Our Frankenstein democracy

In the minds of so many of our countrymen, contemporary Philippine politics can be divided into two periods. The period of the Marcos dictatorship which ended in 1986, and the era of the post-Marcos dictatorship which began in 1986.

The years of the Marcos dictatorship are viewed as a period when Ferdinand Marcos, Sr. ruled as a strongman with vast authoritarian powers to immediately enforce his orders and implement his programs, unobstructed by the so-called pillars of democracy—Congress, courts, opposition groups, and the media. In contrast, the years of the post-Marcos dictatorship are viewed as the period of democracy when a succession of presidents exercised powers limited by the check and balance powers of the institutions of democracy. A big number of our current voters had only known the politics of the post-Marcos dictatorship. Add to their ranks, voters who only remember the enforced societal discipline, the propaganda of a controlled mass media, and who were unaware of the corruption and human rights violations of the years of the dictatorship. The combined strength of these two groups of voters has been responsible for our country’s about-face away from our long-standing preference for a democratic leader, starting in 2016.

But what drove many post-dictatorship voters to become allies of those who romanticize the years of the Marcos dictatorship? Our post-dictatorship electors have experienced all their lives the mongrel democracy that prevails in our country where corruption, killings, human rights violations, and poverty are widespread despite model laws to the contrary. It’s a sham democracy where the masses have the constitutional right to scream their hearts out in protest against the government but, in reality, they can’t even whimper a gripe because of empty stomachs. It’s a counterfeit democracy where the masses enjoy political rights, but endure economic slavery.

From the point of view of disillusioned voters, our country has given Philippine-style democracy a 30-year chance—from 1986 when Cory Aquino assumed the presidency to 2016 when Noynoy Aquino completed his term—to help improve their lives, and yet they’ve seen little improvement, and they see no hope of progress if our prevailing political system continues. For these disenchanted voters, our country’s version of democracy spells hopelessness.

The Frankenstein democracy that prevails in our country has given “democracy” a very bad name to many of our people. As a consequence, anyone who mouths the mantras of democracy (human rights, freedom of expression, campaign against corruption, etc.) is viewed as supporting the “demo-crazy” system that prevails, and advocating the preservation of the hated status quo. This is the reason why espousing slogans of democracy is no longer resonating with affection for many of our voters. And this is the reason why a leader like Rodrigo Duterte who mouths the most anti-democratic battle cries ends up endearing himself more with the people.

The fact that so many of our people are willing to surrender their political rights in exchange for an improvement in their economic well-being shows us the level of desperation among our people.

But it’s not the fault of democracy advocates that our country’s brand of democracy has acquired an awful reputation. The fault actually lies in the enemies of democracy. These are the warlords, corrupt public officials, and greedy businesspersons who mostly rule in our so-called democracy, and who have become the poster men and women of our post-dictatorship history. They have kidnapped democracy, bastardized its reputation, and monopolized the dividends of a political system that should be the ideal for any society. This is the heavy burden carried, and the crucible borne by opposition leaders who advocate democratic rule. It is the undeserved stigma attached to democracy-espousing leaders. The Gordian Knot that the opposition needs to untangle is how to convince our disillusioned people that the journey that our country began in 1986 toward achieving a democratic government has been an unfinished project; that along the way, our country has been held captive by corrupt politicians and insatiable businesspersons who are enemies of democracy; that these enemies of democracy will attain even more powers and wealth which they will use to abuse the country and its people even more, if we shift to anti-democratic rule, and; that the only way to achieve progress is to complete the journey toward attaining a truly democratic government.

Our democracy-disillusioned voters have elected two successive presidents in 2016 and 2022 based on expectations and yearning that these leaders will use authoritarian powers to improve people’s lives. Will our lives improve and encourage our long-suffering people to continue in this path beyond 2028?

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