Finish line
armed struggle to attain it, are also fighting a peaceful constitutional battle for democracy on the same contrary assumption that what we have is an illusion of democracy.
The essential virtues of democracy are liberty, equality, justice and fair play as paths towards prosperity for all. The fact that thirty percent of the population until now live in absolute poverty is solid proof that democracy has not worked yet in this country. For this marginalised sector there is very little liberty, equality, justice/ fair play, and prosperity to protect.
Instead we have an oligarchy where a rich and powerful few pull the strings on their puppets in the executive, legislative and judiciary branches of government behind a façade of democracy. If the Senate, for instance, were an institution of democracy as Senator Franklin Drilon claims, who represents in that body the poorest-of-the -poor farmers and workers who compose the majority of our voters? Our elections are a mockery of democracy because they are won on vested-interest money and not on the programs of government of honest, competent and true representative candidates of all sectors of society.
The 1987 constitution focused only on preventing a Marcos-style martial law but essentially kept power in the hands of the oligarchy by neglecting to reform the electoral system and to put in place a system of proportional sectoral representation. There is a need for a new constitution with self-implementing provisions that loosen the oligarchy’s exclusive grip on the country’s power and wealth.
We cannot protect something we don’t have. We can only fight to acquire it. What we have is an illusion of democracy. Protecting that illusion cannot be the starting line of our fight. Acquiring true representative democracy is the finish line we should fight to cross.
— Orlando P. Carvajal