Where Does the Philippines Stand Now?

Photo by Eldon Vince Isidro on Unsplash

Joseph de Maistre, a political philosopher, once wrote, “Every country gets the government it deserves,” and “In a democracy, people get the leaders they deserve.”

With all that’s happening in the world today, we often turn to our leaders to establish order and guide their people. But in the same breath, we almost always put the blame on our leaders when things go wrong. I think this has been the case for liberal democracies across the board and it makes me wonder, “What is it with people? What in the world are they thinking?”

I first heard the quote above from my PI 100 – Rizal professor. Now you might think, “Why were you discussing that in a Rizal class? What does that have to do with Rizal?” It’s actually a long story that involves several crash courses in sociology, political science, philosophy, and history. But to cut the story short, we discussed the revolution that Rizal wanted to launch in the Philippines and how he was going about with it.

Short history lesson

Rizal wanted independence for the Philippines and for its people to exercise their liberty. He envisioned a Philippines that was self-governing and striving toward continuous development for the good of the country.

However, he knew that this dream, this vision of his cannot be realized in the near future and perhaps not even in his own lifetime. And I believe that’s why he wrote several essays and novels so that the next generations may pick up on his ideas and use those to continue the revolution he started.

Rizal entrusted the youth of his time and the succeeding generations to forge the path toward a stronger, better, more independent Philippines. He also wanted to establish the concept of one unified Philippines and used the term “Filipino” to refer to all who pledge allegiance to the Philippines. This term previously only referred to those born in the Philippines with Spanish parents. But he gave a new meaning to the word such that it would become a symbol of national identity.

In the case of the Philippines, Rizal knew there were so many obstacles in the way for proper nation-building and economic development. But Rome wasn’t built in a day. Other than the fact that the colonizers had a strong foothold in the country’s politics, economics, culture, and society, the natives had fervent regional loyalties.

Rizal wanted to tackle one problem at a time. The most pressing concern was the iron grip that the religious orders and friars had over the people. For Rizal, he knew that he was facing a battle of ideology, it wasn’t a battle of force.

Centuries of indoctrination have subtly perpetuated ideas that created a broken system of society. It stripped people of their freedom, their history, and their capacity for human flourishing. It inhibited progress and development in the society and much more in the individual’s physical and mental capacity. This was the colonial system from which we are still trying to pick up the pieces of our past.

Rizal was a champion for education because he knew that the only way for the Filipinos to break free from the shackles of their colonizers was to gain rationality and to increase their intelligence. Not just in spiritual matters, but also in science, engineering, medicine, and technology among others.

In so doing, he hoped that they would begin to understand their plight. He wanted them to realize that they were trapped in their ignorance. The friars have the natives wrapped around their fingers, using the language barrier and religion to control. Rizal thought that through education, the Filipinos would finally realize that they were being manipulated and taken advantage of.

When the collective consciousness of a people rises, they will have the capacity to govern themselves fairly, rationally, and efficiently. Rizal needed to prepare the Filipino people first by exposing them to new ideas like liberalism and new methods of production to become competitive and grab opportunities for trade and commerce. Only then will the Philippines be equipped and ready to oust the colonizers and start building the nation.

What Rizal sought was an internal revolution, one that started with the mind. The plan was first to educate the people, to introduce new ideas for production, to instill a new mindset, and only then, to govern themselves. Once the dominant ideology changes, it’s only a matter of time before the tide of history shifts as well.

Of course, it didn’t end that way. Rizal died because of his novels, Bonifacio was killed by Aguinaldo who then became the President of the First Republic, and the Spaniards sold the Philippines to the Americans.

Changing the seat of power doesn’t make any significant difference unless the system is changed. And the system can only be changed if people as a whole change. Because in the end, it is the people who will decide what kind of government they want. An unjust government cannot come from a just people. If a government turns out to be a rotten one, then it is what the people deserve.

So what now?

The question posed to us in our class at the beginning of the semester was this: Is Rizal a revolutionary or not? Does he deserve to be called the national hero? I believe that he was both a revolutionary and a hero. His death was not a dramatic one. He didn’t die in battle but it was very meaningful and he did not die in vain. His ideas live on today.

As I said, Rizal faced many obstacles in his quest for revolution. And I believe there are still remnants of those obstacles that exist today. I mean, people will hold on to the power that they have no matter what it takes.

In the Philippines today, we probably have the most polarizing leader in government and he has a lot of critics. I believe he does care for his people despite his strong language, remarks, and a stern demeanor. Many people criticize his campaign against drugs. All I hear in the news is about the human rights violations and his failure to fulfill his campaign promises.

I’m merely speaking my mind and trying to be critical about these things. I mean, the same thing happened during the Marcos regime. Granted, Marcos was a more cerebral and calculating strategist while President Duterte is more brazen and candid with his motives. Oftentimes, they are depicted with all the bad adjectives you can think of.

I used to believe what was being said and taught about Marcos and now with Duterte. But our PI 100 class also discussed these current events. Our professor researched a lot about Marcos’ regime and she even had a personal interview with him when he was in Hawaii. When she looked at the data as well as his personal notes, she saw that Marcos was trying to continue the revolution.

The Philippines needs to move on from its colonial past and continue its narrative which was interrupted when the Spaniards came. It needs to get on with the times and technically I’m not even sure if we’ve completed our industrial revolution. Marcos had some projects in mind that would make that possible like the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant.

I’m not a Marcos loyalist or a Duterte supporter. Technically, these are just the thoughts of someone who is just tired of the petty politics.

I cannot say for certain what is true anymore because it sort of comes down to a “my word against yours” with all these accusations. Where is the evidence that proves the connections and allegations in these circumstances?

Anyway, I don’t completely agree with the current president’s methods but he is doing something. It’s slightly different but I think he and Marcos have the same objectives, only Duterte is adapting to the current situation of the country. Marcos was faced with opposition from both the left and the right so he had no choice but to resort to strengthening of the state. You can say the same for Duterte. Perhaps the improvement he made from what Marcos did was that he surrounded himself with allies who would support the government’s agenda and not their own interests.

There are more nuances to the situation and one post cannot encapsulate all of them. But one thing is for certain and that is a house divided cannot stand. If we’re all willing to support our leaders, perhaps things would be less complicated.

No, not every strategy is perfect. But if you think you have something better, then maybe instead of making a ruckus, be a little bit more systematic and try to play the game of politics more pragmatically and elegantly. Since you need to move the gears of society, you need the help of those who have the power to make changes happen.

These are just my two cents. Make what you will of it.