Check and Balance of Power

Power is addictive. As is true of every addiction, one is never satisfied. One craves for more and more of it. This is also true of power. Hence it needs to be controlled. Furthermore, every addiction brings corruption.Thus power corrupts, and unrestrained power brings unrestrained corruption!

We have experienced this first hand some 46 years ago with the declaration of Martial Law. During its reign from 1972 to 1986, thousands have been killed, many more thousands have been tortured, and the country has been looted. Even the aftermath of martial law crippled us as a people--with huge debts to pay, with great injustices done by entrenched feudalism which it promoted, and with our economy and natural environment in ruins.So we repeated, and continuously repeat: Never Again!

Even if power is addictive and corruptive, we cannot have governance without power. Hence systems have to be in place to control power. Democratic governments remain healthy when the proper checks and balances to power function. The legislative makes laws, the executive meticulously implements the laws, and the judiciary sees to it that the laws are just according to the Constitution of the land and the interpretation and implementation of the laws are done properly.

The people too exercise its role in the check and balance of power by following up the performances of those in public office and make them accountable especially during elections. The mass media truthfully informs the public of what is being done by government and also serves as the voice of the people to call the attention of officials when abuses creep in.

The Human Rights Commission has been set up to safeguard the rights of the citizens, especially of the poor and the marginalized, from abuses of those who hold power. The Commission on Audit sees that the financial transactions of the government are above board. Those in the opposition have also an important role to play in the check and balance system. They carefully watch the steps of the ruling power so that they may not overstep their functions.

These checks and balances are necessary for the proper functioning of a democratic system, but they are cumbersome to those with dictatorial tendencies. They cannot do what they want. They have to be constantly vigilant, for even if they are in power there are always others who are watching them and who have the power to call them into account.

Thus those with dictatorial intentions try to bring down the checks and balances of a properly functioning democratic government. They muzzle the press by buying them out or by frightening them. Not only do they threaten the media but even kill media practitioners. They silence the opposition by buying them out with political favors or by accusing them with trumped up cases. They put them to jail,  send them out of the country, or just have them killed.

The people are deceived by propaganda and fake news. Those in authority who do not go with them are vilified by name calling and false accusations to destroy their credibility. Those who are in government positions who do not tow the line are thrown out of office by all means. Laws, and even tendentious interpretations of the laws, are being used to bring down or take away from office who dare to oppose. Don’t we see these happening in our days? Yes -in other countries, even in so-called bastions of democracy, and even in our very own country.

Do we just sit by and let these things happen? No! We need to change the narrative that is being presented to the people. Opposition in a democracy is not destabilization. Strong opposition is need to avert the abuse of power. Healthy democracy needs checks and balances.

A good democratic leader is not one who can do what he wants. He is a good and strong democratic leader when is able to lead the people together, including the opposition, to what is proper for the common good of the citizens, which is not easy to know and to do. This needs a lot of tack, listening and patient collaborative work. A person who is impulsive cannot do this. A dictatorial, physically and emotionally weak person cannot do this. Dictatorship is a sign of weakness, and not strength, so one which such tendency cannot stand checks and balances in his governance.