PHILIPPINES: Economic gains do not justify strength of democracy

A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission

PHILIPPINES: Economic gains do not justify strength of democracy

Not only is democracy being subverted in the Philippines, but its meaning is also misunderstood. While the country may have made economic gains in recent times, to declare them as proof of a “strong democracy” belies democracy’s true meaning, for the strength of democracy is measured, not by economic gains, but by the strength of the country’s rule of law and its justice system. To omit the worsening attacks against the Filipino people that they are experiencing daily in defence of their basic rights--whether they are prominent figures, influential parties or just ordinary citizens--misconstrues the meaning of genuine democracy.

It is difficult for an ordinary Filipino to believe that a democratic system is, indeed, functioning in the Philippines. There cannot be genuine democracy when almost daily activists are targeted for extrajudicial executions, people are forcibly disappeared and tortured without legal redress and leftists or rightists are often subjected to attacks. The violence directed at prominent and influential personalities in recent times is a symptom of a rotten and decaying system of justice. For instance, illegal arrest and detention, the filing of fabricated charges, torture and disappearances, among other human rights problems, are a fact of life in the Philippines. The inability of the country’s political and judicial systems to adequately respond to this violence subverts democracy.

When perpetrators--in particular the police and military--are not punished and victims of human rights violations and their families are denied the possibility of redress and justice, distrust and scepticism among them intensifies. Deepening distrust of the justice system should be considered a challenge to restoring democracy and the rule of law in the Philippines. Instead, the victims and their family members are often isolated by unjustly denying them the possibility of redress and frequently accusing them of being accomplices of, as well as influenced by, the “enemies of the state” and “destabilisers.” Consequently, the Philippines is a country where democracy has not fully developed. Why it is failing is where the discussion should begin. Read full statement AHRC

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