This vast world is not that big for us to notice how far we decay. Along with the commemoration of International Day of Democracy, there should be a remembrance of how Filipinos restored democracy under the tyrannical regime of the late President Ferdinand E. Marcos for two decades and how the present responds to the revolution. Honoring the sacrifices of all those who fought dictatorship is an augmentation of the past reoccurring in the present. As supposed, this day is a day of celebration, but it is concurrent with a problem every Filipino, knowingly or unknowingly, is facing.
The Philippines is currently in a concealed mass democratic recession, recording suppressions of freedom of expression and the vulnerability of Filipinos to unrecognized democracy.
Today, September 15, 2023, marks the 16th International Day of Democracy with the theme: Empowering the Next Generation. According to the United Nations, young people are the current and future custodians of democracy. Not far from Philippine National Hero Dr. Jose Rizal’s immortalized line "Ang kabataan ang pag-asa ng bayan," where the holistic being of our country depends on how the youth will strive to thrive. Clearly, the UN recognizes the pivotal role of the children and youngsters in our society—regardless of what country—that they mobilize for a radical movement against relevant issues emerging from the roots of integration’s downfall, for along with the development of every generation, problems encountered modify after being resolved as they get reincarnated in different forms caused by perpetrators who can shape-shift.
Additionally, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) passed a resolution in 2007 establishing the "International Day of Democracy," which we celebrate on September 15 each year around the world. In 2008, the first commemoration took off, which was then progressively followed by years straight up until now. According to UNESCO, the International Day of Democracy reviews global democracy's state, emphasizing its process and goal, and requiring the full support of the international community, national governing bodies, civil society, and individuals. But unmasking the reality of democracy in our country is a different matter. Not being able to envision the improvement of this country when it comes to the freedom everyone should possess now that insurgency has rebranded as democracy, prompting everything to subdue to fear.
Moreover, in a Fourth Quarter 2022 survey conducted by Social Weather Stations (SWS) pertaining to Filipinos satisfaction with the state of democracy in the Philippines, 89% of adult Filipinos showed satisfaction higher than the 78% satisfaction rating in April 2021, 3% higher than the previous record of 86% satisfaction in September 2016. Amidst a democratic crisis, the Filipino people stand still in conceiving that this nation has to offer conducive provisions, indifferent to suppression as instilled by this current administration.
Meanwhile, another question asked Filipinos if they would agree with the notion that it is dangerous to speak truth to power. Results showed a plurality of opinions, but a record of 19% of those who strongly agreed. Thus, veteran human rights lawyer Chel Diokno said the two surveys speak to how Filipinos perceive democracy. Diokno noted that a lot of people equate democracy with illiberal democracy because they do not really see accountability in our country, where the majority believes it is dangerous to speak truth to power. Democracy should not be given to some, as interpreted by many, but be a ground for everyone to exercise their rights and freedoms and benefit from the democratic setup of the country.
On the other hand, a prevalent phenomenon has again shaken the state of democracy in the Philippines. Cresenciano "Cris" Bundoquin, a radio journalist, was shot dead on May 31, the first in 2023 under the dictator’s son’s administration and among the 25 journalists executed since 2016 based on data from CPJ. In this circumstance, people are still confused about what democracy really is. It is alarming that the current state of democracy in the Philippines is fraught with uncertainty. The trend toward democracy is a threat to every Filipino, knowing that other issues aside from freedom of speech are hidden from us.
The democracy for which people who came before us strove and fought is becoming an apparatus for the integument of these ruling elites’ personal stakes. Obviously, the highest courtesy must be upon the people; the administration owes a lot more to the people than they could ever have, since in the first place, if there were no Filipinos who adhered to the hegemony, surely the system would have drowned and could never survive. This is happening to our state when we expect we can induce good through democracy, but it turns out to be the turning point to a more terrifying resort.
It is extremely disheartening to realize that it is the government that is the boogeyman, the primary villain of why Philippine democracy fails to achieve its fundamental elements that would safeguard the liberty of every sentient being in the society. The Philippine government must take measures to resolve our democratic problems, and must not just make it a habit that on this day every after another year, we celebrate a problematic democracy.
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