InGODweTRUST

Political Apartheid: Marginalization and Political participation of the Philippine Indigenous

Community in mainstream Philippine Politics  

By: Heinz Laforteza (2012-20272) & Eugene Parańaque (2012-19161)

This research analyzes the effect of marginalization of Indigenous people (IP), in terms of
their access to basic needs, to their probability to participate in mainstream politics. Taking the
Philippines as a case study, this research suggests that marginalization of IP in IP-dominated
municipalities, specifically through their access to education, and provision of health and
educational institutions, affects the probability of IP to participate in mainstream Philippine
politics – both in voting and running for public office. Moreover, financial constraints, literacy
and general inefficiency of the government in providing public goods also affect the political
participation of IP situated in IP dominated communities. This is tested through a mixed-method
analysis using an ordinary least squares (OLS) regression coupled with interviews of IP
representatives. This method is utilized to strengthen the analysis and address the flaws and
weaknesses of the quantitative analysis alone. Through the OLS regression, marginalization of IP
is represented through the availability and access of IP to education, health and government
allocation (IRA) in IP dominated municipalities. The results indicate that marginalization in IP-
dominated communities, in terms of lack of access to basic needs, decreases the probability of
indigenous people to participate in mainstream Philippine politics, both in terms of voting and
running for public office. Moreover, the qualitative part of the research, thru 1 on 1 interviews
with IP representatives suggests that it is not only access to basic needs that affect the propensity
of IP to participate in mainstream politics but also, literacy, government inefficiency and
financial constraints due to unavailability of jobs for indigenous people in IP-dominated
municipalities.

Keywords: Philippine Indigenous Community; Marginalization; Political Participation;

Indigenous People; Philippine Politics

A directed research on the relationship and the effect of Marginalization to the Political Participation of
Indigenous people in mainstream Philippine Politics both in Voting and running for public office


This is a directed research completed in partial fulfilment of the requirements in Political Science 199, an
undergraduate directed research course for Political Science majors in University of the Philippines-Diliman.

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 Introduction
In the Philippines where several indigenous communities reside, what are the factors
hindering indigenous people in participating to mainstream Philippine Politics? Does
marginalization, in terms of access and provision of basic needs, affect the political participation
of indigenous people in mainstream Philippine politics? After the enactment of Republic Act
8371, are indigenous people still marginalize in accessing basic necessities? Moreover, what are
the specific needs of indigenous people that thwarts them to participate politically?
Indigenous people (IP) are those individuals that inhabited the country at the time of
colonisation, who resisted and succeeded in retaining their original cultures and traditions
(Fiagoy 2011). Specifically, they are the group of individuals who managed to retain the original
Philippine culture and tradition after colonization period. Indigenous people (IP), from different
Indigenous communities, all over the Philippines comprise approximately 14-17 million of our
population (UNDP 2011). Though they only constitute around 15–18 percent of the total
population of the country, they are significant and vital for the preservation and the promotion of
the original Philippine culture and tradition without any stain from cultural amalgamation due to
colonization. However, IP all over the world, specifically in the Philippines, were subjected to
high levels of inequality, marginalization and exploitation up until the latter part of 1996. This
paved way to the enactment of the Republic Act 8371, known as the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights
Act (IPRA) that was promulgated by the government in 1997 which has been lauded for its
support for the overall development and protection of IP communities. However, majority of the
indigenous community in the country were still subjected to issues such as discrimination and
marginalization through limited access to basic needs which was rampant even before the
enactment of the act. These then lead to the withdrawal of most IP in participating to both
societal and political activities. Thus, this diminishes their right to political participation and
equal representation in the society.
Thus, this research analyses whether the marginalization of IP dominated communities,
in terms of access to basic needs, affect the probability of IP to participate in politics. The paper
then argue that marginalization, in terms of lack of access to basic needs, decreases the
probability of indigenous people to participate both in voting and running for public office.
There are two major variables in the paper. First, marginalization of IP communities in terms of

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lack of access to basic needs the independent variable. Whereas, political participation of IP
communities in terms of likelihood to vote during elections and probability to run for public
office as the dependent variable. Using one hundred ninety seven (197) IP dominated
communities, the paper utilized two methodologies. First, through quantitative method. Political
participation is quantified by utilizing voter turnout of municipalities understudy. As for
Marginalization, we utilized their access to and provision to education through the number of
public schools and municipal enrolment in each of the municipality. Whereas, number of public
hospitals and Internal revenue allocation for their access to health-related services and
government allocation respectively. This quantitative method is weak in gauging the relationship
of the two main variables within this study in two ways. First, political participation is not
limited to voting as it includes running to public office. Thus, gauging the actual political
participation most especially in the case of IP is weak. Second, marginalization in terms of IP has
little and incomplete quantitative data to produce a reliable and accurate analysis. Thus, the
analysis is backed up by using a qualitative method through simple interviews of Indigenous
People representatives. This then suffices the flaws and weaknesses of our first method as
political participation of IP members in terms of running to public office will be incorporated.
Moreover, the lack of quantifiable data of IP marginalization are addressed.
Utilizing 197 IP dominated municipalities as the unit of analysis, the results of the
quantitative part of the study suggest that marginalization of IP communities, affects the political
participation indigenous people in the municipalities understudy. The study shows that the access
to basic needs, as measured by number of educational institutions, enrolment, public hospitals
and internal revenue allocation (IRA) of the municipality. Specifically, an increase in both the
number of elementary and high school public educational institution in a municipality increases
voter turnout of IP dominated municipalities. This simply show that IP dominated municipality
with more public elementary and high schools have higher probability to vote during lections as
they have higher turnout during elections. Similarly, an increase in enrolment in IP dominated
municipalities, increases their probability to vote during election. On the other hand, the presence
of public hospital in a municipality also increases the likelihood of IP to vote as demonstrated by
the results of the study. Wherein, IP dominated municipalities with at least one public hospitals
have higher turnout with those who do not have. Surprisingly the results also suggest that health
–related services has a greater impact on IP’s propensity to vote during elections relative to

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education. On the other hand, internal revenue allocation from the government affect turnout but
they are not statistically significant. This analysis is factual for the sample of 197 municipalities
over the period 2005-2015. As for the qualitative part, the two interviewees concur that up until
now, IP in general are still marginalized in terms of access to basic needs and allocation of
government of public goods and services. Moreover, their response can be summarize into three
major reasons why IP are not participating in mainstream politics. These include first, financial
constraints due to lack of available and stable jobs for IP. Second, literacy due to inaccessibility
and lack of provision of educational institutions. Lastly, government inefficiency for the equal
and equitable allocation of resources.
The paper then proceeds as follows. The first section includes the current state of the
literature regarding the marginalization of Indigenous community all over the world. The second
and third section is the review of the literature regarding education and political participation in
general, and the relationship of social capital in the form of the provision of health related and
monetary allocation from the government respectively. The fourth section is devoted for the
theoretical standpoint of the paper which includes the arguments and hypotheses of the research.
The fifth section includes the entire research design that contains the model and the data used in
the research. The sixth section includes the results and discussion of the outcomes of employing
the mixed-method analysis. Whereas, the last section of the paper includes the conclusion which
summarizes the findings of the study as well as its limitations and recommendations.

Marginalization and the Indigenous community

The literature shows that there exist a shortage of study about the Indigenous people (IP)
all over the world. More so, IP communities in the Philippines are rarely the subject of social and
political science researches in the country. Thus, both local and international scholars
recommend that indigenous people in general and issues regarding indigenous communities must
further be subject of future studies. For instance, authors (Fiagoy 2000, Arnove 1983 and
Schmelkes 2011) argue that future researches must contribute to the scarce information about IP
communities and their issues in the literature. That being said, since there is scarcity of literature
regarding IP communities, this part of the paper is not limited to researches about IP in the
country. Specifically, studies of IP communities from Latin America and other parts of the world
are also taken into consideration. Based on the literature reviewed within this paper (Fiagoy

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2000, Arnove 1983 and Schmelkes 2011), there exists a unified consensus on how scholars
define indigenous people (IP) as a term within their researches. For instance, Fiagoy (2000)
defines indigenous people as those individuals that inhabited the country at the time of
colonisation. Moreover, she specifically define IP in the Philippines as those who resisted
colonisation and succeeded in retaining their cultures and traditions. They are the group of
people who rejected Spanish and other foreign rule, relocated themselves to the mountains and
participated to those who resisted colonisation. On the other hand, Arnove (1983) and Schmelkes
(2011) both studying indigenous people in Latin America define indigenous people as the less
privilege faction of the society that is almost always subjected to discrimination, neglect and
inequity. The lack of access to basic needs and services of IP as well as the denial and violation
of their rights showed how they were generally neglected during those times. Misrepresentation,
inequity, lack of basic needs and access to quality education are amongst the few reasons
indigenous people are neglected all over the world. Moreover, discrimination against indigenous
community is reflected in the politics and programs formulated by the state in allocating basic
services (Fiagoy 2000).
On the other hand, marginalization basically “comprises those processes by which
individuals and groups are deprived, ignored, relegated or blocked from full access to rights and
resources” (Willis and Chome 2014). As for the purpose of this paper, marginalization would
dealt both social and political aspect. For instance, Marginalization in the form of lack of access
to formal education1, access to health-related services and other public goods provided by the
government are the issues to which indigenous people all over the world are almost always
subjected. Non-formal education2 programs for IP in the Philippines were the sole foundation of
knowledge and information of IP communities during those times. Implemented by the religious
sectors, mainly the Roman Catholic and Protestant churches, it is in here where IP were given
basic literacy training providing them with basic writing skills enabling them to at least write
their names in important documents (Fiagoy 2000). Moreover, she argues that in those times
numeracy was also given importance to prevent IP communities from being cheated of their
products by non-indigenous traders. Furthermore, these religious sectors are also the sole source

1
Formal education within this paper is the structured educational system usually provided or supported by the
state, chronologically graded and running from primary to tertiary institutions.
2
Non-formal education in this paper is the educational activities which are not structured and takes place outside
the formal system of education.

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of health-related services given to IP during those time. However, since non-formal education
aim only to equip them with basic literacy skills, IP were still limited to basic social and political
awareness in their country. Moreover, political and economic instability during those times
resulted to the benefactors of these educational institution and health-services to withdraw going
to IP communities located in far-flung areas for security purposes. Thus, diminishing the little
education and health services the IP were relishing during those times.
Indigenous people were subjected to these issues specifically to limited access to formal
education, improper health and allocation of government funds up until the latter part of 1996.
This paved way to the enactment of the Republic Act 8371, known as the Indigenous Peoples’
Rights Act (IPRA) that was promulgated in 1997. The law has been lauded for its support for
respect to indigenous peoples’ cultural integrity, right to their lands and right to self-directed
development. This act also enabled indigenous people to have full and equal access to formal
education. Majority of indigenous people were empowered through this act that led to a huge
decline on the level of inequality, marginalization and exploitation issues that was rampant
before the enactment of the act. However, improper implementation of the Act resulted to similar
issues such as discrimination and limited access to formal education and health that was rampant
even before the enactment of the act. These then lead to the withdrawal of most IP in
participating to both societal and political activities. Thus, this diminishes their right to political
participation and equal representation in the society.

Access to Education and Political Participation

Since there is little to no articles relating IP’s access to education and political
participation, the articles reviewed within this paper pertains to the relationship of the two
variables in general. Most of the authors reviewed within this paper argue that there exists a
significant correlation of education to political participation. These researchers argue that more
educated citizens are more likely to vote relative to those who do not have any education at all
(for reviews, see Gallego 2010; Kam and Palmer 2008; Bachner 2010; Dee 2004; Larreguy and
Marshall 2014). For instance, Kam and Palmer (2008) argue that educated citizens have higher
probability to participate in both civic and political sphere as compared to those who lack access
to quality education. Similarly, Bachner (2010) argue that students who completed at least one
year of civic education are more likely to vote during elections relative to those young

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Americans who do not have any exposure at all. On the other hand, several researchers relate
education to political participation by the used of access to quality education looking into level
of individual’s literacy and voter turnout. For instance, Rosenstone and Hansen argue on their
research that education ‘‘imparts the knowledge and skills most essential to a citizen’s
task….Because of their schooling, the well-educated have the skills people need to understand
the abstract subject of politics, to follow the political campaign, and to research and evaluate the
issues and candidates’’ (1993, 136). Similarly, Verba et al. (1995) argue that citizens’ access to
education not only the basis for significant increase in their levels of participation, but also
allows citizens to acquire the civic skills necessary to effectively communicate their concerns to
politicians as well as to participate in the political sphere of the society. Unlike Kam and Palmer
(2008) who used the determinant for access to education (ie. enrolment and completion),
Rosenstone and Hansen (1993) and Verba et al. (1995) used individual’s literacy level (SAT
scores) as their representation of education. However, I chose to pattern this research on the
study of Dee (2004) and Finkel (2000) regarding the relationship of education on political
participation during elections. Dee (2004) argues that the availability of Junior and Community
educational institutions in US increases the voters’ participation of US citizens during elections.
Similarly, Finkel (2000) study show that participants of civic education in South Africa and
Dominican Republic have higher tendency to vote during elections.
The authors reviewed within this paper used different methodology as to arrive to their
conclusions. For instance Dee’s methodology (2004) explores two instruments—state-wide
variation in compulsory education laws and proximity from an individual’s high school to a 2-
year community college. Dee finds that instrumenting education increases the predictive power
of education, indicating that educational attainment itself has a large and significant impact on
levels of political participation. Unlike other studies, Dee (2004) had used instrumental variables
(IV) analysis to control for the non-random component of educational attainment to political
engagement. Using different datasets, but a similar analytic strategy, Milligan et al. (2004)
similarly find that instrumenting educational attainment with state-wide variation in compulsory
education laws does not diminish the large positive impact of education on voting participation.
Although the researches above exemplary discussed the relationship of the two variable, their
methodology and operationalization is too complex to be utilized in a study pertaining to IP and
IP communities. This is due to the fact that there are no specific data pertaining to IP and IP

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communities. Thus, this study proposes a simpler correlation analysis. As for our methodology,
we will use the recommendation from the two studies (Dee 2004 and Finkel 2000) by using the
geographical availability of educational institution as a representation of the access of education
in assessing political participation. Moreover, the study of Finkel (2000) was done on South
African regions where ethnic minorities are heavily concentrated. Since there are no studies like
this pertaining to the IP communities in the Philippines, I will utilize their recommendation due
to its simplicity and effectiveness. Thus, this paper will also use the number of educational
institution in IP communities specifically in the Cordillera Administrative Region as a
representation of access of education. The Gaps of these research was that almost all studies
blindly include education in the regression model, assuming a purely linear and additive
relationship, and failing to explain why it matters. Theoretical explanations of the link between
access to education and political engagement have rarely been fleshed out-much less empirically
tested. While quantitative and qualitative research approaches each have their strengths and
weaknesses, they can be extremely effective in combination with one another. For instance, a
great example of combining both methods is the study of Kam and Palmer (2008) which is quite
similar to most parts of this paper. Kam and Palmer (2008) combined both qualitative and
quantitative method in their research to explain as well as to flesh out the quantitative results of
the variable’s relationship for their study. Kam and Palmer (2008) use a matching-based
approach with data from the Political Socialization Panel Study. This study collected data on
high school seniors and their parents in 1965 regarding their SAT scores, school performance
and social activity. Kam and Palmer found out that the high-performing individuals have greater
tendency to vote as compared to those who are less. As for this paper, the geographical
availability of educational institutions instead of individuals’ performance will be utilized.
Moreover, municipal e. As to conclude, all the authors reviewed within this paper argue that
there exists a significant positive relationship between education and political participation in the
individual level. Specifically, authors argue that access not just the presence and availability of
educational institutions affects political participation of individuals.

Social Capital, Health and Welfare

Social capital within this paper would include the provision of the government to the
needs of IP in the IP-dominated municipality. Specifically, this includes the Internal revenue

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allocation, health-related institutions and availability of jobs for the welfare of IP. It is evident
within the literature that aside from education, social capital is an important predictor for
political participation. In fact, several authors within the literature have examined the link
between social capital and political participation (Putnam 2000, Berkman and Syme 1979 and
Berkman & Breslow 1984). Social capital is traditionally defined as having two central
components: social networks, and interpersonal and intrapersonal trust (Putnam 2000, 19). This
paper however primarily focuses on the relationship of citizens’ network to the government with
respect to the provision of their basic needs specifically provision of IRA, availability of jobs and
health-related institutions (hospitals). As reviewed, a great example of studies linking social
capital as determinants of health would be the studies of Berkman and Syme 1979 and Berkman
& Breslow 1984. Berkman and Syme (1979) argued as a result of their research that persons
with weak or non-existent social links, meaning unattached to the society, had a greater
probability of dying as compared with those who are with strong links. Among his study
regarding suicide, Durkheim on the other hand had already revealed the significance of social
integration for the well-being of individuals within a population (Kawachi et al., 1999).
Similarly, House and Robbins et al. (1982) emphasized the close relationship between social
networks and mortality rates. Furthermore, they have concluded within their study that the risk of
death was statistically higher for individuals lacking social support from their government than
those who were well integrated into social networks.
Meanwhile, Putnam (2000; 1995) again argues that there exist a positive relationship
between health and social capital. The results of his research suggests that there is a strong
positive relationship between the public health index to social capital index. Whereas he
reiterated that there is however a negative relationship between the social capital index and the
global index of the causes of mortality. For instance, he argue that social support from the
government and integration (through health-related benefits and support) lowers the probability
for an individual to certain known health risks such as smoking, obesity, hypertension and
physical inactivity. Putnam (2000) then through the results of his study strongly argue that
statistically speaking, there is a very strong proof regarding the effects of social integration on
health. In support with this findings, both the study of Kawachi (1997, 1999) argued that social
capital is positively correlated to health status. By using indicators such as the mortality rate of
individuals, he found out that there is higher death rate in communities that are far from the

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centers of the society like cities. Hyyppa and Maki (2001) similarly concluded within their paper
that the higher life expectancy is associated with the social networks by looking into Swedish-
speaking Finns. As to conclude, social capital has been long considered by scholars as a
determinant of health. As for this research we will utilized the stand of the authors discussed by
taking into account social capital in terms of health and the general well-being of individuals.
Through this we will look into the provision of health institutions, IRA and jobs as a
representation of social capital of IP communities to the government.

Social Capital and Political Participation

Past studies from the literature similarly argue that social capital is positively correlated
to political participation (see, Klesnar 2006; Sidney Verba, Kay Lehman Schlozman, Henry
Brady, and Norman Nie 1993). For instance, a study conducted by Joseph Klesnar revealed that
older citizens regularly have been identified as more likely to engage in political activities than
the young because those who are older have more experience and, typically, a greater stake in
society that they need to defend (Klesnar 2006). On the other hand, individuals with greater
socioeconomic resources (relatively high income), can used these those resources to foster their
political activity (for example, through political campaigns) Sidney Verba, Kay Lehman
Schlozman, Henry Brady, and Norman Nie (1993). Klesner (2006) also found out on his studies
in that greater involvement in non-political organizations does lead to more participation in
explicitly political activities. For example, higher levels of interpersonal trust of individuals to
the government promote political participation relative to those with lower interpersonal trust.
Similarly, Pippa Norris (2002) argued that the provision of the government to individual’s needs
increases the probability of these individuals to vote during election. Norris (2002) look into the
provision of the government of free health-care to individuals and equate it to their probability to
vote during elections. He then found out that those beneficiaries of health-care are more likely to
vote during elections relative to those who are not. The result of his study then However, the lack
of connectedness among citizens discourages them from engaging in collective endeavors,
including participating in politics (Asher, Richardson, and Weisberg 1984, 42-43)
Having said all these, although scholars reviewed within this paper similarly argued that
social capital is positively correlated to political participation. Past researches do not consider the
areas dominated by indigenous people. As far as this research is concerned, we only assume the

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relevance of health determined by social capital as agent of political participation. Similar to the
operationalization of education, the geographical availability of health related institutions (public
hospitals) will be utilized. Moreover, it also includes the provision of IRA from the government
and the availability and accessibility of jobs for the IP. However, the availability and
accessibility of jobs is included in the qualitative part of the paper whereas health institutions and
IRA were included in the quantitative analysis. Thus, the hypothesis is that an increase in the
provision of health services (in the form of public hospitals), IRA and jobs increases voting
turnout in IP communities.

Theory: Marginalization and IP Political Participation

The most well-known and tested theory in political science regarding the political
participation of IP in mainstream politics, is in terms of political apathy. Specifically, the theory
states that political apathy decreases the probability of IP to participate in politics. On the other
hand, there are no specific author studying IP’s political participation in terms of
marginalization, although in some studies it is part of their controls (see Fiagoy 2011). Thus, this
paper proposed a new theory about political participation of IP in terms of marginalization. The
proposed theory of this paper states that, marginalization, in terms of provision and access to
basic needs, decreases the probability of IP to participate in mainstream Philippine politics.
This will be tested by looking into the relationship of the two major variables of the research –
marginalization and political participation. First, marginalization of IP communities in terms of
lack of access to basic needs as the main independent variable. Whereas, political participation of
IP communities in terms of likelihood to vote during elections and probability to run for public
office as our dependent variable. Marginalization of IP communities within this paper would
mean the processes by which these groups or individuals are deprived, ignored, relegated
or blocked from full access to rights and resources which includes access to education, health,
income and Internal Revenue Allocation of LGU (Willis and Chome 2014). As for Political
Participation (dependent variable) on the other hand, would adopt the definition of Rosenstone
and Hansen (1993) as those actions and activities done by citizens as they seek to influence or to
support government and politics which include the probability of IP to vote during election and
the probability of them running for public office. As for the operationalization, this paper will
also adopt the operationalization of Rosenstone and Hansen (1993) of political participation.

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First, voter turnout of municipalities as an operationalization of political participation would
mean the ratio of the registered voters to the individual who actually voted in an election as a
gauge of probability to vote (Kam & Palmer 2008). Whereas for our qualitative method, political
participation will be operationalize in terms of their probability of IP members to run in office to
support the flaws of our operationalization in our quantitative analysis. The operationalization of
the main independent variables and the hypotheses of the paper on the other hand would be
discussed simultaneously as follows:

Access to Education as a Determinant of Political Participation

As the literature discussed, marginalization can be operationalize in terms of individuals’
or groups’ access to education (see, Finkel 2000 and Willis & Chome 2014). Access to education
within this paper would then mean, the capacity of individuals to participate and partake in
formal education as one of their basic needs provided by the state (Fiagoy 2011). Specifically,
the paper adopts the operationalization of Finkel (2000) and Kam & Palmer (2008) utilizing the
availability and quantity of educational institutions through public schools in every IP-dominated
municipality as the representation of access to education.
Moreover, this paper also take into account the recommendation of Galston (2004), Janda
et. al (2012) and Hillygus (2005) who similarly argue that access is not just the presence of these
educational institutions but the actual attendance of individuals in participating to formal
education. Thus, the second operationalization for access to education is the actual enrolment of
these public schools in IP-dominated municipalities.
Hence, this paper expect that:
H1 - IP-dominated municipalities with more public schools have higher voter turnout
and higher probability for IP to run for public office.
H2 – The higher the enrolment rate in an IP dominated municipalities, the higher the
voter turnout and probability of IP to run for public office.

Provision of Health-Services as a Determinant of Political Participation

Similarly, Willis & Chome (2014) argue that education is not the sole gauge of
marginalization as there would be other factors like the provision of health-related services.
Thus, provision of health related services within this paper would mean, the availability of

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health-related facilities as provided by the government (Putnam 2000). Although the most
utilized operationalization of provision of health-related services is the availability and quantity
of hospital beds, within this paper, the quantity of public hospitals would be utilized.
Specifically, instead of hospital beds the paper utilize the availability or presence of
health institutions through public hospitals in every IP-dominated municipality as the
representation of provision of health related-services.
Hence, this paper expect that:
H1 - IP-dominated municipalities with more public hospitals have higher voter turnout
and higher probability for IP to run for public office.

Government allocation as a Determinant of Political participation

Government allocation, in terms of the allocation of Internal revenue allocation, would
also be used as a representation of marginalization. This is adopted from the argument of Cheb
(2013) that poorer individuals and communities have lower turnout relative to those well-off
individuals and communities. Thus, government allocation within this paper would mean, the
provision of the government of Internal revenue allocation (IRA) to IP-dominated communites.
Specifically, as a substitute to income of IP and IP-dominated municipalities, the paper
utilize the Internal revenue allocation from the government distributed to the 197 IP-dominated
municipalities.
Hence, this paper expect that:
The larger the IRA of an IP-dominated communities from the government, the higher the
turnout and probability to run for public office.

Controlling for other determinants of IP’s Political Participation

Access to education, health and government allocation, however, are not the only gauge
of marginalization as discussed by authors. Thus, the paper included some controls that
comprises other factors affecting the probability to participate politically. However, this will not
be included in our quantitative analysis, instead it will be incorporated in the qualitative part of
the paper.

Availability of Jobs

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 As Fiagoy (2011) argue, the availability and accessibility of jobs is among the major
problem of IP all over the world. The literature also show that this affect their propensity to vote
and run for public office as it would affect their social and economic needs to participate
politically. Thus, availability of jobs would simply mean the accessibility and capacity of IP to
obtain jobs as provided within their municilipality.
However, since this is not part of the quantitative part of the paper, it will be included in
the qualitative part specifically the interview part of the research.
Hence, this paper expect that:
The more jobs available and accessible to IP in IP-dominated communities provided by
the government, the higher the turnout and probability to run for public office.

Government Efficiency
Similarly, government efficiency is also adopted from the study of Fiagoy (2011).
Although some parts of it are included in the provision of basic needs as in the quantitative part
of the paper, this will include the personal perception of IP for the government. Thus,
government efficiency would simply mean the effectiveness and proficiency of the government
in allocating public goods as perceived by the IPs in IP-dominated municipalities.
Moreover, this is also not part of the quantitative part of the paper and is include in the
interview part of the research.
Hence, this paper expect that:
The more efficient the government in public good distribution, the higher the probability
of IP to vote and run for public office.

Research Design: Data and Method

The paper utilized mixed-method analysis in testing the theory discussed above.
Specifically, the quantitative approach within the paper is coupled with a qualitative approach,
through interviews, to flesh out and support the flaws and weaknesses of the quantitative
analysis. Basically, the more-efficient but less rich or compelling predictive power of
quantitative research is coupled with the in-depth, contextualized, and natural but more time-
consuming insights of qualitative research producing a richer and more robust analysis (Thaler
2015). This method is suitable for IP studies since there are little quantitative data to suffice a

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generalizable and strong quantitative analysis. Thus, this paper has two method, quantitative
through a simple linear regression and qualitative through simple interviews.

Voter turnout = β 0 + β 1 no . of elementary schools + β 2 no .of High schools + β 3 enrolment +

β 4 no . of hospitals + β 5 IRA + µ

First through the quantitative approach. Above, is the final ordinary least squares (OLS)
regression model utilized all throughout the paper as presented. As discussed, the final research
model includes six main variables. The first variable is voter turnout of municipalities, the main
dependent variable. The second is number of elementary schools per municipality as one of the
independent variable for availability of educational institutions. The third is number of high
schools per municipality as another representation of educational institutions. Fourth would be
the municipal enrolment of public schools as an independent variable representing the access of
IP to education. Fifth would be the number of public municipal hospital as socio-political
independent variable. Sixth is the IRA from the government distributed to the IP-dominated local
government as economic control. This model is applicable in analysing the effect of
marginalization and political participation of the sample IP-dominated municipalities from
Cordillera Administrative region (CAR) and Autonomous region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM)
within the year span 2010-2015 as will be discussed on the latter part of the paper. To facilitate
the analysis, the model is mostly in level-level functional form since most of the variables are in
quantity (unit) form. On the other hand, the enrolment, and IRA were modified depending on its
utility on the model. First, the IRA is in level-log form to ease the process of analysis and
interpretation. Since it is measured in pesos, the interpretation and analysis are more logical and
sound when it is converted in percentage form. Moreover, the IRA involves the utilization of big
numerical values which can be simplified through the level-log form. Second, the enrolment
similarly involves the utilization of big numerical values and to facilitate analysis it is better to
be in percentage form (level-log).

Quantitative Data

Laforteza & Parańaque 15 of 35

 The data set utilized in this study is a collated data from various sources, including
different reputable institutions and data providers. This research study utilized a sample of 197
IP-dominated municipalities of CAR and ARMM as this would be a sufficient sample for IP in
the Philippines suggested by a study of United Nations Development Programme (UNDP 2011).
Moreover, UNDP (2011) also show within their study that CAR and ARMM alone comprises
58%-60% of the entire IP population. On the other hand, since the quantity of schools and
hospital in a municipality vary yearly, the latest data within the year span 2005-2015 is utilized
within this study. Moreover, the data set also include few sample considered to be outliers which
are justified in two ways. First, though they are outliers, these sample are worth noting and are
meant to explain something like for example the Baguio City (CAR). Second, there is a need to
take into consideration countries in the extremes for example the IRA and quantity of
educational institutions of poor municipalities like Langiden (ABRA) and rich ones like Baguio
City. Though it may alter the original results, the explanatory effect and analysis for these key
countries outweighs the possible alteration of the regression results. As discussed, the data for
the five main variables were collated through various reputable institutions and data providers
within the year span 2005-2014.

Figure 1: Data Descriptions

As illustrated by figure 1, the numerical values display the mean median, the minimum
and the maximum values of the 197 observations within the collated data. First, the data for the
dependent variable of this research which is voter turnout of municipalities came from the
Commission on Elections (COMELEC). Specifically, it utilizes the latest available turnout from
the May 13, 2013 National, Local and ARMM Elections. The formula used for voter turnout
computation is basically the total number of eligible voters that turn out for an election over the
total number of eligible voters which is measured in percentage points. The second, third and

Laforteza & Parańaque 16 of 35

fourth variable on the other hand represent the independent variable for the access of education
which is the quantity of public elementary and high schools for geographical incidence of
educational institutions whereas, enrolment on the other hand for the actual access to education.
These came from the Department of Education in two ways for the year span of 2010-2015. The
data is either requested from the Dep-Ed regional office of CAR and ARMM, whereas the
omitted data, specifically for ARMM, are sufficed through the Enhanced Basic Education
Information System (EBEIS) website of the Dep-Ed. The availability of public elementary and
high schools is basically the quantity of schools within the IP-dominated municipalities.
Whereas, the enrolment is the actual public municipal enrolment of Ip-dominated municipalities
as provided by the Dep-Ed. Similarly, the fifth variable represent the independent variable for the
access of health related services which is the quantity of public hospitals for geographical
incidence of health institutions in IP-dominated municipalities. Lastly, the Internal Revenue
allotment represent the economic control of the study came from the Department of Budget and
Management (DBM) for the latest IRA allocation available from 2013 – 2015. This quantitative
method is weak in gauging the relationship of the two main variables in this study in two ways.
First, political participation is not limited to voting (also includes running to public office), using
quantitative method through regression is weak, given the data available, to gauge the actual
political participation most especially in the case of IP. Second, marginalization in terms the data
provided is also thin in generalizing the current state of IP. Thus, we will backed up our first
method by using a qualitative method. Through simple interviews of Indigenous People
representatives specifically in CAR, we will suffice the flaws of our first method in two ways.
First, political participation of IP members in terms of running to public office will be
incorporated to the interview. Second, the weak data for IP marginalization will be the subject of
the interviews.
As for the qualitative approach of this research, the researcher conducted simple
interviews with two prominent and respected IP members in Cordillera Region. These are Danilo
L. Cudiamat and Brgy. Captain Roberto L. Borje. First, we chose Danilo Cudiamat as our first
respondent since he is an IP member – half Isneg/ half Itawes. Moreover, he is the current
principal of Flora National High School which is strategic since he can suffice the take of an IP
member who is currently under the realm of education. He is also one of Indigenous people
education (IPED) Representative of Abra-Kalinga-Apayao chapter who are promoting education

Laforteza & Parańaque 17 of 35

for IP and currently crafting a curriculum streamlined for IP members sponsored by the
Department of Education. On the other hand, Roberto Borje is our second respondent as he is a
full blooded IP member – pure Isneg which represents the community politically. He is the
current barangay captain of Atok, Flora, Apayao which is also strategic since as he is an IP
currently under the realm of politics. Moreover he is an elder of informal Isneg organization of
Apayao.

Results and Discussion

This part of the paper discusses the outcomes of the mixed-method analysis regarding IP
marginalization and political participation. As it involves two methods addressing the gaps and
weaknesses of each other, the analysis part of this paper integrated the OLS regression analysis
with the summary of the qualitative part done through interviews. Moreover, it also validates or
nullifies the hypotheses of the paper as discussed in the previous part of the research.

Laforteza & Parańaque 18 of 35

 Figure 2 - Regression table (Results)

Voter turnout = β0 + 0.186 no . of elementary schools + 0.172 no . of High schools +

0.112 enrolment+ 1.234 no . of hospitals - 0.016 IRA + µ

As illustrated in Figure 2: Model 7 and the equation result of the model, a unit increase
in a municipality’s public elementary institutions increases voter turnout by 0.186 % **. The
results suggest that it is statistically significant since its p-value is less than 0.05. On the other
hand a unit increase in a municipality’s public high school institutions increases voter turnout by
0.172 %* and is still statistically significant but not as significant as elementary education.
Among the reasons for this results as discussed by our respondents (interviews) is that IP lacks
the capacity specifically financial capacity to bring their children to school (Cudiamat 2015).

Laforteza & Parańaque 19 of 35

Moreover in the province, both public elementary and high school education are free of charge,
supposedly. However, the financial capabilities of IP only allow them to partake elementary
education more than that of high school education. As discussed by our first respondent,
although it is free in nature, high school education requires other monetary requirement for
admittance that discourage these IP families to bring their children to schools specially high
school (Cudiamat 2015). The results of our regression and qualitative integration (interviews) is
consistent and support the arguments of authors regarding the relationship of education and
political participation. For instance, Kam and Palmer (2008) and Janda et. al (2012) argue that
there is a positive relationship between the presence and access of educational institutions and
the individuals’ tendency to vote during election. Moreover, both of the studies argue that
financial constraints and availability of schools significantly affect the relationship which is
evident to the results of our study and regression.
On the other hand, using educational institution is not enough to gauge the effect of
education to IP’s political participation that is why we consider total enrolment of the
municipality as provided by Department of education as validation to access to this institution as
for the study of Janda et al. (2012). Since the regression is in level-log form, the results suggest
that, a percentage increase in municipal enrolment increases voting turnout by 0.112 % ***.
Moreover, we can see that the results is more statistically significant, relative to first two
variables, since its p value is 0.000. As the results suggest, the presence of educational institution
is not only the gauge of education but its individual’s access to these institution. The results also
supported the arguments of Galston (2004), Janda et. al (2012) and Hillygus (2005) that access,
not just the presence of these educational institution, increases the probability of individuals to
vote during elections.
On the other hand our regression also show that our third variable, influences municipal’s
voter turnout of IP more than that of education. The results suggests that, a unit increase in
public hospitals in a municipality increases voters turnout by 1.234% ***. Moreover, the results
is statistically significant as the third variable since its p-value is also 0.000. Through this, we
also found out that municipality with at least one public hospital within its borders have higher
voter turnout than those who do not have. For example, the voters turnout in Langiden, Abra is
89.92 as compared to 60.63 in Lagayan in Abra which is in the same region. Another example
would be in Apayao wherein Calanasan’s turnout is 97% (with hospital) while only 72% in

Laforteza & Parańaque 20 of 35

Kabugao. Thus, we can conclude that aside from education, health-related institutions is among
the key indicators that IP’s marginalization translates to lower participation. On the other hand,
the results of the regression shows that, aside from education, presence of health-institutions also
affects the political participation since it is also amongst the basic needs of individuals as argued
by Putnam (2000; 1995) and Hyyppa and Maki (2001). In fact, as discuss by the barangay
captain of Atok, Flora, Apayao, as for the case of IP, their health needs is more important than
having education in the hierarchy of their basic needs (Borje 2015). Internal revenue allotment
on the other hand is statistically insignificant since its p-value is greater than 0.05 and does not
strongly correlate to voters turnout (-0.0167). This result strongly demonstrate that funding from
the government does not have that big impact to the life of IP communities.
As for the qualitative part of the paper thru the interviews, government inefficiency,
literacy and financial constraints are among the problems of IP which affect their political
participation specifically in running for public office. In terms of government inefficiency, Borje
(2015) articulated that the inefficiency of the government to allocate public goods as well as the
minimal funding from the IRA allocated to their community discourages IP to vote duting
elections. Both of them (Cudiamat and Borje 2015) on the other hand expressed that literacy and
financial capability play a vital role in political participation of IP in general not just in voting
but also in running for public office. Thus, these factors must be taken into consideration in
political participation of IP in mainstream Philippine Politics.

Conclusion
Political participation is a right of every citizen or groups which includes a country’s
indigenous people (IP). This is for the sole reason that that this serves as an avenue for them to
voice out their needs and protect their rights as a citizen of the country. However, past studies
suggest that there are several societal factors (ie. marginalization) that lead to the decline of IP’s
participation in mainstream politics, not just in terms of voting but also in running for public
office. This research then attests that marginalization, in terms of provision and access to basic
needs, of IP in the country, decreases their propensity to participate politically and is factual for
the 197 IP-dominated municipalities under study. Moreover, the quantitative research result and
analysis shows that provision and access of IP to educational and health institutions increases
their probability to participate in politics thru voting and running for public office. The

Laforteza & Parańaque 21 of 35

interviews on the other hand thru a 1 to 1 dialogue with IP representatives validated the results
illustrated in the regression. Moreover, it is also articulated by the respondents that illiteracy
(inability to read and write), government inefficiency of public good allocation and financial
constraints due to lack of jobs for IP also decrease their probability to vote during election and to
run for public office.
The statistical analysis is significant as shown by the regression results. Moreover, its
flaws like thin operationalization and generalization, has been addressed by the qualitative part
of the paper thru interviews and by utilizing a mixed-method approach in the analysis. However,
the study still does have its weaknesses and flaws that solicit improvements for future researches.
First and foremost, the researcher acknowledges that the data set is not flawless since the
representativeness and generalizability of the results is in question. The results as discussed are
limited only to the 197 IP dominated municipalities under study which is the sample of the
research as suggested by UNDP (2011). Thus other IP-dominated municipalities from other
regions are not taken into account. Second there are only two respondents fleshing out the
qualitative analysis of the paper that support the quantitative analysis. Thus, this research has
three recommendations. First, future researchers must include all IP-dominated municipalities
and take into consideration other variables that would strengthen the quantitative analysis of IP’s
marginalization and political participation. Moreover, this research also recommends future
researcher to include more respondents for an in-depth interview to flesh out the qualitative
analysis. Lastly, future researchers must take into account key cultural laws and traditions of IP
which may or may not affect the relationship of the variables understudy. Overall, this study is
essential in three ways. First, it contribute to the scarce study regarding indigenous people (IP) in
the literature and determine that marginalization is among the causes behind low voter-turnout of
IP communities. Second, it increases awareness of the government and concerned institutions
regarding the needs and problems of IP communities. Lastly, it serves as a stepping stone for
future researchers that wishes to study IP and politics not just in the Philippines but all over the
world.

Laforteza & Parańaque 22 of 35

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Data Set Sources:

Requested Data Source:
Department of Education – Regional office Cordillera Administrative Region
[Wangal, La Trinidad, Benguet]
Online Data Sources:
Commission on Election website: www.comelec.gov.ph/
Department of Education website: http://www.deped.gov.ph/datasets
Enhanced Basic Education Information System (EBEIS) website: http://ebeis.deped.gov.ph

Laforteza & Parańaque 26 of 35

Department of Health website: www.doh.gov.ph/
Department of Budget and Management website: www.dbm.gov.ph/

Appendices: Request Letter (DATA)

Heinz Jayshree O. Laforteza

University of the Philippines - Diliman
Diliman, Quezon City

August 31, 2015

The Regional Director

Cordillera Administrative Region
Wangal, La Trinidad, Benguet

Ma’am/Sir,

I would like to make a formal written request for a soft/hard copy of the Masterlist of both
Elementary and Secondary Schools and the municipal enrolment in the Cordillera Administrative
Region.

I am a senior Political Science student of the University of the Philippines – Diliman. In

fulfilment for my directed research - thesis requirement, I am currently working on a research
paper about ‘the effect of marginalization to political participation of the IP-dominated
municipalities’. One of my variables for this research is the number of public elementary and
secondary schools per municipality in the Cordillera Region. Thus, I need to identify the quantity
of both elementary and secondary public schools in every CAR municipality. I have checked the
electronic Basic Education Information System (ebeis) regarding these query. However, it would
be better to have the latest listing from your respected office.

I hope that you can assist me with this request. I appreciate your time and effort to get this done
for me.

Sincerely,

Heinz Jayshree O. Laforteza

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Appendices: Interview Consent form

Laforteza & Parańaque 28 of 35

Interview Consent form – Danilo Luyun Cudiamat
Laforteza & Parańaque 29 of 35
Interview Consent form – Roberto Lapaz Borje

Appendices: Interview Summary

Laforteza & Parańaque 30 of 35

Respondents:
Danilo Luyun Cudiamat (October 31, 2015)
Roberto Lapas Borje (October 31, 2015)

Question Number 1: As an IP member how do you assess the life of IP in general?

(Kas maysa nga IP, kasanu yu nga iladawan ti panagbiyag ti IP?)

Social and Economic

“Nu kwa ti panagbiag ti IP generally nu iraman ta pay outside CAR talaga nga adda ti
Marginalization” (Cudiamat 2015)
(The life of IP in general if I would include those outside Cordillera, it is evident up until now
that we are still marginalized.)

“Dayjay delivery ti services ti gobyerno ti IP dijay makitam nga talaga nga medyo haan unay
nga napintas ti kwa ngai ti panakapaay ti serbisyo kanyada” (Cudiamat 2015)
(The delivery of services from the government to IP, one can say that it is not that fair and
efficient in terms of allocation,…most of the time it is unequal)

“Ti dalan da narigat nga madanun ti lugan, dayta paylaeng ket makitamon nga haan unay nga
ikikkan ti importansya ti gobyerno, nu Education services kuma, awan ti building ken agisuro da
nga kas adda kanyatayo” (Cudiamat 2015)
(Their roads are impassable of cars, through that one can say that the government is not giving
that much of importance to them, in Education services for instance, theres not enough schools
and buildings for them.)

Nu masaksakit da awan ti pangipanan da ti pada da nga IP nga masakit ta adayu ngarud ti

pagnanaedan da” (Cudiamat 2015)
(If they were sick, there’s no hospitals or near clinics to attend to the needs of their fellow IPs)

Laforteza & Parańaque 31 of 35

“Kas maysa nga IP, makitak nga dakkel ti diperensya ti pinagbyag mi kumpara ken ti
panagbiyag ti ordinary nga tao”(Borje 2015)
“Trabaho paylang ket awan laban mi nga sumreken” (Borje 2015)
(As an IP, I can say that there’s a big difference of life being an IP relative to ordinary people. In
terms of availability and accessibility of jobs, we definitely cannot compete with ordinary
applicants.)

“Nu dadduma pay kasla da lang marugit nga mangkita kadakami.” (Borje 2015)
(Sometimes, we can feel that ordinary people seems to abhor our existence)

*** Through their response, we can conclude that they both agree that overall, they (IP) are
considered marginalize not just through their access to basic needs but other needs such as
discrimination and insignificant attention from the government.

Question Number 2: Is IP active in politics in terms of voting or running for office?

(Aktibo ba ti IP, kas maipakita ti panagboto da ken panagtaray ti eleksiyon?)

“Haan da unay nga makiparpartisipar gapu ti kinasasaad da, uray bumoto nu dadduma haan
da nga ipangpangruna” (Borje 2015)
(Their preference to vote during election is largely affected by their social and economic status,
most of the time even the mere voting during election is not given priority.)

“Lallalo manun nu agtaray ken agserbi, pangalan mi ngarud ti kwarta” (Borje 2015)
“Kas kuma kanyak nangabak nak lang ta sangapamilya mi lang ti nailukob dijay nga
barangay.”
(More so in terms of running for public office as financial constraints is the key reason for our
inability to participate, as for me I just won as the barangay captain as almost everyone here is
my relative and not thru money)

Laforteza & Parańaque 32 of 35

*** As discussed, both the respondents believe that IP is not active in both running for public
office and/or simply thru voting during elections. Among the reason stated is their social and
economic status within the society
Question Number 3: What are the factors for this inactivity?
(Ana ngata dagiti rason nu apay haan da nga aktibo?)
Financially
“Umuna awan ti pangalan mi ti kwarta”
“Imbes nga pagplete mi nga mapan agbutos di pag pangan mi langen” (Borje 2015)
(First of all, we do not have financial capabilities and we lack sources of money. Instead of
faring to go to voting centers, it’s natural for us to use it for our basic necessities instead)

Education
“….Ket kaadwan met kanyami ket di makabasa ken makasurat”
“Nu dadduma pay ket nu sino jay umunan ah ket isu latten wenno nu sino jay pulitiko nga adda
lugan na nga mangala kanyami tapno bomotos ah ket isu”
(Most of us are illiterate, meaning we cannot even read or write our own names, what happens
most of the time is that whoever is on top of the ballot paper he/she is the one to be voted. On the
other hand, there are some instances wherein those politicians who offer free rides to voting
centers are the ones who we (as an IP) cast our votes upon)

Efficiency of the Government

“.. Awan metla makadanun nga tulong kanyami” “Haan da kami metla maawatan” (Borje
2015)
“Dayta siguro ti kadakkelan nga rason nu apay nababa ti posibilidad nga bumoto ti maysa nga
IP” (Cudiamat 2015)
(Most of the time, there is no help or any assistance from the government that reach us or our
community. It’s as if they do not understand our needs and way of life. I believe that is one of the
major reasons as to why the IP’s probability to vote during elections is extremely low)

***As to conclude, there are three (3) major reasons as to why IP doesn’t participate in
mainstream politics which is not taken into account in the quantitative part and analysis of the

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paper. Among these are financial constraints due to lack of jobs, education that gives them the
ability to atleast read and write and most importantly the efficiency of the government to equal
and equitable allocation of public goods in general.

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 Appendices: Gantt Chart of the Research ***
WEEK
Activities / Task
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
1. Topic thinking
2. Formulation of the
research Problem and
Annotated Bibliography
3. Theories and
Hypothesis
4. The literature review
5. Conceptualization,
Operationalization and
Measurement
6. Data Gathering
Encoding Data Set
Interview
6. Analysis of Data
7. Writing of the final
manuscript
7. Completion and
Submission of the report

Legend:

*** Start date: AUGUST 4, 2015 to Due date: DECEMBER 9, 2015

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