter presents the researchers design and methodology that were used in order to

collect information.

Research Design

The researchers used the qualitative method to attain the objective and purpose of this

study. This method is intended to gain insight into people’s attitudes, behaviors, value systems,

concerns, motivations, aspirations, culture of lifestyles. This exploration aimed to collect and

validate data through the use of interviews which will be presented to the respondents. Berja

(2010)

Respondents of the Study

The respondent of this study are the first time registered voter of Barangay 181, Zone 16,

Pangarap Village, Caloocan City. The researcher used a survey form to evaluate the level of

political socialization of the respondents. The researchers use the random sampling technique-

(Cluster Sampling Technique,) in selecting the respondent.

Cluster sampling is a sampling technique in which the entire population of interest is

divided into groups, or clusters, and a random sample of these clusters is selected. Each cluster

must be mutually exclusive and together the clusters must include the entire population. After

clusters are selected, then all units within the clusters are selected. No units from non-selected

clusters are included in the sample. 

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The respondent were both male and female with age range from eighteen (18) to twenty

(21) years of age.

Research Locale

The study will be conducted at Barangay 181, Pangarap Village Caloocan City. It is small

community located in the Northern part of Caloocan City.

Among all cities in the Philippines, Caloocan together with Pasay and Manila City

implement the so called "Zone Systems". A Zone is a group of barangays and it is implemented

for strategically purposes. Caloocan City has 16 Zones and the second biggest zone in Caloocan

is Zone 16 where Barangay 181, Pangarap Village belongs.

Most of the residents in Barangay 181 speak English and Filipino as their primary

language. A considerable amount of the population also speaks other languages and dialects.

Like many other places in the country, Roman Catholicism is the religion with most followers in

that barangay, but there is a significant number of the members of Iglesiani Cristo and other

Christian denominations.

Instrumentation

Qualitative researchers use interviews to find out people’s experiences, perceptions,

values, and opinions. Interviews can be used for many different purposes and take many different

forms. They can happen repeatedly over a long period of time or only once, can be short or long.

The common element in all interviews is that researchers ask different people questions on a

particular topic. Ideally, this takes place with individuals or groups in face- to- face settings,

although interviews can also be done over the telephone or Internet.

27

More particularly, the kind of interview which will be presented by the researchers to the

respondents is in a semi-structured form. It comprises a list of questions, topics, and or issues

that are prepared prior to the interview or discussion. This list of questions is developed to ensure

continuity between the subjects and to help interviewers cover essential topics. Because the list

serves as a guide only, the interviewers are free to ask whatever questions they feel will result in

information appropriate to the purpose and focus of the interview. This is why it is called semi-

structured. Making a list beforehand, however, ensures that critical topics to be covered are not

missed Berja (2010).

Data Gathering Procedure

The researchers will be asking permission from the chairman of Barangay 181, Pangarap

Village Caloocan City. It will be conducted through submission of formal letter of request

provided by the secretary of the College of Arts and Sciences’ Dean.

As soon as the request will be approved, the researchers will proceed to the said barangay

and will administer the interview and test intended for the respondents. The respondents will be

given ten (10) to fifteen (15) minutes in answering the interview and survey form.

Statistical Treatment of Data

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