Abstract:
The Office of the President has an inherent nature of concentrating and centralizing power. This is not uncommon even in democratic societies. It is because this seems to provide an alternative method of leadership particularly in maintaining stability and order during fragile periods and when democratic means appear to be ineffective. This method of concentrating and centralizing power even within the bounds of democracy stands as a major concern in understanding political structures and institutions specifically of those belonging to democratic societies. This is because the presence of authoritarianism within a democracy, even if justified as the only alternative means of exercising leadership, offers an undefined distinction between the two doctrines. Such presence offers a social dilemma in defining whether maintaining majoritygood Theory of Reification and MacCannell consciousness, which is an effect of reification, leads to a modification of reality. Thus, what the tourist sees in a slum tour is a modified reality of what the residents think tourists want to see. Employing a triangulation of methods composed of focused group discussions, interviews, and a survey of 79 respondents, the study led to the conclusion that none of the guideposts were fulfilled by the slum tour in Sitio Damayan. Data results showed that no consent was acquired, no adequate provision of compensation, and no channels for communication between and among all actors concerned in the slum tour. Added to this is the normalization of the presence of tourists in the area, which has resulted to the favorable perception of tourists toward slum tourism even if they receive no compensation from it. The low levels of interaction between the residents and the policy-makers have also resulted to a disempowered community. As such, the residents viewed themselves as objects of the tour rather than subjects who can actively participate and interact.
