Democracy, quote unquote
Posted by Janvic | Posted in | Posted on 11:25 AM
Our new president was sworn in yesterday. And I am saddened with the fact that I wasn’t there to see Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo handing the position she had held for the last nine years. I am saddened with the fact that I wasn’t there to witness the smiles of my fellow Filipino people as we see a new dawn that, really, at some point promises change and brings hope to everyone.
And yes, I am saddened with the fact that this hope for change may be short-lived.
President Aquino’s inaugural speech doesn’t say much. And though I’d definitely post an analysis of his speech in a separate blog, I would like to focus on his promise on bringing back the “democracy” in our country.
In the last few years I have heard people who challenge the reality of the existence of democracy in the Philippines, regardless of who the president is.
Director of John Dewey Center of the Southern Illinois University-Carbondale Larry Hickman yesterday lectured on democratic theory, John Dewey and export democracy. And while I admit that I am not an expert in this democracy theory, I think I have made a few notes that are worth mentioning.
Hickman said that John Dewey, an American philosopher, social critic and political activist, has classified four factors that a “democratic” nation needs.
In the Philippines, we have all this written in paper. But from my observations, a lot of people in our government are using loopholes to blatantly reverse the effects of these supposed factors of democracy.
For one, the president of the country, or any other individual, has restrictions and should follow the law. But when investigations on anomalies on projects of the government are initiated by the legislative, the president suddenly uses her executive powers to evade questions using the now common term ‘it will compromise our national security’. And this is just one of the examples and a lot of others are always mentioning these loopholes in the “political democracy” in the Philippines.
I have also said yesterday, though in another lecture, that in the Philippines, the media has freedom in publishing anything whether in print, broadcast or online. Only that a lot of media practitioners disappear, are murdered or harassed. I don’t think I need to explain much.
And while many tend to disagree on the status of “equality of men and women in the Philippines”, Filipinas, in general, are playing a big role in our society as compared to other Asian nations. That, however, doesn’t mean we have this “equality” in our country. There are issues of racial, religious and other types of discrimination. Also, of course, no one in the lower classes of society would say they are treated “fairly” by those in power.
And lastly, in the Philippines, the number of people below the poverty line, according to the Philippine government, is not very high. The problem, however, is that one government report back in 2004 said that to be considered poor, a person must be living below the budget of Php36 a day. That’s around 80 cents in US Dollars.
Yes, the Philippines has traces of all the four factors of democracy that John Dewey has organized. The question is, however, where do we draw the line between democracy and not?
This isthe state of “democracy” in the Philippines. Personally, I believe that Aquino will have a hard time restoring this “democracy”, and that’s in the premise of ‘if we ever experienced one’. I am not much hopeful, but he’s free to try. Or as he puts it, we all should try.
And yes, I am saddened with the fact that this hope for change may be short-lived.
President Aquino’s inaugural speech doesn’t say much. And though I’d definitely post an analysis of his speech in a separate blog, I would like to focus on his promise on bringing back the “democracy” in our country.
In the last few years I have heard people who challenge the reality of the existence of democracy in the Philippines, regardless of who the president is.
Director of John Dewey Center of the Southern Illinois University-Carbondale Larry Hickman yesterday lectured on democratic theory, John Dewey and export democracy. And while I admit that I am not an expert in this democracy theory, I think I have made a few notes that are worth mentioning.
Hickman said that John Dewey, an American philosopher, social critic and political activist, has classified four factors that a “democratic” nation needs.
- Political Democracy: The power of government is restricted and regulated by the Constitution, and the common will of the people is expressed through their elected representatives.
- Democracy of Rights: All the people are guaranteed certain rights, such as freedom of speech, freedom of publication, freedom of religion, freedom of movement, and others.
- Social Democracy: Democracy implies equality and demands the abolition of unequal social distinctions; it calls for equality of persons before the law and in personal relationships.
- Economic Democracy: Democracy demands the right of every man and woman to a decent standard of living, and aims at the
progressive elimination of marked different in the enjoyment of resources by the rich and the poor.
In the Philippines, we have all this written in paper. But from my observations, a lot of people in our government are using loopholes to blatantly reverse the effects of these supposed factors of democracy.
For one, the president of the country, or any other individual, has restrictions and should follow the law. But when investigations on anomalies on projects of the government are initiated by the legislative, the president suddenly uses her executive powers to evade questions using the now common term ‘it will compromise our national security’. And this is just one of the examples and a lot of others are always mentioning these loopholes in the “political democracy” in the Philippines.
I have also said yesterday, though in another lecture, that in the Philippines, the media has freedom in publishing anything whether in print, broadcast or online. Only that a lot of media practitioners disappear, are murdered or harassed. I don’t think I need to explain much.
And while many tend to disagree on the status of “equality of men and women in the Philippines”, Filipinas, in general, are playing a big role in our society as compared to other Asian nations. That, however, doesn’t mean we have this “equality” in our country. There are issues of racial, religious and other types of discrimination. Also, of course, no one in the lower classes of society would say they are treated “fairly” by those in power.
And lastly, in the Philippines, the number of people below the poverty line, according to the Philippine government, is not very high. The problem, however, is that one government report back in 2004 said that to be considered poor, a person must be living below the budget of Php36 a day. That’s around 80 cents in US Dollars.
Yes, the Philippines has traces of all the four factors of democracy that John Dewey has organized. The question is, however, where do we draw the line between democracy and not?
This is
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