Twentieth-century Philippine political thinkers : selected readings / edited by Jorge V. Tigno

Includes bibliographical references.

Part One: Government and Bureaucracy -- Part Two: Leadership and Democracy -- Part 3. The Philippines and the World -- Part 4. Justice, nationalism and revolution.

In the first part, which deals with Philippine government and bureaucracy, Jorge Tigno focuses on Maximo Kalaw and Onofre D. Corpuz. In his reading of Kalaw, Tigno highlights the legalistic tendency of Kalaw's political thinking. However, as this volume's objective is not to challenge but "supplement Western political thought" (ix), the inductive logic and Aristotelian roots of Kalaw's typology of states and governments are absent in the commentary. Meanwhile, Tigno emphasizes Corpuz's political ecology approach in analyzing Philippine bureaucracy, particularly the recognition of individual bureaucrats' capacity to exercise agency due to their affiliations outside the government. Tigno shows that, while Kalaw exhibits methodological innovation in the use of legal documents, Corpuz focuses on history and context in explaining the evolution of Philippine bureaucracy as an institution. The second part revolves around issues of leadership and democracy and opens with Casambre's reading of Pura Villanueva Kalaw and her critique of the marginalized position of Filipino women in political theorizing. Casambre admits that Kalaw's struggle was no different from the advocacies of Kalaw's contemporary feminists, particularly the fight for women's right to suffrage and ability to possess virtue and reason. However, Casambre sees the significance of Kalaw's optimism about the institutions of marriage and family as vital avenues to influence men and as instruments for nurturing a nation that is conscious of women's importance in shaping the future, in contrast to modern-day feminists' high regard for individualism and freedom of choice. The succeeding chapter introduces Tigno's reading of Ricardo R. Pascual's rejection of the necessity of political parties and preference for [End Page 282] proportional representation over plurality voting. This section serves as the first explicit manifestation of the book's intention to supplant Western political theorizing, as Tigno notes the similarity between Pascual's ideas and the political thought of David Hume and George Washington. Ending the second part is a feature on Remigio Agpalo's writings that emphasize the role of culture in political analysis. In reading these works, Coronel-Ferrer asserts that Agpalo's employment of "culture-based allegories" (146) gives him an edge over other Filipino political theorists, particularly in his utilization of indigenous concepts as exemplified in his article "Pangulo Regime" (Philippine Political Science Journal, 1992:45–60), which is a contribution to the literature on the distinct nature of Asian politics. The third part features works on Philippine external relations, with the first section being Lusterio-Rico's reading of documents by Felipe Agoncillo, regarded as the first Filipino diplomat who argued for the Philippines's right to self-determination. However, although this right is a liberal precept, Lusterio-Rico posits that Agoncillo was a realist due to his recognition of US strategic interests in the Philippines as a means to achieve...