Total Democracy for the Philippines?

Total Democracy for the Philippines?

The Philippines and the Filipino people is NOT READY for a TOTAL ALL-ENCOMPASSING DEMOCRACY. Instead, what the Philippines needs is a selective limited democracy. The Filipino people must learn several things prior to being able to handle and appreciate total democracy.

What I have to say may sound elitist but this is only my opinion and my argument in the subject matter. My word is not to be taken as the authoritative opinion regarding the subject matter.

It is a known fact that the majority of the Filipino people is poor, thus it follows that the majority is also poorly educated, thus it follows that the majority of the voting population is also poorly educated.

It is very dangerous to entrust the election of public officials and leaders in the hands of the poorly educated. The poorly educated are prone to making unreliable and misinformed decisions. They are also prone to bias and may also fall prey to bribery. They are incapable of distinguishing false and hollow promises from concrete plans. They are incapable of distinguishing selfish and corrupt officials from honest ones. Thus, the poorly educated have been chronically electing officials that are inappropriate for their needs and inappropriate for the general public.

It is my hope that with continued improving education, the Filipino people will make better and well-informed electoral decisions. The Filipino people already showed signs of improving decisions when president Estrada was ousted and in the succeeding general elections refrained from electing actors, actresses, newscasters and other inappropriate officials. But the Filipino people is again in danger of forgetting these painful lessons, and I think it is the obligation of the well-informed to constantly remind the poorly educated to make better decisions.

Poor education, in my opinion, is the root of the problem. One can not skip into solving a problem as complex as democracy when one has not yet solved the simpler problem of education. Educate the Filipino people, and they will naturally gravitate towards a democratic society because they will now be able to appreciate all the aspects of democracy.

These aspects of democracy are the ones that need to be taught to every Filipino, prior to granting them full democracy. Without knowledge and mastery of these aspects of democracy, granting full democracy to a poorly educated population is ANARCHY.

These aspects of democracy that I am referring to are: RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS, DISCIPLINE, and JUSTICE. When every Filipino has mastered these values and ingrained them in every fiber of their being; then and only then can the Filipino people appreciate full democracy; then and only then should the Filipino people be granted full democracy.

RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS is the core value and it is strongly intertwined with freedom and democracy. How? Because YOUR FREEDOM ENDS where MY RIGHTS BEGIN. When people understand this, they will respect each other’s rights. Mastery of respect for human rights means that everybody is fully aware of the rights of other people, and fully aware when a person is going beyond his freedom and already stepping on the rights of others.

The second value is DISCIPLINE. Awareness of the rights of others is not adequate, discipline reinforces respect for human rights because it means that a person will uphold in concrete action and behaviour his awareness of the rights of others. With discipline, you trust that your neighbor will equally respect your rights just as you respect his rights.

The third equally important value is JUSTICE. If in any case, a person violates the rights of others, then he is given a commensurate punishment for his action. Every person, therefore, will trust that his neighbor will not be allowed to violate his rights without punishment.

These are the core values that every Filipino must learn. Learning these values take precedence over achieving full or total democracy.

Full or total democracy means that one is free to walk the streets of your neighborhood free of worry that a person will violate your rights, because everybody is fully aware of your rights, because everybody possesses the discipline to uphold those rights, because everybody is aware of the commensurate punishment when your rights are violated.

The next step towards preparing for a total democracy is having a Code of Ethics upheld by everybody based on Mutual Respect.

In conclusion, these are the values that need to be ingrained in every Filipino in preparation for a total democracy, then the Filipino people will be prepared to appreciate their total democracy.

In a just and human society that respects human rights without external guidance, every citizen is free.