A ‘remedyo’ to our ‘medyo-cracy’

When I am not impressed with the quality of the food at a new restaurant or accommodations of a prestigious hotel or the performance of a budding talent, and I am asked for my opinion, I tend to say “medyo-medyo.”

Medyo-medyo is our colloquial term for tepid. As we say, “maligamgam” (lukewarm).
So this is how I can now describe our state of the nation, “medyo-cracy.” Some cynics even call it demo-crazy, akin to a “boodle fight,” free for all.

That being said, I still believe in democracy or at least the tenets of a democratic society, such as freedom, equality, justice for all, and the rule of law. But over the years, our people have been unlucky or less discerning in putting the right persons in the right positions, local and national, to lift us all from the quagmire of “medyo-crity.” No wonder, instead of “stumbling into the right decision, we have been going straight forward to the wrong one” to borrow a quote.

I am not alone in my lament of dismay. A political analyst has pointed out that the quality of people we have been electing to the Senate has been in continuous decline. I can attest to this because I lived through the era of Recto, Tañada, old Laurel, Sumulong, Tolentino, et al. They behaved and thought like statesmen, nowhere near the level of those who now sit in the same chamber. In that halcyon era, when a movie star like Rogelio de la Rosa would turn to politics and become a senator, he was someone respectable and honorable, and even later on deemed proper to be an ambassador.

But my dismay gets even worse when I get to see the gallery of characters who are filing their certificates of candidacy at the Commission on Elections. A friend cynically describes them as akin to a police lineup of the retreads, the has-beens, the weird and eccentric, the unemployed, and delusional suspects all mixed up together with the few good ones.

Democracy is a concept we got from the Athenian Greeks, which is a government directly elected by the people. But as I have observed, there is another concept from the Greeks that should be combined with democracy. It is called “aristocracy” which is the rule of the best as envisioned by the Greek philosopher Plato. He reasoned that leaders need to be wise and trained in how to run a state, just as captains of ships are trained in how to run a ship.

Perhaps aristocracy may turn off some people because it sounds elitist. So why not “merito-democracy,” which describes the holding of power by people selected based on ability, a political system in which people are elected to positions of power because of demonstrated abilities and merit, what they have achieved and can achieve for the many, rather than because of their wealth or social status or family.

Why should we make it easy for a nobody to get elected? Even a junior clerk in government is required to take and pass the Civil Service Exams. The quality of the elected is a reflection of the quality of electors. Merito-democracy can only work if we have informed, responsible voters. Admit it or not, we are partly to blame for our incompetence in promoting fools to be in charge of doing important or complicated things that impact our lives and our future. It’s time to wean ourselves from our comfortable liking for “ayuda” governance.

I propose a “re-medyo” for our medyo-medyo electorate. Nothing original. I’m sure you’ve heard of Peace Corps or “Doctors to The Barrios.” Adapting those models, I like to propose the formation of a select group of nonpartisan, committed individuals who will supplement teachers and provide more substantial lessons on civics, which at its core is the study or science of the privileges and obligations of citizens. Perhaps with infusion of knowledge in history and even culture to deepen the foundation.

We can recruit from graduates of political science, developmental studies, sociology, public service, or interdisciplinary students. Maybe even retired seniors who are physically fit and active. It is on a voluntary basis but they will undergo a rigid selection system including psychological tests which will put a premium on social skills and aptitude to serve others.

The main aim is to help create sustainable change on a wide scale by raising the civic IQ of young Filipinos regarding their responsibilities as citizens. By elevating their expectations of leaders, as well as making them value their responsibilities as citizens, they will be more discriminating in their choices, come their time to vote.

For now, let’s call this special brigade of volunteers Civic Corps. Keep in mind that they will supplement and enrich the process of basic education, and not obstruct, replace, or be an added burden to it. Then we can proudly say that beyond Abraham Lincoln’s definition of democracy, Philippine style democracy is a government “of responsible people, by discerning people, for all people.”

Arsenio “Nick” Lizaso is former president of the Cultural Center of the Philippines and chair of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts.