Too much freedom, too little discipline

The most challenging burden in leading this nation is that people demand too much freedom, but evade responsibility, hard work, and discipline. I recall the stinging rebuke of the late Singapore prime minister Lee Kuan Yew when he talked to President Marcos in the 1970s: “Your people do not need more democracy, they need more discipline.” I agree. People demand too much from the government but the loudest demands emanate from those not helping build the nation at all.

Filipinos were taught the Bill of Rights by Americans. We were never taught any Bill of Duties and Obligations. We were even programmed to think like Patrick Henry: “Give me liberty or give me death”. In the Constitution, we’re granted rights to life, liberty and property, but not told to work hard enough to earn our life, protect our liberty, and deserve our property. We demand equal protection but don’t want to share equal burden to protect others, including our territories, national patrimony, and environment. We demand privacy of communication but unduly expose ourselves through irresponsible posting in social media. We are too zealous of our freedom of speech, of the press, and of expression, forgetting that such freedoms aren’t a license to destroy the reputation of others.

Filipinos have freedom of religion and enjoy the separation of church and state, but these don’t empower church leaders to use the pulpit to incite sedition, libel public officials, or allow government authorities to raid religious institutions on the mere suspicion of harboring communists. Yes, there’s a liberty of abode and the right to change residence, but a sense of responsibility shouldn’t tell us to mindlessly squat on vacant lands and refuse to vacate when the owners need to use them. Rural folks shouldn’t use this right to overcrowd urban centers with jobless, homeless migrants from the provinces, much less contribute to the mounting socio-economic ills in the metropolis. The right to access official records don’t authorize violations of the Data Privacy Act. The right to join unions and associations shouldn’t be used to undermine the state’s security, or commit treason, insurrection, and sedition.

Private property cannot be taken for public use but the state may exercise eminent domain. That’s why the agrarian reform code authorizes the government to take private lands to be redistributed to tenants upon payment of just compensation. And this shouldn’t exclude Hacienda Luisita. It was a historical anomaly to impeach a chief justice bold enough to order the implementation of this law and give the hacienda to the tenants, on the shallow pretext of not submitting his SALN. In this country the powerful elites have the tendency to invoke rights in order to evade legal obligations. It’s also a grave historical error in this country to give the accused more rights than the victims. The criminals have the right to remain silent, to be assisted by counsel, and the right against self-incrimination. The victims aren’t given such rights. This country is more protective of criminals than victims. We’re too loquacious and audacious in pointing out violations of human rights, but always forget that criminals and addicts have killed people, raped children, and robbed millions.

Why do people accuse the police of summary executions but never complain when addicts rape a child, when murderers kill innocent victims, when the NPA execute barangay tanods, when terrorists bomb churches? Well, we should condemn all summary executions and extra-judicial killings whether done by the authorities or by rebels. But beyond condemning, we should learn to build, unite, inspire, and give hope. If we have nothing good to say, it’s better to keep our mouth shut. We should be a part of the solution, never part of the problem.