By MANUEL F. ALMARIO
To Filipinos who still believe that the Philippines is a “show window” of democracy in Asia, it may come as a shock to know that the world doesn’t seem to think so anymore. This is reflected in the article of Larry Diamond, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and the Freeman Spogli Institute at Stanford University, USA, in influential Newsweek’s Special Edition 2009 (December 2008 to February 2009).
“In Nigeria, the Philippines and once again in Pakistan, democracy is floundering amid massive corruption, weak government and loss of public faith,” wrote Larry Diamond, author of many books on international affairs. “Since the start of the democratic wave [in the 1990s], 24 states have reverted to authoritarian rule … and (if one takes seriously the definition of democracy) Nigeria and the Philippines as well.” On the other hand, “Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim country, has become a robust democracy nearly a decade after its turbulent transition from authoritarian rule.”
Diamond’s article, titled “How to Fix the World, A Guide for the Next President [Obama]”, confirmed what Steven Rogers wrote in “Open Democracy”, a publication of the School of Science, City University of London, on August 15, 2005, more than four years ago. Rogers observed that President Arroyo, was “fighting for survival” due to serious charges of election fraud and corruption. “The crisis threatens to undo one of the developing world’s longest-running experiments in democracy, and bears examination by proponents of democratic transition everywhere,” said Rogers.
In short, the Arroyo administration has shattered the Philippine image as a “show window”, a paradigm and “model of democracy” for emerging countries. This is due to the administration’s perceived corruption, rampant violation of human rights and bad governance that have spread poverty to more than 40 percent of Filipinos (according to the CIA), the highest in Asia, next only to Bangladesh. Consequently, President Obama, who has told authoritarian and corrupt leaders that they are in “the wrong side of history” in his inaugural speech, is not expected to look kindly at the Arroyo administration.
The image of the Philippines as a “show window” of freedom and democracy for developing countries after the 1986 overthrow of the Marcos dictatorship has been smashed in just eight years by the Arroyo administration. It took Marcos 20 years to do it. Quite an “achievement.”
Spokesman, Movement for Truth
In History (MOTH)
mfalmario@yahoo.com
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