Upholding the rule of law

The Philippines is a democratic republic with a government under the “rule of law.” Hence government officials from the president down to the barangay captain must act in accordance with law, perform the duties given them as defined by law, and enforce and uphold the law at all times and under all circumstances. In other words, the laws of the land are supreme and must be complied with and implemented rather than the order or command of any one man or public official. This is the essence of democracy as embodied in the Preamble of our Constitution which says that ours is a government under the “rule of law” and not under the rule of man or group of men.”

It is alarming to note however that recent developments and actions of the present administration under incumbent President Rodrigo Duterte (PRRD) show that the “rule of law” is being flagrantly defied and openly brushed aside.  More specifically, these refers to the more than 300,000 Chinese workers in our country who are holding jobs in violation of our Labor Code on employment of aliens like the requirement for duly approved employment permits, report on the availability or non-availability of any person in the Philippines who is competent and willing to do the job for which the services of the alien are desired, and admissibility of the alien as certified by the Bureau of Immigration (Rule XIV of the Omnibus Rules Implementing the Labor Code).

Despite these violations, PRRD does not want to take actions against these illegal Chinese workers because he is afraid that China might retaliate and do the same to Filipinos working in China. There is clearly something wrong with this reasoning. In the first place, it assumes that there are also Filipino workers in China who are allowed to work there even if they violate and/or do not comply with Chinese laws. Secondly, it implies that China does not also observe the rule of law and allows illegal alien workers and that Filipinos are among them. And thirdly, it shows disloyalty to our country and fear of China as if we are already a surrogate State under the rule and control of said country, thereby undermining our country’s very essence as a democratic, free and independent state.

But whether we like it or not therefore, it is quite obvious that at this stage, we are already veering and sliding back towards a one-man rule like the Marcos dictatorial regime. This observation is bolstered by the fact that PRRD himself is favoring and defending the late dictator Marcos and his family. Recently, he even claimed that there is no proof about the ill-gotten wealth amassed by Marcos and his family during his martial law regime. Coming from the President of this country, this is quite surprising and dangerous indeed.

He ignores the fact that so many years after Marcos was toppled, several suits and other moves have been successfully undertaken to recover these loots. Initially, a Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) was created to precisely determine and recover this ill gotten wealth. And from early 1987 up to the present, so many billions of pesos worth of properties consisting of cash and other valuables amassed by the Marcoses have been recovered and disposed of by the government. Billions of US dollars  stashed by the late dictator have been recovered in Hawaii and New York. In fact courts in those states have rendered decisions confiscating those ill gotten wealth and turning them over to our government for remuneration of the damages suffered by the victims of the regime. In New York a suit against Imelda Marcos have been filed involving a building where she has invested a huge sum of money supposedly acquired through the sale of priceless paintings obtained by them. The Court in this case eventually ruled against Imelda and ordered the turn-over of the proceeds of said sale in favor of the Philippine government.

Even right after the EDSA revolution when Marcos and his family hurriedly left for Hawaii, some participants of the said revolution who rushed to Malacanang still found several valuable properties like paintings and cash which were left behind by the Marcoses due to lack of time to pack and transport them hastily and secretly.

With all these concrete and indubitable proofs, it is indeed quite surprising and alarming that PRRD will come out with such statement about the lack of proof that Marcos amassed wealth when he was in power. Coming from a President who is a lawyer, this is kind of weird indeed. Of course as of the present and three years into his administration, we should have gotten used to these kind of statements and actions of PRRD including his foul language and contradicting pronouncements which his equally weird spokesman, Salvador Panelo describes and explains as mere “hyperbole,” or only some jokes. The problem here however is that it is really difficult to find out when he means what he says and when he is only joking or serious. Perhaps we should just ignore his statement and concentrate on what he has really done especially those which are for the best interest of our country and our people.

Nevertheless let us still be hopeful but vigilant about his tendency toward a one man rule than the rule of law. All signs still indicate that we may revert back to another Marcos kind of government as shown by PRRD’s defense and inclination toward that kind of regime. It is better to be watchful than to be sorry later on. But more importantly, we should pray for our country and our officials especially our President.

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