EXAMINING THE ‘REV-GOV’ OPTION
PRESIDENT DUTERTE HAS BEEN FASCINATED BY IT, SINCE BEFORE HE DECIDED TO RUN FOR THE HIGHEST POSITION. IN AN ESQUIRE PHILIPPINES INTERVIEW IN MARCH 2015, HE SAID HE’D DECLARE “A REVOLUTIONARY GOVERNMENT.” MORE THAN TWICE THIS YEAR, HE WAVED IT IN THE FACE OF THOSE WHO, HE SAID, WOULD DESTABILIZE HIS GOVERNMENT.
What may dissuade him from actually embracing the authoritarian concept that he has been flirting with:
1) It’s not authorized by the Constitution. It’s not included with the constitutional convention (CONCON) or assembly (CON-ASS) that the Constitution requires for amending it and introducing a new form of government.
2) It departs from democracy, the form that has been adopted by the nation since we obtained our freedom. And thus it violates the oath the president took last June 30, 2016 to “preserve and protect” the Constitution.
3) It will install one-man rule or a military junta regime which could take decades before it would allow democracy again. And there’s the ever-present risk that the army that props it up will seize power for itself.
4) The Constitution has measures for such emergencies as invasion, rebellion, lawlessness or “destabilization” moves. He can call out the armed forces, suspend the writ of habeas corpus, or declare martial law, subject to the limits the Constitution provides.
5) It will disrupt the growth and progress of the country, as the experience of neighboring Asian countries demonstrated, inflicting damage on the economy and democratic institutions that could take several years to repair.
6) It will be susceptible to oppression, injustice and corruption since the authoritarian rule will remove checks and balance and shackle the press, including social media and the internet. Again, the experience of other countries where dissent is stifled and our own experience during the Marcos dictatorship are irrefutable evidence.
7) A revolution produces a revolutionary government. Incongruous and bizarre that a democratic power, installed by the mandate of the people, will remove and replace itself with a dictatorial power, installed by the force of the gun.
The two REV-GOVs that we had were used to install democracy, not to demolish it.