Mindanao State University – Iligan Institute of Technology

College of Arts and Social Sciences

Department of Political Science
Andres Bonifacio Ave., Tibanga, Iligan City, 9200 Philippines
Academic Year 2020 - 2021

What Right Do We Have Left?

An analytical essay

Melit Jane R. Yu

Department of Political Science

POS142: Modern Political Theories

Ma’am Yasmira Moner

October 16, 2020

 What Right Do We Have Left?
Two hundred sixty-two peasants were killed since 2016, 190 of them were farmer-

leaders killed just this year (Inquirer, 2020) most of which were affiliated with government

opposition. Human rights groups count at least 30,000 killed in anti-drug operations (Rappler,

2020) with numbers still growing even during the coronavirus lockdown (ABS-CBN News,

2020). There are 336,926 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 6,238 deaths in the Philippines

(World Health Organization, 2020) but there was no mention of pandemic response roadmap

in Duterte’s SONA on July 27 (Rappler, 2020). Corruption scandals are perennial to the

country but it worsens today with the PhilHealth P15-Billion Fraud, right when the Filipinos

are most desperate for health insurance and assistance amidst this deadly pandemic.

This analytical essay begins with facts and data to support my discussion on the liberal

conception of a just society, and the end goal of a liberal democratic system – all while

reflecting my answers to the Philippine status quo. All of which is conducive to create the

foundation for my claim and thesis statement that the Philippines is not a just society as far as

the liberal conception of the word is concerned, and has not met the end goals of a liberal

democratic system; instead it is fading farther away from it.

The main concern of the liberal political theory is the individual and his rights (Klosko,

2013, p.107). Thomas Hobbes, like other liberal thinkers had an instrumental view of the

politics or the state which claims that the state is needed to achieve the human persons’ ends,

and because of this, the state should have no interest of its own. Hence, the just society then

has a government that protects the rights of all individuals so that they are able to enjoy as

much freedom as possible, which is why the individuals consented to erect it in the first place.

All of these agreements are in the shape of what we know as the constitution, and also other

laws and statutes – all of which are designed for the shared prosperity of all. Furthermore, note

that the lead paragraph of this essay begins with the issue of the right to life in the Philippines
– particularly its violation: the silencing of farmers who only want better treatment;

Extrajudicial Killings of the War on Drugs; the lack of response to the pandemic leading to the

death of many Filipinos; and corruption which leaves the poorest of the poor to fend for

themselves. All of which, and especially the latter is very unlikely and unbecoming of what a

liberal democratic society ought to be.

The end goal of liberal democracy is to limit government authority through mechanisms

such as separation of powers to serve as checks and balances. As a representative democracy,

government officials are expected to represent the people’s needs, and not their own interests.

Unfortunately, in our country, there is extensive bribery within the public administration,

manipulation by public officials, (Gan Integrity, 2020), lack procedural fairness and

transparency due to nepotism, favoritism, and impunity. Hence, there is little to no checks and

balances, nor representation of the people’s needs and interests.

According to John Locke in his Second Treatise of Government published in 1689,

“Legitimate punishment must be in proportion to the offense: Each transgression may be

punished to the degree and with so much Severity as will suffice to make it an ill bargain to the

Offender, give him cause to repent, and terrify others from doing the like”. On the contrary,

there is little to no punishment when it comes to powerful people in the Philippines. Corruption

scandals by those on power – or those who have connections with them – are left unaccounted

for. These people never repent and even have the audacity to run again for candidacy only to

disappear when needed by the people. While one crime remains unsolved, new controversies

are manufactured to distract us away from more pressing issues. Furthermore, the justice

system is so problematic that the idea of “legitimate punishment” is surreal. People never really

get what is due to them. “Ang batas ay batas.” is an illusion when the rich gets away with their

crimes, and the poor faces jail time for mistrial or delayed justice; some even face death extra

judicially.
 John Locke also asserts that the people has the right to revolt when the government is

not doing its end of the bargain or is not being a neutral arbiter, particularly when it tampers

with the legislature or abuses its power (Klosko, 2013, p.157). In the Philippines, we cannot

even at the very least, demand for just treatment from those in power. We cannot exercise our

right to peaceful protests. Instead, the authority violates our right against unlawful arrests. As

a matter of fact, they like keeping the people uneducated so as to hinder them from knowing

enough to dissent. They don’t want to alleviate our poverty so their electoral fraud would work.

Freedom is an illusion here when people don’t really have a choice because they cannot even

provide subsistence for their families. Our right to revolt is an illusion when asking for the bare

minimum of being treated humanely feels like asking for too much. Democracy is an illusion

when we cannot participate in the decision-making process.

As much as liberalism’s social contract theory is concerned, we, the people agreed and

consented to erect a government for it to protect our rights, but why do we feel robbed from it

instead? Is this the end goal of a liberal democratic system – one that screams “Right to life,

liberty, property”? If it is, then the Philippines is fading farther away from such social and

political system. It cannot even grant us the first right, what more the others? What right do we

have left? If the liberal definition of a just society is one that listens and protects the individual

and her rights, then the Philippines is far from being a just nation.
References:
ABS-CBN News. (2020, September 18). Drug war deaths doubled during lockdown? Killings

only up by 5 pct, says PNP. https://news.abs-cbn.com/video/news/09/18/20/drug-war-

deaths-doubled-during-lockdown-killings-only-up-by-5-pct-says-pnp

Gan Integrity (2020, May). The Philippines corruption report. https://www.ganintegrity.com

/portal/country-profiles/the-philippines/

Klosko, G. (2013). John Locke. History of political theory: An introduction: Volume II:

Modern (Vol. 2), 107, 157. Oxford University Press.

Laslett, P. (Ed.). (1988). Locke: two treatises of government student edition. Cambridge

University Press.

Magsambol, B. (2020, July 28). No mention of COVID-19 response roadmap in Duterte's

SONA. Rappler. https://www.rappler.com/nation/no-mention-covid-19-response-

roadmap-duterte-sona-2020

Ocampo, K. (2020, July 1). 190 farmer-leaders killed in last 5 months. Philippine Daily

Inquirer. https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1299885/190-farmer-leaders-killed-in-last-5-

months

World Health Organization. Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) situation dashboard.

https://covid19.who.int/region/wpro/country/ph