There are actually many definitions of civil society. But with all its working definitions, I understand civil society as a certain domain that is independent of the state. According to Sidney Silliman, civil society seeks benefits, political reform and accountability from the state but it does not aim to gain formal power nor is it there to overthrow the government. As the country develops to keep up with the modern world, the political system also becomes more complex and in addition, the people become more difficult to control. This is why there has been an ongoing rise for civil society groups, many of which assume the functions and processes normally associated with governments to try and compensate with the current situation.
             Citizen activism in the Philippines has been generally caused by our deteriorating socioeconomic conditions, the corruption which goes on in different parts of the political system and the failure of the government to address and mend them. Citizens have then come together and organized different civil society groups in response to these circumstances to either compensate for the state's failures or to pressure the state to correct its policies.
             Election, both local and national, especially in the Philippine context, has been a very controversial issue for the longest time. We have heard of different cases such as vote buying, presence of deceased/flying voters, and taking of ballot boxes among others. This only decreases the credibility of the choices of people we can put into power. The most likely outcome would be the discouragement of the public to vote for the different candidates since the winner would most likely be a product of injustice.
             The Philippines, being a democratic country, needs citizen organizations to participate in the election process to help educate the masses about the importance of elections and the urgency of voting and also to be there to monitor every aspect of the elec...