Vibrant democracy

Some political activists may have been disappointed with the US statement that it was remaining neutral as far as personalities are concerned. The US government said it was backing ‘vibrant democracy’.

Filipinos will just have to sort themselves out on what is best for them. I suppose that is what Acting Deputy Chief of Mission Scott Bellard means when he refused to be sucked in by the political intramurals. But some ground rules are shaping as the fight heats up.

For example, if you bothered to read the reports carefully pro-GMA groups are carrying the torch for the Constitution and have insisted we follow the rules and procedures provided by it if the opposition wants to oust President GMA. That is impeachment. You cannot waffle about that. The Constitution is clear on what citizens or their representatives can do when citizens want to oust a president under the presidential form of government. Unless of course they wait until the Constitution is reformed and the head of government can be removed with a simple no-confidence vote.

On the other hand, those against her can be said in general scrambling any way even if it means using extra-legal means if need be, to oust her.

They feel that following the Constitution works against them. That is tough luck but they will have to reckon with the millions of Filipinos who will find it unacceptable if they persist in this way of thinking. This is not to condemn them. They may have the best of intentions but without a mandate from the people they are being presumptuous. Ergo, the neutral position of the US may not stay very long if the situation continues to deteriorate with the struggle between the two sides.

A caretaker government may be fine both as a battle cry or a rhetorical device to unnerve the government. But I do not know how it can be done without the formal mandate of the people which as far as I know comes from referenda or elections for it to have the democratic imprimatur of the sovereign people which is what democracy is all about. Without that mandate it is no more than a press release or at best a cri de couer from those who have been hurt by the GMA government.

Democracy as John Dunn says in his book Setting the People Free is a form of government that took root in the republic of Athens late in the fifth century BC, in which the citizens ruled themselves, making decisions within an assembly of all citizens. But, in time, the meaning of the word changed. Now the word describes a wide range of systems in which those who rule depended on the approval, or at least consent, of the sovereign people. In time, citizens no longer participated personally in government. Instead, they chose representatives to do that for them. Dunn argues that representative government was not what the Athenians meant by democracy and therefore any use of the name essentially departs from its origin.

Some proponents of democracy today may have no time for democracy’s companions, individual rights and the rule of law. It is the middle class with stakes in the ownership of property that has a substantial stake in law and order. Economic advance went hand in hand with the advance in democracy.

In another interpretation, true democracy was distinguished from "false democracy". It is false when it falls into anarchy and happens when people scorn laws and reason. It can be tyrannical just as well when it threatens violence and more importantly when it is incoherent about its aim. True democracy on the other hand acts through representatives who are authorized if elected by the people. The mission of those chosen by the people and the authority which supports them constitute the public power.

It is against this background that I have doubts about the motley group which declared they will form a caretaker government. I cannot understand how that can be constitutional. They may be free to say what they want but they should not lull the public into believing that this is something they can and rightfully do.

Looking at the front page picture of the organizers I see that none of them is qualified under the Constitution’s rules of succession for any post, least of all, take over the government. Neither do they have had ever a mandate now or in the past. Some of them are my very good friends and I know that they have strong feelings against the Arroyo government. As it is, it may be a mere statement of a group of well-meaning citizens but it cannot be taken seriously. It is fine for opposition groups to air their sentiments but it is another thing when it declares itself "the best alternative to the current situation" without any basis except their own appreciation of themselves. The Sison couple were active campaigners for Bro. Eddie Villanueva, Ramon Eki Cardenas and Horacio Morales both worked for the discredited former president Erap. I don’t know for whom Fr. De la Torre works now but he was the chief interpreter of the leftist Liberation Theology.

As far as I know he had shed his priestly frock. Liwayway Chato, General Cunanan both work for PIATCO. They have their reasons for disliking GMA’s government. I have many times advocated for the immediate opening of NAIA3 and share some of their views on this as a black mark to our country. As for Marietta Goco, she was a co-convenor of the Coalition for Charter Change Now and even when she left the group to run for governor of Pangasinan, she always said to me that although she was making the move, the bottom line for her was and still for charter change. Most importantly whatever justifies their personal quarrels with President GMA, they will have to wait the results of the impeachment.

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BACK FROM BALI. I was honored to be among senior journalists invited to join a colloquium on Interfaith Harmony in Bali last week. The journalists’ colloquium was separate from the ASEM Interfaith Dialogue initiated by Indonesia and the United Kingdom. But it gave us the opportunity to discuss how broadly and accurately we cover the issue being discussed in the bigger conference on interfaith harmony, arguably the most important in the world today.

As with most group discussions, it takes time to warm up and encourage participants to really speak their mind. This colloquium was unique in that with very strongly opinionated group the discussions quickly went into high gear. Perhaps I should mention (I’ll write about it more extensively in another column) that I was surprised when told by the Chief Editor of Jakarta Post, Endy Moozardi Bayuni that Indonesians were carefully watching developments on charter change that would shift the Philippines into a federal system with a parliamentary government. The idea has been percolating in Indonesia which has long been troubled by separatism — how to keep the country united at the same time allow ethnic groups enough leeway to develop themselves. We always tend to belittle our efforts but when I asked Endy to tell me what the perception was on the Philippines because of the political crisis, he said. "Indonesians have always looked up to the Philippines and Thailand as their examples in finding solutions to their own problems." My e-mail is: [email protected]