THE RIGHT TO SUFFRAGE AS A RESPONSIBILITY IN PAUL RICOEUR

Paul Edgar M. Salazar

Silliman University
Dumaguete City

I. Introduction

Change is what is constant in this world and it is inevitable. It is defined as the transformation

or passing from one place, nature, state, form or phase to another. The ancient philosopher Heraclitus

of Ephesus speaks of change, according to him “Nature is in a state of constant flux. Cold things

grows hot, the hot cools, the wet dries, the parched moistens. Everything is constantly shifting,

changing and becoming something other to what it was before.”1 It covers and affects all aspects of

human existence be it physical, mental, psychological, social, political, etc.

In the Philippines, political issues and scandals on corruption and abuse of power involving

high ranking elected officials of the country has been ravaging the image of the Philippine

government. There has been deterioration in terms of confidence and trust of the people to their

elected officials. The people now demand for transparency and accountability from the government.

They demand for change, for social transformation and all of these can only be achieved through the

exercise of their right to suffrage. The upcoming 2016 national elections will be an answer to that

demand and need for change. It is the time to change the course of our political system, to start a new

beginning for a better country grounded on the very concept of democracy and to secure the future of

the next generation.

Exercising the right to suffrage entails a big responsibility on the part of the people. The call

for responsible voting has always been the constant reminder every election time yet people tolerate

illegal practices such as vote buying and worst people participate in doing such act.

The French philosopher Paul Ricoeur who became famous in the field of phenomenology and

hermeneutics wrote about responsibility which was one the major themes of his works. According to

1
https://philosophyforchange.wordpress.com/2008/04/07/heraclitus-on-change/, 21 September, 2015.
him, to be responsible is to be the subject of an action, to be responsible is to be imputed of one’s

action and that one’s character is to be interpreted by one’s actions.2

The researcher of this paper intends to do the following. First, to present the right to suffrage

as being stipulated under the 1987 Philippine Constitution. Second, to present Paul Ricoeur’s concept

of responsibility. Lastly, to incorporate Ricoeur’s concept of responsibility in the exercise of the right

to suffrage.

II. The Right to Suffrage

Election time is fast approaching with less than a year before its scheduled date politicians

and political parties are now busy for their preparations for their campaigns, advertising their

candidates and as well as their assurances to the people. With all this commotion and tensions in the

political scenario in our country, there is a need to look back to the basic concept of suffrage as being

stated in the Constitution.

Suffrage is the right or exercise of the right to vote in public affairs. It has been viewed as a

right, as a privilege and as a duty. As a right it is an inalienable attribute innate to individual. As a

privilege, it is considered as being conferred by law and is subject to limitations imposed by

governing authorities. As a duty, people are expected to actively participate for the welfare of the

community.3

Under the Constitution, suffrage is a right and an obligation. It is a political right conferred by

the Constitution empowering a citizen to participate in the process of government which makes the
4
state truly democratic and republican. According to Section 1, Article V of the Philippine

Constitution states that,

Suffrage may be exercised by all citizens of the Philippines not

otherwise they disqualified by law, who are at least eighteen
years of age and who shall have resided in the Philippines for at
least one year, and in the place wherein they propose to vote, for
six months immediately preceding the election. No literacy, property

2
http://www.iep.utm.edu/ricoeur/, 21 September, 2015.

3
Grolier Encyclopedia of Knowledge, ( USA: Grolier Incorporated, 2003). Book 18, p. 5.

4
http://www.chanrobles.com/article5suffrage.htm#.VgPcP7FH6Sq, 21 September 2015.
 or other substantive requirement shall impose on the exercise of suffrage.5

Being stated in the constitution suffrage is not mandatory and failure to exercise such right is

not punishable by law, but nonetheless makes a citizen irresponsible. Therefore, suffrage is an

obligation but not mandatory.

Furthermore, suffrage is not only exercised during elections wherein people choose their

representatives who are entrusted to exercise the powers of the government. Citizens also may

exercise suffrage during initiatives, referendums plebiscite and recalls. Initiative is the means by

which people directly propose and enact laws. On the other hand, referendums is the process by which

people ratify or reject a law referred or submitted to the people by the national or local law-making

body. While plebiscite is the process by which the people either ratify or reject an amendment or

revision to the Constitution. And lastly, recall is a mode of removing an incumbent official from

office by a vote of the people upon a petition signed by the required number of qualified voters.6

As being said that suffrage in not mandatory one has the right not to vote and abstain from

choosing leaders who will govern the country. But such act of abstaining makes an individual

irresponsible in the process of actively participating for the welfare of the community. It is where Paul

Ricoeur comes in and his concept of responsibility. For Ricoeur, responsibility is the notion of

holding an agent to account actions that have been performed. But holding an agent to account

presupposes the idea that the harmful action can be imputed to that agent. To be held responsible for a

harm done presupposes that the action was indeed an intentional action of that agent.7 Even the act of

abstention in the exercise of suffrage during elections, a person is still held responsible for failing to

participate and act for the welfare of the community.

5
http://www.gov.ph/constitutions/the-1987-constitution-of-the-republic-of-the-philippines/the-1987-
constitution-of-the-republic-of-the-philippines-article-v/, 21 September, 2015.

6
https://tamayaosbc.wordpress.com/2014/08/02/citizenship-and-suffrage/, 21 September, 2015.

7
http://www.borderlands.net.au/vol3no1_2004/vanhooft_ricoeur.htm, 22 September, 2015
III. Concept of Responsibility

A. Juridical Concept of Responsibility.

In his book The Just, Paul Ricoeur gives a detailed exposition of his concept of responsibility

starting his discussion from the classical juridical concept of responsibility in which responsibility is

defined under civil law as “the obligation to make up or to compensate for the “tort” one has caused

through one’s own fault and in certain cases determined by law and the obligation to accept

punishment as prescribed by the penal law.”8 Being an obligation, a person is held responsible for

his/her actions and must therefore compensate or suffer punishment for the consequences of his/her

acts.

Ricoeur furthered his discussion on the juridical concept of responsibility on the concepts of

imputation and attribution. He searches for the founding term “to respond” in which must be look in

the semantic field of the verb “to impute”. A primitive relation to obligation resides within imputation

and place under the term “retribution”. Ricoeur explained that to “impute” is to put on the account of

someone a condemnable action, a fault, therefore an action initially marked by an obligation or a

prohibition that this action infringes or breaks”.9

With the issues of corruption involving government officials, we may ask why are those

people in office when in fact they don’t deserve to be there based on their actions. The question will

always go back to us because we were the one who elected them in office; it is us who cast our votes

during election time, it is us who put them in office. Therefore, it is not only the corrupt officials who

must be imputed and be held responsible but also us who elected them. In reality, we share burden of

being responsible and accountable of our actions not only the accused corrupt officials.

B. Moral Concept of Responsibility

In this section, Ricoeur now moves from the concept of responsibility in the field of juridical

plane to the field of morals. The movement is what Ricoeur calls as the “displacement represented by

the change in the object of responsibility”. From the juridical plane, one declares the author

8
Paul Ricoeur, The Just, trans. David Pellauer, (USA: Chicago University Press, 2000), 11.

9
Ibid. 13
responsible of his or her action and among them any harm caused. On the moral plane, it is the other

person, the other people held responsible. It is the other of whom I am in charge now for whom I am

responsible.10 This relationship no longer comes down to a judgment bearing the relationship between

the author of an action and its effects in the world. The object now of responsibility in this sense

becomes what Ricoeur refers to as the vulnerable and fragile. The other now or the patient is the

receiver of the action and at the same time vulnerable and fragile. Recognizing that the other is fragile

one becomes responsible for harm because, first of all, one is responsible for others.11

Being aware that the other is fragile and vulnerable, the self becomes aware of the need of

others and the call to respond to that need because at the first place the self also recognizes that he/she

is also fragile and vulnerable therefore an act of mutual recognition. Therefore the self has the

capacity to be responsible for the others aiming a “good life” for them.12

IV. Conclusion

The right of suffrage empowers the people to participate in creating a just society. Being

empowered to do an act entails also being responsible for our actions and for others as what Paul

Ricoeur speaks in his concept of responsibility. The self recognizes that his/her actions may cause

harm to others and that the other is fragile. This recognition then empowers the self to act responsibly

because at the first place the self is capable of being responsible and at the same time fragile.

Applying this concept of responsibility to the exercise of suffrage, one is called to act

responsibly in voting. The 2016 elections calls for responsible voting. When we vote we do not only

think of ourselves but we think also of others who may suffer the consequences of our decisions. It is

our decisions and the decisions of others will be responsible for the outcome may it be bad or good.

With all the issues on corruption people wants change in governance grounded on

accountability and transparency. There may be again forms of fraud such as vote buying this coming

elections but one has the power to resist the offer of money and be used.

10
Ibid. 28

11
Ibid. 29

12
Paul Ricoeur, Oneself as Another, (Chicago: University of Chicago, 1992), 240.
 It will took time and much effort to convince the people to vote responsibly but slowly and

surely people now are starting to be aware of the consequences of acting irresponsibly when they

exercised their right to suffrage.