An Exploratory Study of the Effectiveness of Unconditional EducationalAssistance Program as a Programmatic Electoral Strategy in the Philippines: The Case of Makati City’s Project FREE
This exploratory study deviated from the influential theoretical lens of clientelism in examining voter-politician ties in Philippine political studies. Drawing on Kitschelt and Wilkinson’s (2007) conceptualization of programmatic politics as an alternative electoral strategy, we investigated how a...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta
2023-03-01
|
| Series: | Jurnal Studi Pemerintahan |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://jsp.umy.ac.id/index.php/jsp/article/view/17 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1832545221240422400 |
|---|---|
| author | Miguel Enrico Gutierrez Ayson Esther Marylerma Calvo |
| author_facet | Miguel Enrico Gutierrez Ayson Esther Marylerma Calvo |
| author_sort | Miguel Enrico Gutierrez Ayson |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This exploratory study deviated from the influential theoretical lens of clientelism in examining voter-politician ties in Philippine political studies. Drawing on Kitschelt and Wilkinson’s (2007) conceptualization of programmatic politics as an alternative electoral strategy, we investigated how a programmatic linkage between a local political leader and its electoral constituency is facilitated through the non-contingent and regular distribution of school-related materials for public school children. This local programmatic policy has gained popularity among various local government units (LGUs) in the Philippines. We focused on the Makati City government’s Project FREE (Free Relevant and Excellent Education) due to its reputation for arguably being the most innovative and comprehensive educational assistance program ever implemented at the country’s local scale. We employed a purposive sampling technique to obtain our participants – the project’s parent beneficiaries. Through in-depth interviews, we investigated the attitudes and perceptions of Project FREE’s parent beneficiaries towards the mayor’s programmatic commitment to them. By using thematic analysis, five themes emerged from the interview data: (1) financial relief, (2) educational security, (3) unique source of local citizen satisfaction, (4) personally dispensed patronage of a benefactor politician, and (5) invaluable benefits and project continuity: influencing vote preference. Beyond the particularistic and contingency-based patronage exchange prevalent in the Philippine local political setting, this study’s findings also offer in-depth explanations for what motivates voters to reciprocate their local political leader with electoral support for its education-based programmatic inducements. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-2d33b664c1db4b48a46c7a89a5cc4759 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1907-8374 2337-8220 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2023-03-01 |
| publisher | Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Jurnal Studi Pemerintahan |
| spelling | doaj-art-2d33b664c1db4b48a46c7a89a5cc47592025-02-03T07:37:42ZengUniversitas Muhammadiyah YogyakartaJurnal Studi Pemerintahan1907-83742337-82202023-03-0138340810.18196/jgp.v13i3.1599717An Exploratory Study of the Effectiveness of Unconditional EducationalAssistance Program as a Programmatic Electoral Strategy in the Philippines: The Case of Makati City’s Project FREEMiguel Enrico Gutierrez Ayson0Esther Marylerma Calvo1Department of Social Sciences, University of the Philippines Los BañosDepartment of Political Sciences, Lund University, SwedenThis exploratory study deviated from the influential theoretical lens of clientelism in examining voter-politician ties in Philippine political studies. Drawing on Kitschelt and Wilkinson’s (2007) conceptualization of programmatic politics as an alternative electoral strategy, we investigated how a programmatic linkage between a local political leader and its electoral constituency is facilitated through the non-contingent and regular distribution of school-related materials for public school children. This local programmatic policy has gained popularity among various local government units (LGUs) in the Philippines. We focused on the Makati City government’s Project FREE (Free Relevant and Excellent Education) due to its reputation for arguably being the most innovative and comprehensive educational assistance program ever implemented at the country’s local scale. We employed a purposive sampling technique to obtain our participants – the project’s parent beneficiaries. Through in-depth interviews, we investigated the attitudes and perceptions of Project FREE’s parent beneficiaries towards the mayor’s programmatic commitment to them. By using thematic analysis, five themes emerged from the interview data: (1) financial relief, (2) educational security, (3) unique source of local citizen satisfaction, (4) personally dispensed patronage of a benefactor politician, and (5) invaluable benefits and project continuity: influencing vote preference. Beyond the particularistic and contingency-based patronage exchange prevalent in the Philippine local political setting, this study’s findings also offer in-depth explanations for what motivates voters to reciprocate their local political leader with electoral support for its education-based programmatic inducements.https://jsp.umy.ac.id/index.php/jsp/article/view/17educational assistancephilippinesprogrammatic politicsmakati |
| spellingShingle | Miguel Enrico Gutierrez Ayson Esther Marylerma Calvo An Exploratory Study of the Effectiveness of Unconditional EducationalAssistance Program as a Programmatic Electoral Strategy in the Philippines: The Case of Makati City’s Project FREE Jurnal Studi Pemerintahan educational assistance philippines programmatic politics makati |
| title | An Exploratory Study of the Effectiveness of Unconditional EducationalAssistance Program as a Programmatic Electoral Strategy in the Philippines: The Case of Makati City’s Project FREE |
| title_full | An Exploratory Study of the Effectiveness of Unconditional EducationalAssistance Program as a Programmatic Electoral Strategy in the Philippines: The Case of Makati City’s Project FREE |
| title_fullStr | An Exploratory Study of the Effectiveness of Unconditional EducationalAssistance Program as a Programmatic Electoral Strategy in the Philippines: The Case of Makati City’s Project FREE |
| title_full_unstemmed | An Exploratory Study of the Effectiveness of Unconditional EducationalAssistance Program as a Programmatic Electoral Strategy in the Philippines: The Case of Makati City’s Project FREE |
| title_short | An Exploratory Study of the Effectiveness of Unconditional EducationalAssistance Program as a Programmatic Electoral Strategy in the Philippines: The Case of Makati City’s Project FREE |
| title_sort | exploratory study of the effectiveness of unconditional educationalassistance program as a programmatic electoral strategy in the philippines the case of makati city s project free |
| topic | educational assistance philippines programmatic politics makati |
| url | https://jsp.umy.ac.id/index.php/jsp/article/view/17 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT miguelenricogutierrezayson anexploratorystudyoftheeffectivenessofunconditionaleducationalassistanceprogramasaprogrammaticelectoralstrategyinthephilippinesthecaseofmakaticitysprojectfree AT esthermarylermacalvo anexploratorystudyoftheeffectivenessofunconditionaleducationalassistanceprogramasaprogrammaticelectoralstrategyinthephilippinesthecaseofmakaticitysprojectfree AT miguelenricogutierrezayson exploratorystudyoftheeffectivenessofunconditionaleducationalassistanceprogramasaprogrammaticelectoralstrategyinthephilippinesthecaseofmakaticitysprojectfree AT esthermarylermacalvo exploratorystudyoftheeffectivenessofunconditionaleducationalassistanceprogramasaprogrammaticelectoralstrategyinthephilippinesthecaseofmakaticitysprojectfree |