State power, brute force
There is too much that is going wrong. If allowed to continue unopposed, where will it all lead?
It is not difficult to tell if our Congressmen are ignoramuses or hoodlums, or both in the way they have been conducting themselves. First of all, apparently, they have not read the Philippine Constitution of 1987. The Preamble to our Constitution states:
We, the sovereign Filipino people, imploring the aid of Almighty God, in order to build a just and humane society, and establish a Government that shall embody our ideals and aspirations, promote the common good, conserve and develop our patrimony, and secure to ourselves and our posterity, the blessings of independence and democracy under the rule of law and a regime of truth, justice, freedom, love, equality, and peace, do ordain and promulgate this Constitution.
Let us take serious note of the last phrase “under the rule of law and a regime of truth, justice, freedom, love, equality, and peace…”
Section 4 of Article II on Declaration of Principles and State Policies also states: The prime duty of the Government is to serve and protect the people.
Section 11 of the same article states: The State values the dignity of every human person and guarantees full respect for human rights.
Since this Congress, theoretically a body independent of the executive branch has brazenly demonstrated its adherence to the manifest values and policies of the mercurial and authoritarian President, regardless of what the Constitution provides, there is only the judiciary left to protect the people. However, Congress has already initiated impeachment proceedings against the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. The House of Representatives has also reduced the budget of the Commission on Human Rights to P1000, which is its way of complying with the President’s threat to abolish this independent body. Our last hope for reversing this violation of the Constitution is the Senate. Will they rise to the occasion?
Thank God, some of the people are waking up.
The Movement Against Tyranny and the recently launched Tindig Pilipinas have much work to do in terms of education and mobilization to ensure that the Filipino people, as provided in the Constitution are protected, if we are to remain a democracy. We have to act resolutely and with fortitude while there is still some democratic space, and some media independence left, despite the well-known widespread media corruption, and public presidential threats against independent media.
Majority Floor Leader Rodolfo Fariñas (what a pity, so much brilliance degraded) has bolstered this attitude of entitlement by politicians (public servants?) in his initiative to exempt members of Congress from traffic laws. It is a far cry from the culture of walang wang-wang” “(no sirens) under the earlier regime.
On the eve of the anniversary of the declaration of martial law, it is a worthwhile exercise to remember those years, and to share stories with the generations that did not experience it, about the serious harm that is inflicted on the people when the government forgets that it has been created to “serve and protect” the Filipino people, not to use its powers to bully and abuse them.
The evidence, when we face the truth, is clear.
Martial law and the authoritarian Marcos regime brought our country to its knees, from being second only to Japan in economic development when Ferdinand Marcos became president, to becoming “the basket case of Asia” when we finally ousted him and his regime. A series of administrations and of course, the Filipino people had to carry the burden of debts incurred by the Marcos regime.
To this day, we are still trying to catch up with our neighbors who have out- performed us. Haven’t we learned anything yet?
Or are we all pathetic victims of the Marcos propaganda machine which operates to this day?
The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) was precisely created to ensure that political power is not abused, even while it is authorized only to investigate, and not to prosecute. It is a necessary thorn on the side of wielders of power who forget the limits of what the Constitution allows them to do. To technically abolish this body with its modest budget for investigative work, including protection of witnesses, is to surrender our freedoms, and to allow state power to be abused. The CHR is precisely there to limit the harm that the evil side of human nature can bring about, given that all power wielders are only human, and prone to err and abuse their power.
So much has already taken place to tell us which way this government is going. The outspoken Senator Leila de Lima has been detained for months on charges based on testimonies by long-term convicts. Detainees on plunder charges, including Senator Juan Ponce and Jinggoy Estrada have been released on bail in violation of the law that prohibits bail in plunder cases. The hardworking, independent, principled Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales is threatened with impeachment even with less than a year left in her term. Senator Risa Hontiveros has been insulted publicly. What is it about tough and independent ladies that President Duterte cannot bear? Behavioral scientists and even his own sister Jocelyn have attempted public explanations. We leave it to the reader to go to Google and find out.
The war on drugs has killed many victims, young and old, and generally poor. Meanwhile, the big drug lords identified by President Duterte early in his term are still alive out of jail. The wealthy Vicente Loot is still mayor of Daanbantayan, and Peter Lim has not been tried. I guess the rich are entitled to due process.
There is too much that is going wrong. If allowed to continue unopposed, where will it all lead? The prognosis is frightening.
We the people need to mobilize and act to stem this reprehensible tide of state power used as brute force against the constitutional rights of the people.