As the saying goes, the price of freedom and true democracy is eternal vigilance. That is why Filipinos strive to accomplish self- governed future through sacrifice and concrete deeds of defense and creative initiatives. This means that above all, we are willing to step forward to share the burden of establishing a true democratic society. In essence, this was shown through PEOPLE POWER- a popular movement that sprang up to eliminate corrupt Philippine dictators and first of which is President Ferdinand Marcos who pulled the strings of power like a master puppeteer. He consolidated power by manipulating public opinion, stealing elections, perfecting the arts of political patronage and bribery. Not until It was Martial Law where Filipinos suffered from so much fear.
Our great Philippine hero, Jose Rizal, once said. “There are no tyrants if there are no slaves.” And I truly believe in here because a rotten political system would not exist unless citizens will not allow it to fester and decay all these years either thru neglect or thru indifference, but, this was our greatest mistake- us, being enveloped by our negativity and consumed by the pessimistic world. An immense materialization for this is our people’s indecisiveness. We all know that many Filipinos are starting to seek comfort in the “Bahala na!” or “what will be, will be” attitude. And this only shows that we are being easily controlled by our mentors. Yet, it ‘s not even right to blame our rulers for the reason of what’s happening to our realm because in the first place, it has been our very faults why we get in so much problematic state of affairs. A manifestation for this concedes us to debate the fate of the impeachment complaint filed against Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (GMA), who many think cheated in the 2004 elections for the President of the Philippines.
Sensing the dilemma, a lot are already proposing a broader interpretation of the Constitution saying that the final source of sovereignty shall reside in the Filipino people. As this carry on, then, the people have this right to abolish a government that no longer serves its constitutional mandate of providing “peace and order”, “protection of life”, “liberty”, “prosperity” and the “promotion of the general welfare”.
Therefore, thru People Power, backed peacefully by the idealistic military officers, the Filipino people can set up a transitional revolutionary government to replace the rotten, oppressive and deceitful structures of the pseudo-democracy that has been impose on the nation.
All I know for sure is that our populace is amidst so much anomaly and crises. Yet the vast majority of Filipinos still have to make up their minds about the future of the Philippines. As indifference and apathy slowly creeps in to replace indecision, one question looms large into my mind and that is whether we Filipinos really deserve democracy.
It shall and will someday reveal whether we, Filipinos, deserve democracy or whether prefer to be the slaves of their (referring to those who are in power) fears and apathy, thereby allowing tyrants to emerge and suck the lifeblood of this country for their own gains.
No matter what happens, we will deserve it. For we will reap what we sow, when we sow apathy, we will reap a totalitarian government. When we sow vigilance and noble actions, we will deserve our democracy!
Therefore, what the story of the Philippine revolution demonstrates here is the power we can have when we withdraw consent. The same dynamics applied, no matter what the issues are.
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