How we violate our democracy

The world has time and again marveled at the Filipino capacity for ingenuity. Indeed, to be able to see possibilities for further improvement where others could not is something to be proud of.

But let us not forget that there have also been miserable errors made in the eagerness to excel, most notably in our politics. For example, though it is obvious to many among the citizens, many of our leaders continue to deny that cheating in the last elections took place.

Comelec Chairman Benjamin Abalos has been trying so hard to project himself as “ingenious and wise” in matters concerning the function of his office. He still glosses over the fact that he failed to automate the election process and now, in answer to the reported cheating in Maguindanao, he still issues such “wise” remarks as “the complaint will not prosper unless it is substantiated by documentary evidence”.

But that is the old legalese among private lawyers: No proof, no case. The point of course is that the milieu in government affairs is different from that in private affairs: all government officials serve the people and are therefore duty-bound to act immediately on citizen’s complaints of failure in government service. That implies government leaders cannot impose the same requirements private lawyers impose on their private clients.

That spells out the very fact that the citizenry has the right to question the arrogantly presumptuous manners in bad leadership. That means no effort by them to thwart the people’s will has a legal basis. Specifically, forming “coalitions” may get some politicians the help they need to evade accountability, but the effort only ends up violating the very purpose of democracy.

The question now is, if the impeachment move against GMA is “no longer possible” as some put it given her advantage of coalition power, does it mean that the “people’s representatives” will still dare to violate the democratic imperative? Let us mark those who will. — Ernesto K. Magtoto, Las Piñas City