De-stressing the distressing stress

We have just had elections. It was certainly far from perfect and had its pluses and minuses. My brief is not with its flaws because there are as it is true in some of the more sophisticated democracies. The flaws have been with us for some time but I cannot reckon with the acceptance of uncouth foreign observers. Like Secretary Bunye, I was miffed not so much that they should have been here. Fine, if they had quietly come to observe the elections but it is another thing when they take liberties with our hospitality and broadcast their opinions as if these were the only truth. One said she felt safer in Afghanistan and another talked before television cameras attacking our government for denying the ‘small’ people their right to vote. Calling themselves members of Anfrel — get the drift?!? — close enough to Namfrel, they then proceeded to abuse our hospitality. They threw back at our faces our government’s graciousness in allowing them to come and watch.

The government should have known better what to expect from these observers. It was clear what they were up to even before they landed on our shores. They were not here to observe but to meddle and take sides. They obviously came for the opposition and eager to demonstrate that they have the muscle to hurt our country. But it was better to use their Asian surrogates so their acts are not misinterpreted. As for the Thai lady who said she felt safer in Afghanistan, I think someone should nudge her and tell her we need not go that far —  let’s begin with her own country where they are now under military rule.

There were others who felt as indignant as this column about these foreign observers but they do not have the means nor the forum to articulate their anger. Their side must be heard as well and not just other Filipinos who embraced the foreign observers as saviors of democracy in the Philippines. What kind of democracy were they supposed to defend? From all indications, their efforts were directed towards making sure that the opposition should win. I believe it is still part of the unfinished battle against President GMA and her government. The objective is to teach her a lesson before she finds the formula for true freedom and independence for the Philippines. It is this that is being stopped from happening. The Philippines must never ever to control its destiny. It is established convention to allow our leaders only a limited latitude in pursuing the country’s goals.

Well, they have come and gone (I hope!). But we are still here and despite the setbacks last Monday we must continue our efforts towards fine-tuning our democratic institutions, of which, election is only one of them. No one can or ought to teach us that there is a huge difference between elections and democracy. It would help if we retrace the acrimonious debate that rejected Charter change and how that led to this election.

An election is an event, a one-time act but democracy means continuous participation by the citizens in public affairs. It was through Charter change that we hoped this could be facilitated. Neither the cause of democracy nor the well-being of our country was served in this election.

Saddest of all, those who knew better or were in a position to know better just went along with the tide to take advantage of the ignorance of our masses. These do-gooders were bent to hold the election without restructuring our political system claiming this was the best way to show we were democratic. They forget there have been regular elections in the most undemocratic countries of the world, like the communist German Democratic Republic while Confucian China practiced almost equal access to public offices for 2500 years without ever holding any election.

It would have been different if we had restructured our political system first. Then we might have served the cause of democracy better. It certainly requires much more than elections. Although the ideal is to have informed and concerned citizens, we can begin a political reformation by accepting that the present system is not helping us achieve that. Future elections must be organized with the limitations of our electorate in mind and that is possible if we restructure our political society into small units. That will allow a direct relationship between the voter and the voted. Only then can we have more meaningful and democratic elections.

At the moment we do not have a real choice at elections. No matter whom we elect, it is not the interest of the country but special interests that are served. If we continue with this approach of equating elections with democracy the country will be increasingly divided and we shall never be able to define a common national interest.

As the recent elections showed voting doesn’t seriously challenge prevailing power systems. An elected official in our present system is not tied to any program or policies, therefore the electorate remains at the mercy of what they will do when in office. Politicians, even the best of them, make promises only to break them. This is true for politicians of every hue whether from the right or from the left.

I will repeat a bone of contention during the Charter change debates that it is not about the failures of persons. Politicians are human beings like all of us even by those who claim they are holier. When put into positions of power, politicians are equally susceptible to the worst tendencies of humanity. That was an underpinning tenet of Charter change: it is not the individuals who should be blamed, but the system in which they operate. We should look forward to elections limited to smaller constituencies where accountability can be maintained through regular contact between the voter and the voted.

Letter: Just before anyone thinks that all foreigners are meddlers here is a letter from a Patrick Moser from Subic who wrote: You asked why foreign observers see fit to stick their noses into Monday’s Philippine elections and write reports about what they see. I’ve asked myself the same question. As you know there are many groups who think it’s their solemn duty to rescue the “little people.” America, in particular, is full of such do-gooders.

There is something the Philippines can do. It can appoint itself as observers of elections in those countries. Comelec in particular would benefit by learning how they did it in Florida. There’s a whole bunch of Floridians who feel so disenfranchised and marginalized. The Philippines doesn’t need to take a back seat to anyone where it comes to questionable elections. It is well known that America prides itself on “the best politicians money can buy.”

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My e-mail is [email protected]