Oligarchic Democracy by Sir Odchi

Paradoxically, since the ouster of the
Spanish colonial regime, Philippine
democracy has been merely a legitimizing
mechanism for oligarchic rule.

For purposes of analytic clarity,
democracy literally means “rule by the
people”, or rule with the consent of the
governed. Oligarchy literally means
“rule by the few”. Oligarchy can be in
the form of aristocracy, which is “rule
of the best and the brightest”, or
plutocracy, which is “rule by the rich”.

In Philippine context, consent through
elections means that a consensus has
been reached as regards which among
competing elites shall be conferred the
legitimate power to plunder the nation
within a limited number of years.

This conundrum can be traced back to the
Spanish colonial regime where the
purpose of governance was clearly to
systematically plunder the Philippine
colony in order to secure economic
development for the Crown. Spanish
mercantilism was designed to maximize
the Crown’s extraction from its colonies
at considerable cost to economic
development of the empire.

Independence did not free the
Philippines from the colonial culture of
plunder in governance. It only spurred
the competition among elites for power
vacated by the Spanish colonial regime.
Perhaps this was the rationale why Jose
Rizal did not advocate for independence.
Instead, consistent with the liberal
ideals, he fought for human rights
through democratic reforms by demanding
representation and accountability.

Our democracy is an elected oligarchy.
Our formal democratic institutions do
not guarantee democracy. Our congresses
have been perpetual repetitions of the
tragedy of Tejeros convention of 1897
where elites maneuver each other out of
power, which cost the lives of Andres
Bonifacio, Antonio Luna and the noble
ends of the Katipunan. Even our “people
power", as a mechanism of
accountability, is now suspect. After it
has not delivered on its promises, it is
reduced into an apparatus of disgruntled
elites to claim lost power.

In the wake of the scandals that haunt
the Arroyo administration, as a people,
we are forced to reexamine our beliefs
regarding the legitimate ends of
democratic governance.

Democracy is essentially an affirmation
of the sovereignty of the people as a
collective of dignified human beings
with rights. That is, the people are not
things or mere means to an end. Ideally,
a democratic government is an agency
established to guarantee that the people
have all the freedoms possible and the
capacities to live the life that they
have reasons to value. By
representation, democracy demands that
the people have the power to decide
which among competing policies best
serve their interests and to hold
accountable those who misrepresent them.

Until this colonial culture of plunder
in governance is effectively dismantled,
willful corruption through our
democratic decision-making procedures
cannot be averted. Elites will continue
to violate human rights by creating
opportunities to convert public goods
into private gain.

Unless we reorient our culture of
governance by grounding it on the
democratic imperative to respect,
protect and provide for human rights, we
shamefully dignify the doubts that
bothered Jose Rizal more than a century ago.

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Diego A. Odchimar III is a graduate
student of the National College
of Public Administration and Governance
in UP Diliman.

He teaches Rizal Course and Philippine
Government and the Constitution in UST
Manila.