Suffrage plus democracy equals POVERTY!

[oliver1013]

By Tony Lopez

Two recent speeches struck me. The first was delivered by management guru Washington SyCip before the Management Association of the Philippines last January 23. The second was made by Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno before the Philippine Constitution (Philconsa) on February 8, Constitution Day.

SyCip raised troubling questions. Can a western democracy solve the economic problems of a poor nation with a per capita income of about $1,500? Can the country be unified?

Puno, on the other hand, reminded his Philconsa audience of mostly jurists and lawyers that the Filipinos have enjoyed 100 years of suffrage from the first general elections of 1907 for the first Philippine assembly. He noted that “the elite has ruled our elections, even if on paper the masses are sovereign.”

The Chief Justice added: “The local elites successfully organized their political campaigns around extended family and patron-client networks. They invented the political machines to churn out votes. These well-oiled machines are run by politically skilled leaders of elite families and by ‘new men’ from less wealthy and less known families who have the necessary savvy for the age of mass electoral politics.”

After hearing or reading these two speeches, one cannot but conclude that democracy and suffrage have not been good for the country. Fifty years ago, according to SyCip, “we were the most promising nation in East Asia.” Yet, he concludes, “we have miserably failed compared to our neighbors.” The Philippines failed to reduce poverty, improve education, and provide decent health care and housing for most of the people.

Today, according to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the Philippines, once ahead of its neighbors, is the slowest growing economy in Asia, per capita. The UNDP data also suggests the country is also the slowest growing in the world in terms of per capita income growth.

From 1975 to 2004, a period of 30 years, the Philippines registered per capita income growth of exactly zero! This implies that whatever growth the country was registering was being wiped out by population growth. If you grow say by 2.3 percent per year and the population rises also by 2.3 percent per year, the effect, per capita, is zero.

In contrast, during 1975 to 2004, China posted per capita income growth of 8.4 percent, Vietnam 5.6 percent, Thailand 5 percent, Singapore 4.7 percent, Malaysia 4.1 percent, and Indonesia 4.1 percent. The Philippines? Zero.

SyCip sees a connection between Western-style democracy and poor growth. “We are behind Taiwan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand, all of whom had not blindly followed the western model of development which puts its emphasis on political freedom,” he notes, adding that “Vietnam, certainly not a western democracy, may pass us this year. Indonesia’s per capita income has declined after three weak presidents elected under a democracy praised by the West.”

Chief Justice Puno sees flawed elections as the culprit. Elite families are able to manipulate them. SyCip points to another culprit—high population growth. “A slowdown in the population growth is urgently needed,” he asserts.

The SGV founder asks: “Can the many good deeds of the Catholic Church be offset by their refusal to face the population problem squarely?” He laments that “the influence of the Church on elections prevents the politicians to speak openly on this issue—although privately, they agree on the urgency of the problem.”

The evidence is strong that authoritarian rule promotes growth. During 1974 the second year of Ferdinand Marcos’s smiling martial law, the Philippines achieved 9.8 percent economic growth—the highest in the country’s history.

Yet, the strongman Marcos was pressured by the West to call many elections. The last one, in February 1986, resulted in People Power and in his ouster.

[boybi]

halos kapareho din ng sinabi ni Lee Kuan Yew, the phils. have too much democracy.

[Altis6453]

Good point.

But it raises a couple of other questions:

1. Can an authoritarian regime fare any better than a Western style democracy? The Marcos regime was undoubtedly authoritarian yet thirty years after, we are still paying for its excesses.

2. Can we really rely on the Catholic Church to help usher in better economic conditions for the country? If you will recall, they are very much opposed (since time immemorial) to population control as well as constitutional changes which would ease ownership restrictions over land, foreign equity in mining, media, etc. At the same time, you don't see them doing anything about the homeless and jobless whose numbers increase exponentialy.

3. Are we ready to change our mindset to put the nation's interests first rather than our own? Hmmm...now that's the REAL QUESTION.

[uls]

Know what the masses lack? EDUCATION. i dont mean going thru all those years of school just to get a diploma. i mean being educated about the way of things.

Like being able to understand the world around u... ung hindi ka mang mang... di ka maloloko... di ka magugulangan...

Sadly, the masses are ignorant and gullible. It's easy to figure them out. it's easy to make them do what u want.

the media, advertisers, product/service marketers, politicians know that all too well.

If only the masses are able to discern trickery from truth, discern opportunists from people who sincerely want to serve... mas gaganda ang situation dito sa Pinas. People who dont deserve to get elected wont be elected.

Diba wala maloloko kung wala magpapaloko?

[Zeus]

Napansin ko karamihan ng mga bansa na na colonisa ng Spain ay mahinang umunlad o kaya naiiwan

[XTO]

how much is remitted to vatican annually?

[Altis6453]

Napansin ko karamihan ng mga bansa na na colonisa ng Spain ay mahinang umunlad o kaya naiiwan

Good observation. Other than Spain or Argentina, a significant portion of populations of other countries wherein the catholic church is extremely militant or active in politics is under poverty. Of course, it makes these people largely susceptible to the influence of the clergy as to matters of state policy.

[oliver1013]

We need an Adolf Hitler actually...no I'm serious!

[artpogi]

Know what the masses lack? EDUCATION. i dont mean going thru all those years of school just to get a diploma. i mean being educated about the way of things.

Like being able to understand the world around u... ung hindi ka mang mang... di ka maloloko... di ka magugulangan...

[SIZE="6"]Sadly, the masses are ignorant and gullible[/SIZE]. It's easy to figure them out. it's easy to make them do what u want.

the media, advertisers, product/service marketers, politicians know that all too well.

If only the masses are able to discern trickery from truth, discern opportunists from people who sincerely want to serve... mas gaganda ang situation dito sa Pinas. People who dont deserve to get elected wont be elected.

Diba wala maloloko kung wala magpapaloko?

this is very true!

[oldblue]

kaya dapat seryosohin ang pag-aaral para hinde maloko.

politicians/businessman/p.r. practitioners/media love the present setup of the Philippines. the IGNORANT MASSES = BIG BUSINESS

[oliver1013]

Good point.

But it raises a couple of other questions:

1. Can an authoritarian regime fare any better than a Western style democracy? The Marcos regime was undoubtedly authoritarian yet thirty years after, we are still paying for its excesses.

2. Can we really rely on the Catholic Church to help usher in better economic conditions for the country? If you will recall, they are very much opposed (since time immemorial) to population control as well as constitutional changes which would ease ownership restrictions over land, foreign equity in mining, media, etc. At the same time, you don't see them doing anything about the homeless and jobless whose numbers increase exponentialy.

3. Are we ready to change our mindset to put the nation's interests first rather than our own? Hmmm...now that's the REAL QUESTION.

Another question!! So pano na nga??

[uls]

the Catholic church is only good for weddings.

the Catholic church cant help the economy or the people.

[Altis6453]

I guess a good starting point (not the solution, mind you), would be to:

1. Dismantle all political dynasties by prohibiting relatives of incumbent and immediate past politicians from being appointed or elected for a period of four (4) years.

2. Imposition of summary dismissals from service for those public officials who fail to account for or answer inquiries as to the use of public funds, regardless of the nature.

3. Include population control education for secondary education levels in private and public schools. Also, give incentives for those who have smaller families.

4. Make all biddings and deliberations for government contracts public (including military procurement).

5. Put fixed, non-extendible terms for the AFP and PNP Chief. Prohibit fraternization by politicians with enlisted officers and men.

6. Finally, get rid of ALL public utility buses and jeeps 10 years and older. Make expansion of mass transport systems (like trains) a priority.

7. Find trading partners other than the US. China and Eastern European Countries would be a good bet.

8. Simplify the taxation scheme for businesses and individuals alike. For employed individuals, I'd do away with the withholding tax on income and just impose a higher consumption tax (vat or sales tax). For businesses, I'd impose a larger withholding tax so that they'll have lesser opportunity to cheat.

9. Summary forfeiture of property and funds of those found guilty of graft and corruption (bloody crocodiles can always appeal but the government should already have possession of their property). Not to mention, I'd clap them all in jail without bail pending the outcome of hearings on their case.

10. I know this would be controversial, but, I'd tax the members of the clergy everytime they organize and conduct public protests. I don't mind ordinary citizens who exercise their right to free speech, but at least these people pay their taxes in one form or the other.

[badkuk]

we want all the freedom that a democracy provides, but we don't any of the responsibility that comes with it. we're not really using our freedom wisely.

[CVT]

we want all the freedom that a democracy provides, but we don't any of the responsibility that comes with it. we're not really using our freedom wisely.

Agree here. Freedom without responsibility is chaos. This is where we're in now....

2001:weathermanf2:

[oliver1013]

Yep I agree with this

[uls]

the reason why there is so much resistance to change is coz the people in power prevent it.

Political dynasties - who is going to make laws (then enforce laws) against political dynasties? lawmakers and practically everyone who holds a govt position is grooming their wife/kids for future elections.

PUJ phaseout - that would be sooooooo unpopular. it would make the politician pushing that soooooo anti-masa. And we all know being pro-masa wins votes.

agrarian reform - big land owners are usually allies of politicians. Or even the politicians themselves. They will not give up their land. period.

public bidding - public bidding actually takes place (but not always). but even if u win in a public bid and delivered the goods/services, u still have to make some govt people richer before u can get ur payment.

population control - Sadly, the catholic church still has strong influence on voters. Not many politicians dare defy the church.

[GasJunkie]

Aren't we part of the masses???





*shrugs*

[redorange]

Not all cultures have the ability to function under a democracy, and the west mainly the US needs to understand this fact. This is the main reason why the US is now stuck in Iraq attemting to convert it into a democracy. The Philippines was the Iraq of the US in the early 1900's(Philippine-American war) after it was liberated from Spain. Now more than 100 years later it still hasn't learned how to function as a true democracy.

Is it the fault of the Spanish, the government, the church, the elite, the masses? Everyone is at fault. The masses because the government is a reflection of the people it governs, the corruption of the rank and file government employees is a direct reflection of the masses. The church because a true democracy has separation of church and state which the church has not allowed since it landed in the Philippines. The Philippines is an example of why it took the US until 1960 to elect a Catholic President, there was fear that the church would influence government decisions. The church was not created to govern and it should stop being the largest lobbyist in the government. The Spanish because they introduced the "padrino" system to the culture which in turn the elite has used to manipulate the government and the masses. The Philippines now isn't a true democracy but a modified or hybrid form of a democracy and oligarchy. People vote but the power is only in the hands of a elite few. The one other factor that gets blame also is the US. They attempted to create another country in its image without considering the ability of that culture to function as a democracy. The US needs to stop influencing how other countries govern themselves, it needs to realize that it is unique in that it is able to function as a democracy even with the race, culture, etc. differences of it's people. Now that the blame has been passed how do you solve the problem?

Change the type of government as some have proposed? It could work but you'd still have the same people run for office. How about the suggestion of Altis6453? It's a start and I would add auditing all government department managers up to the President and if they aren't able to account for their wealth they get the death penalty. When that's done move down to the rank and file employees. Also add anyone caught bribing a government employee gets the death penalty regardless of the amount. Hopefully that should put a dent in the graft and corruption.

Just my .02

[ogpro]

Bottom line, Absolute power corrupts absolutely.

In this supposed democracy that we have, the absolute power was given, and remains, in the hands of the sitting politicians who can manipulate the democracy in their favor. They are addicted to the power and will not relinquish without a fight. GMA is a prime example.

What are your choices? Without a personal commitment from EACH citizen, nothing will happen. NOTHING. Everybody else who are not in power are too busy trying to feed their families to care about changing the status quo.

What now?