Philippine Democracy Online

By Christopher Ryan Maboloc & Gerry Arambala Development, according to Amartya Sen, “can be seen as the process of expanding the real freedoms that people enjoy.” As a matter of principle, it has been argued that democracy is firmly rooted in the way it empowers ordinary citizens to achieve the kind of life that is worthy of their dignity as persons. Sen believes that the just and equitable approach to human progress must be anchored on the capabilities of people. The fundamental freedoms of individuals are intrinsically and instrumentally important for them to be able to choose those things that they have a reason to value.

By Christopher Ryan Maboloc         In his book, Philippine Institutions , the Jesuit John Carroll writes that Filipinos aspire for a higher standard of living, but such has become a story of unmet expectations. Despite the rapid economic expansion over the years, of the 50 million members of the labor force in the country in 2015, around 6.5 million are either unemployed or underemployed, according to the National Economic Development Authority. Today, this country has become too polarized, but what is more injurious to our solidarity as a people is that millions of poor Filipinos are still awaiting salvation from the dark pits of poverty.

by Christopher Ryan Maboloc The West Philippine Sea enunciates the very difficult situation of the Philippines in the midst of China’s economic and military might in our multipolar world. But our option must be moral, not just political. The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague may have truly dealt a death blow to China’s expansionist claims in the disputed territory, but what is apparent still in the aggressive stance of China is its onerous plan to control the seas and the airspace above it. Chinese political posturing in those waters, as manifested by its calculated readiness to throw its weight on a hapless neighbor, means that China wants to send out the message that it wants to be known as a dominant player in the new global order.

By Christopher Ryan Maboloc       According to Herbert Marcuse, one of the accomplishments of modern society “is the non-terroristic, democratic decline of freedom – the efficient, smooth, reasonable un-freedom which seems to have its roots in technical progress itself.” By implication, Jeffry Ocay writes that it is worthwhile to examine closely how modern politics and its technology as an apparatus of power, to use the words of Mario Bunge, has been employed to “to control, transform or create things or processes, natural or social,” in order to achieve “some practical end deemed to be valuable.”

by Christopher Ryan Maboloc         Hungry and dying, without water or medical provisions, and pushed from territorial waters, the fate of thousands of Rohingyas fleeing Burma who are stranded in decrepit wooden boats, once again emphasizes that the claim that sovereignty above all else define for any country the meaning of justice. This discussion all brings us back to Hegel and Hobbes and what the meaning of an “imagined community” as coined by Benedict Anderson is all about. For Anderson, a nation is a politically constructed concept. It points to a perceived commonality and belief that people share in terms of their identities which determine for them the very terms of their association – social, political and economic. Self-realization, in this respect, depends on a set of values that citizens in an associative relation share with each other. National solidarity, which dictates how people frame national and foreign policies, is grounded on those things...

By Christopher Ryan Maboloc Ateneo de Davao University The headline reads, “Over 300 dead in bloodiest day of Syria conflict”. The message is clear, without any form of intervention, there will be more killings and thousands more in Syria. The United Nations has remained ineffectual in securing the safety of civilian lives. The empire of America is busy with its domestic elections, and more than anything else, the issue that the US electorate is more concerned with is “jobs, jobs, jobs”. In theory, any sitting US President can choose to begin, or end any war. But the body count will continue, for the United Nations is effectively debilitated with the reluctance of Russia and China to cooperate. Syria simply is a hopeless case. Add to this problem a man named Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his constant vitriolic attacks on the Jewish world and Israel’s threat of a pre-emptive strike on Iran, then you certainly have a recipe for a new world order – the end of the world.

By Christopher Ryan Maboloc Ateneo de Davao University                                Why is the political party system in the Philippines weak? Why is it that the most Filipinos do not find these political parties instrumental to their well-being? What is the relation between political reform and human development? Why have we not created, for decades now, a mature democracy?

By Christopher Ryan Maboloc Ateneo de Davao University                                   Philippine society is ruled by political clans. While political parties present their principles in public, there is no clear direction as to how these principles are fundamentally practiced. The ultimate point there being is power. Power is above all. But this power is not meant for the common good. The reason is that many politicians hold public office based on purely material and utilitarian grounds.

by Christopher Ryan Maboloc Ateneo de Davao University                                   World poverty, politics, and democracy are matters we discuss during dinner in our corridor. This text will be about democracy. But whether there is still hope in our land is another issue. Here, we are just reflecting on what can be done. Before anything else, let me provide some data and a little analysis. The inputs from my colleagues are religiously incorporated in the text.

by Christopher Ryan Maboloc Ateneo de Davao University                                      Living in a poor country where hunger is the face of many people’s state of affairs, I have seen the terrible reality of human life which truly makes one doubt whether poverty can vanish from the earth. Inequality is a hard fact of life. About 25 years ago, fish was abundant in my beloved barrio, so they put a fishing port in the 90s. More than a decade has since gone by, and all the fishes have disappeared. They said the port will make the lives of people better, but after all, Fr. Pete Lamata of Davao City's Social Action Center was right in opposing the fish port. I have not understood him then. Right now I do. A hell lot of people in my barrio are still poor.

By Christopher Ryan Maboloc Ateneo de Davao University                                         From a descriptive point of view, the call for social democracy is right. There is corruption in government, bad leaders and the same genes are in power. From a prescriptive point of view, I think the solution lies somewhere else. Not in politics. Not even in changing the system of government. Democracy is only instrumental to people's freedom; it is not freedom in itself. Democracy, at best, in the way it is practiced in the Philippines, in our dear country, secures only, through mass protests, the negative rights of people, i.e. freedom from an oppressive government, freedom from corruption, freedom from violence, etc. But, at the end of the day, when JDV wakes up in the morning, when GMA reads "There's the Rub" in the Inquirer, still, they'll be sitting in their verandas, their coffee serv...

By Christopher Ryan Maboloc Ateneo de Davao University                                         Like many Filipinos, I also dream of a better country. Like many young Filipinos, I also wonder what the future is like for my generation. But there's this one question I have been grappling with - why is my country poor?

By Christopher Ryan Maboloc Ateneo de Davao University                                           The continuing saga of the ZTE controversy reveals something not so extra-ordinary in Philippine political culture and that is, that the lives of poor Filipinos are controlled by “a few good men.” Sad to say, but this sin against democracy is embedded in our culture, beginning in the early 19th century, with many of its victims now enshrined as national heroes, i.e. Andres Bonifacio, the GOMBURZA, Ninoy Aquino, etc. Democracy is supposed to be about “the governed governing themselves”. Alas, right now it simply is about being governed by the chosen few. There’s a boss, and he has his men. This reminds me of “The Godfather”. Michael, Vito Corleone’s son, after ascending to the throne, is keen about eliminating one savvy enemy in the business. The “family” lawyer, playing it safe, says t...