Parens Patriae

Since our country’s return to democracy after the fateful February 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution, we had had five presidents. When the late widow Corazon Aquino was swept into office at the crest of the EDSA Revolution, the Philippines had for the first time a woman president.

And for the first time, we have a mother of the nation who led us back to democratic way of life.

She was succeeded by former PC-INP chief Fidel Ramos, one of the leading figures during the EDSA Revolution, to become the so-called father of the nation. Ramos was the first president elected under the country’s 1987 Constitution. He is also the first ever Protestant in the Philippines who became president of a largely Catholic country. 

Popular actor-turned politician Joseph Estrada succeeded Ramos into the presidency. His term was cut short though by the so-called EDSA-2 power grab in January 2001. As constitutional successor in office, then vice president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo took over the presidency and served the un-expired term of Estrada.

She is a daughter of former Philippine president Diosdado Macapagal. Her husband, lawyer Jose Miguel Arroyo, became our country’s first-ever First Gentleman.

Mrs. Arroyo got herself re-elected in May 2004 for a full term of six years. Thus, Mrs. Arroyo stayed in office at Malacañang Palace for nearly nine years to become the next longest serving president after the late dictator, former president Ferdinand Marcos who extended his office via martial law and served for nearly 20 years.

Following the death of his mother, then Senator Benigno Simeon Aquino III won the May 2010 election to become the country’s first bachelor president.

From someone who has no sense of fatherhood, the country now has a self-confessed father of two families. The Filipino voters during the May 2016 elections favored the offered leadership of then Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte. Despite being foul-mouthed and the threats “to kill” anyone who is into the illegal drugs trade, he was popularly elected.

For almost two years now into office at Malacañang Palace, President Duterte gradually unleashed the stuff of his leadership who is ready to rule the entire country with iron-fist. True to his campaign promise, the ex-Davao City Mayor waged his all-out war against illegal drugs and at least several thousands of suspected drug pushers were killed under the infamous “Tokhang” campaign by the police.

Amid the loud howl and hue-and-cry of human rights advocates here and abroad and of opposition leaders, President Duterte stood his ground and vowed to continue stamping out the illegal drugs problem of our country. None could stop him not even the United Nations Human Rights Council or the International Criminal Court where he was accused of crimes against humanity in the conduct of his administration’s war against illegal drugs.

As the Commander-in-chief of the entire Armed Forces, President Duterte did not dilly-dally to invoke his powers under the country’s 1987 Constitution to declare martial law to stave off the Maute terrorists from carving out Marawi City for their Islamic State (IS) bid in May last year.

And to further stem the IS threats from spreading outside Marawi City, President Duterte placed the entire Mindanao under martial law. His martial law declarations were challenged in the 17th Congress all the way to the Supreme Court (SC). But the High Court upheld the validity and constitutionality of the powers of the State that he invoked.

A prosecutor before he turned to politics, President Duterte unleashed his latest legal tool to bring about his desire of promoting better peace and order condition all around the country. In particular, President Duterte invoked “parens patriae” to justify his administration’s latest campaign against the so-called “tambays” or idlers in the streets.

Parens patriae is Latin for “parent of his or her country.” In the juvenile justice legal system, parens patriae is a doctrine that allows the State to step in and serve as a guardian for children, the mentally ill, the incompetent, the elderly, or disabled persons who are unable to care for themselves. “In law, it refers to the public policy power of the State to intervene against an abusive or negligent parent, legal guardian, or informal caretaker, and to act as the parent of any child or individual who is in need of protection.”

Speaking before a gathering in Davao City last Friday night, the President twitted critics of his administration’s campaign dubbed as RODY or Rid the Streets of Drunkards and Youth. The campaign targets those idlers violating national, local and municipal ordinances on curfew; drinking in public places or streets; being half-naked in streets; smoking in public places; illegal vendors; video/karaoke curfew; urinating in public places; or those who disrupt peace and order in public places.

So as the incumbent head of State of our country, President Duterte invoked parens patriae in having issued his now controversial verbal directives for the police and other law enforcement agencies of the government to perform this duty in his behalf. It can be the Philippine National Police (PNP), as the country’s chief law enforcement agency of the government, or their civilian counterparts from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). 

Then, these government agencies assume the duty “in loco parentis,” also a Latin term meaning “in the place of a parent.” It refers to the legal responsibility of a person or organization to take on some of the functions and responsibilities of a parent over the juvenile delinquent.

But the larger and bigger problem and the root cause and reason why we have “tambays” are the lack of jobs or gainful livelihood where these able-bodied men can make themselves productive instead. 

As parens patriae, President Duterte must try harder to make the State ensure job opportunities are available to keep Filipinos gainfully earning at work and not become tambays.