I ’ve said this before and I’ll say it again. The Edsa revolution failed to usher in a new era of principled, just and service-oriented governance because it lacked a people’s party that could have snatched government from the Marcos dynasty and implemented a just and truly democratic system. Instead, government dropped into the hands of another dynasty. So, here we are, no better off 40 years after Edsa.
The lesson to learn: indignation rallies, no matter how massive, will come to naught if no people’s party takes over the government and implements the people’s desired changes. Spontaneous people power can oust undesirable public officials but only a solidly organized people’s party can introduce a system that best provides the greater good to the bigger number of people as in a true democracy.
In successful democracies, government provides a budget for the formation and operation of political parties. This gives all sectors equal opportunity to form political parties and get a fair chance at running the government. But in our failing democracy, people are generally left to their own meager devices. Only the rich can form political parties that take turns controlling the country’s wealth and resources.
Parties, however, must comply with certain requirements for them to be accredited and qualify for funding from government. Principal requirements are: 1 - a well-defined ideology or socio-economic philosophy (capitalist, socialist, communist, etc.) and 2 - style of governance (democrat or big government, republican or small government, federalist or centralized, etc.)
Other requirements include: 3 - a minimum number of card-carrying party members; b) an education program for members so these get steeped in the social philosophy and style of governance of the party; 4 - a code of discipline to prevent arbitrary transfers to other parties and deviation from the party’s guiding principles. Finally, 5 - parties are required to field only candidates that card-carrying members elect at a party convention.
Also in truly democratic countries, the rule of the majority is ensured by run-off elections when no party or no candidate gets the majority of all votes cast. No candidate or no party wins by a mere plurality of votes.
Votes can also be easily counted in public as the party-list system is mainstreamed and people vote for parties and not for individual candidates. Computerization, which is prone to cheating, becomes unnecessary. In case many seats are contested, as in a council or congress, the percentage of votes a party gets determines the percentage of seats it fills with its listed candidates.
These are the main features of successful democracies in the world. No moral exhortation by bishops or massive rally by an indignant crowd can set us free from systemic injustice and poverty. Time to choose our wild and organize, ever so slowly and painstakingly, a people’s party that alone can capture the power to incorporate these features into our democracy.
We have to stop merely deciding whether to be eaten alive by the Tiger Shark or by the Great White Shark or by the other equally blood-thirsty sharks that menace the stormy seas (no pun intended) of Philippine society.