TWENTY YEARS AFTER THE PEOPLE POWER REVOLUTION, THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE 1987 CONSTITUTION, and the restoration of democracy in the Philippines, we ask oursleves — bakit walang pagbabago? Corruption prevails and permeates every level of society. As a result, Filipinos keep looking for HEROES. Heroes that will effect the drastic change the country so desperately needs. We have been looking for the Filipino Obama, long before Obama came into office. Cases in point: Erap in 1998. Arroyo in 2001. And most recently Noynoy, riding the hype of his mother’s death. Had not Cory died, would Noynoy even be considered as a viable candidate? A valid question. Isn’t this pathetic?
Filipinos are personality voters. They are easily swayed by political ads. Personalities. Good looks. But if there is anything this has helped achieve, it is the high level of participation among Filipinos as regard to elections. The Philippines is among the countries in Asia that have the highest voter turn-out in elections ( see http://www.idea.int/index.cfm). However, while we have achieved this one ingredient to having a good democracy, we still miss a couple more important things to acquire. I call them HATS!
It is not enough that we have democratic institutions in place. HATS supplements this by providing the ideal balance between government and citizens in working towards development of democracy. Philips Shively (1999) has kindly enumerated for me the necessary characteristics that we are looking for in a democratic citizenry, and quite frankly, the Philippines fails a couple of these points:
- High Level of Interest and Information
- Active Participation
- Tolerance
- Support for the Government
High Level of Interest and Information
According to Shively (p. 140, 1999), it is not enough that people participate actively. People may be as active as they want but they will have little effect on what government does because action based on no interest or understanding would be aimless! Democracy not only requires citizens to participate, it also requires those citizens to be well informed.
Furthermore, Shively notes that people who regularly turn out and vote in elections might know little or nothing about the candidates among whom they are choosing; in that case, they would contribute little to the workings of democracy (Shively, p.144, 1999), or even be detrimental to it, in case they vote for the worse candidate.
A classic example is that Filipinos are typically participative in rallies against government policies, but when asked about the particular issue they are opposing (Charter Change, for example), definition just eludes them.
Active Participation
More than just obeying the laws the government lays down, democracy requires that citizens do more than just obey; citizens must take concrete steps to exercise their authority over government, at the very least voting in elections (Shively, p.140, 1999). Moreover, citizens must maintain frequent contact with the government (I texted President Arroyo!) by writing to their representatives, serving on citizen committees, etc.
In the Philippines, among the things we should ask ourselves are these: Did we vote in the most recent presidential and local elections? Did we work in any small or independent way in a campaign for the most recent election?
Good examples of how we may be able to develop active participation is by joining watchdog groups in elections, like PPCRV, or BMPM, and then really participating.
Tolerance
Probably the most difficult of the HATS, tolerance of other people’s opinions is a necessary requirement for a democratic society. According to Shively, “if varied groups are to support their opinions, it is necessary that the people have a reasonable tolerance for diversity; if people could be prevented from setting forth unpopular ideas, then democracy would not function well. Therefore, citizens must be at least minimally tolerant of different races, different religions, different political beliefs, and different opinions that may depart sharply from their own. Citizens in a democracy must be willing to allow these various groups to present their cases freely, otherwise there is a danger that the voters will not be allowed a full range of options from which to choose” (Shively, p.140, 1999).
Questions we must ask ourselves as Filipinos: are you open to having a Muslim man as President? Are you open to having a person you dislike become President? Do you think that leftist organizations should be outlawed? Should the Church be barred from making political opinions?
Support for the Government
Finally, according to Shively, while the three characteristics above are required, democracy also requires that the government maintain authority over the people (Shively, p.140, 1999). What is needed here is a general abstract support for the democratic form of government which can coexist with skepticism about the qualities of individual office holders (Shively, p.144, 1999).
In the Philippines, government is seen as an oppressor rather than a proper authority. Probably one of the reasons Filipinos would get around rules, if they can. If we treat government as an enemy, then we are living in a contradictory society; democracy would never settle here.
Filipinos are continually searching for a Savior, The One, The Anointed One. A Filipino Obama. And if the institutions fail, if the politicians don’t deliver, if the government is corrupt — they complain. They complain. And they complain. Finally fleeing to another country. Little do they know that CHANGE is rooted in responsible citizenship, and they are nowhere near achieving it.
1986: We have changed the government and installed a revolutionary one.
1987: We have changed the Marcos Constitution and made it democratic.
1991: We have changed the structures of local governance and made it more democratic and empowered.
2001: We have deposed a thief from The Office and replaced it with a new one…
Hindi ka nagbantay.
We have changed everything to accommodate DEMOCRACY. The only thing left to change is…
2009: YOU. It’s your time to change. And when you try to do, remember: HATS.
Pitasyo 