The duty to act
http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2009/jan/16/yehey/opinion/20090116opi4.html
One of the essential pillars of a democracy is the right of the citizen to the truth of the matters that are affecting his or her life. Truth is an essence of justice. Truth is likewise the soul of the right to self-determination, the ability of an individual or a group to chart the path of their respective affairs provided that they do not trample upon other’s equally essential rights. Transparency is the spirit of a robust and free market economy. Media with its freedom to convey the information to every citizen breathes life to a democracy.
If this is the case, then, why does the Philippines, a nation priding itself as the most democratic state in the Asian region and with arguably free media, lag behind the other democracies in the world? Are we truly a democracy or are we simply afflicted with “an illusion of democracy in an oligarchic or autocratic power structure.” The unsolved murders of journalists, politicians, and progressive individuals make this debatable as violent members of our society seem to believe that one of the essentials of freedom is the right to kill others as well.
Why did the countless hours of congressional inquiries on multimillion corruption scandals not bring about the accountability that a democracy guarantees? Why would countless cases filed not bring forth the expected justice that should have been administered? Worse, we have witnessed well-meaning public servants fighting for integrity in public service suffer marginalization, persecution, and even death. For example, the murder of Marlene Esperat. The brashness of her execution, and the failure of the justice system to quickly catch those responsible for her death betray the fact that we have the rule of anarchy under the thin veneer of lip-service and contrived democracy. Here truth died and the asesinos are rewarded with freedom. This does not speak of democracy. The injustice resonates with the melodies of a mafiosi movie playing in the unattended funerals of other Esperats being buried in unknown graves, never to speak the truth, muted forever in the depths of the public’s forgetfulness and apathy.
Democracy is not a telenovela. We do not simply watch events unfold before our eyes while we enjoy the comforts and security of our homes. If we do, we run the risk of ending up victims of the real villains lurking in our streets and in our institutions when we least expect it. It can happen even in the lushness of a golf course where you get your handicap in the form of real physical disability. When cavemen learn golf, they get confused about what a golf club is for.
Dictatorship is a child of citizen disengagement and inaction. At first, it was a cute little cuddly infant made to get whatever he wants no matter what the cost. Then a spoiled brat grows with his mistakes unaccounted and unrectified. Neither is there remorse. What follows is a false sense of entitlement and a delusion that the world owes him his existence. And we all pay for such entitlements even if we bleed dry. When we tolerate wrongdoing, we end up its victims.
For us to make our democracy a truthful one, we must be mindful that our right to know demands the performance of our duty to act on things that we have learned and known. What is the purpose of knowing the truth for a citizen? It is the expectation for an enlightened citizen to act.
A true democracy is one where citizens bear in their hearts and minds that the Constitution is not an archaic document with dead letters written on an equally lifeless paper made from dead trees. Rather, it is a living creature breathing in everybody’s daily existence as it ensures our chosen way of life. Our liberties, our rights, and our duties. Our Constitution is not something that we simply read about in law books and commentaries. Our Constitution is our democratic way of life. Democracy depends on each one of us. Demand the truth and act on it.
[Atty. Arnel Paciano Casanova is the General Counsel of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority. He is also a member of the KAYA NATIN! core group—a movement pushing for good governance and ethical leadership. To know more about Kaya Natin! visit www.kayanatin.com or send an email to kayanatin@yahoo.com.]
“Are we truly a democracy or are we simply afflicted with “an illusion of democracy in an oligarchic or autocratic power structure?”
Rhetorical or not, this question is an important one that needs to be truthfully answered, not nonchalantly but only after honest soul searching by anyone wishing to see the country move forward for the better. I intend not to sound utopian here but to establish a common understanding of what democracy is all about, the dictionary as a reference maybe of help. In this particular instance the Merriam-Webster Online is used and the definitions are as follow:
de·moc·ra·cy
1 a: government by the people; especially: rule of the majority b: a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections
2: a political unit that has a democratic government
3: capitalized: the principles and policies of the Democratic party in the United States
4: the common people especially when constituting the source of political authority
5: the absence of hereditary or arbitrary class distinctions or privileges
The first definition above, in conjunction with the periodic elections where the citizenry have participated in decades and in greater numbers, may have created a mirage of a government of the people, by the people and for the people, which remains in theory only.
Following is an excerpt from a short piece written in 1986, few months after Corazon Aquino was “elected” President of the Philippines.
“The electoral process, which the people believed in as a cornerstone of
democracy, was a farce since the start.
Although for many years Filipinos have taken part in both national and local
elections, nobody ever realized that these elections simply served the interest
of political parties and the people who ruled them. Candidates were never
nominated or selected by their constituents; rather, they were handpicked or
selected by the party hierarchy, depending on their popularity and capacity to
fund their own political campaigns.
In the final analysis, the Filipino people did not exercise any free choice; they
were coerced by a system into putting their stamp of approval and legitimized
the continued rule of an elitist government as against majority rule. Democracy,
in its universally accepted definition, never existed in the Philippines, not even
before Mr. Marcos’ usurping the ultimate power of government unto himself.”
Here is an anticle penned by Father Kevin Barr about democracy. You and your associates may find it a good reference material in your quest for change.
http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=59782
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