Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. That's the idea behind separating the powers of the three main branches of our government - Executive, Legislative, and Judiciary. This was a lesson most Filipinos are taught in elementary and forget as soon as we start reading the news. I don't blame them though. The Legislative and the Judiciary have progressively been more subservient to the Executive for the longest time.
The reason our system has three branches is so that when one branch exhibits abuse of power, the other two are there to stop it. As such, it's good for us when the heads of the Executive, the Legislative, and the Judiciary don't always see eye to eye but all three should be willing to work with each other.
More recently however, the Executive has seen much more power than the other two branches. More specifically, we've reached a point where what President Duterte says goes. He's technically still working within the bounds of what's allowed by the executive branch but he basically has both houses on his side. He was even able to appoint the chief justice and several other justices in the Supreme Court. While technically not a dictatorship, President Duterte has in his pocket a firm grasp of the legislative and the judiciary as well as the executive.
We blame Duterte for everything that happens that's unconstitutional even when he shouldn't be taking the blame for SOME of these issues. Some things, for example, Duterte should get the blame for. But with more nuanced issues, I think we, as the people give power to who we give power to. I mean, that's what democracy is. So when people blame Duterte for something he isn't responsible for, knowing him, he will do something about it even if it would cause him to meddle with the other branches of government.
There still exists, at least in writing, the idea of a separation of the three branches of government. Let the blame fall on the leader of the branch responsible for a particular function. Off the top of my head, the renewal of the franchise of ABS-CBN, a function of the House of Representatives, was clamored about. Wherever you stand on the issue, it should be stressed that President Duterte may have been vocal about his dislike of ABS, but it was ultimately the House that acted or did not act on the manner. Why then place the blame on Duterte for the ABS shutdown?
To the detractors of the president, for the love of God, DON'T GIVE THE GUY A REASON to claim responsibility for the acts of the Legislative. It can be said that the speaker of the house is an ally of the President. Alan Peter Cayetano should be the one responsible for the shutdown. Treat our leaders like the leaders they are and hold them responsible.
Two years ago, former Chief Justice Sereno was effectively overthrown in her own branch. The reason going around was that it was Duterte who did all the maneuverings. I don't doubt these claims. Duterte seems to be a very good political tactician. But it's the people who made it happen that should've been under the spotlight. It was the Supreme Court that effectively made the ruling. And so wherever you stand on the issue, it was the Supreme Court, the head of the Judiciary, that should've been the last stand.
The story was spun to make it look as if Duterte was pulling all the strings. It may as well have been the case. However, it could have just as easily been a case where several older SC justices simply had their own political interests in mind and saw the opportunity to overthrow the younger Chief Justice. When the blame is thrown in Duterte's direction, it detracts from those who were actually responsible - the men and women who, in their free will, decided to overturn the appointment of former Chief Justice Sereno.
To be fair, during the time, people did this issue up. It was floated back in 2018 that it was de Castro who really wanted to be Chief Justice who led the charge against Sereno. But ask anyone now why Sereno's term ended and people say Duterte is responsible. De Castro has practically gotten away without much blame on her name.
In these cases, do I think Duterte had nothing to do with it? Of course not. With the power an popularity he's gained, I don't doubt people up on the ladder want to ride on that popularity. What I'm saying is when we blame him for everything, we're practically giving him the power.
Remember, dear reader. Our politicians draw their power from the people. Not only during election day but every day afterward. Let's not give a few people too much power without any repercussions.
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