John Locke and the Philippine Democracy

Sem. Kim Romer R. Guadalquiver

St. Vincent de Paul College Seminary

INTRODUCTION

Filipino citizens will once again engage in a democratic process in the Philippines'
upcoming general election in 2022. As part of their democratic rights, they will choose political
leaders through an electoral and voting systems that best represents them and their views in the
next three to six years. As cited in the 1987 Philippine Constitution, democracy is the existing
form of government in the Philippines. It is stated under Section I, Article II that, "The
Philippines is a democratic and a republican state. Sovereignty resides in the people and all
government authorities emanate from them." This means that people elect their representatives
through elections, and that the government's power derives from them, not from the president or
any other government official. However, according to Dr. Sol Iglesias of the University of the
Philippines Diliman, the precipitous decline in democratic freedom in the Philippines can be
characterized by the current administration and the present political atmosphere due to the fact
that there were numerous human rights violations, unduly detention of several individuals,
economic and legal pressures on independent media, and the peace process with the communist
army has unsurprisingly stalled. For these reasons, questions on democracy once again emerged,
and reestablishing its essence will serve as a challenge for the next administration and aspiring
government leaders.
One of the most significant intellectuals who methodically theorized democracy was John
Locke, a 17th-century British political philosopher renowned as the "Father of Liberalism."
Locke got engaged in the political and public issues of his day, which prompted him to write
"Two Treatises of Governance," a liberal explanation in which he justifies democracy as the only
legal form of government. According to Locke, the government in a democracy is simply an
institution founded by the people to preserve their rights. Its officials are just their
representatives, to whom they give some of their powers and to whom they are accountable.
People have every right to revolt in Locke's political system because they are the true sovereigns.
The Philippine Constitution's concept of democracy is remarkably similar to John Locke's
notion of democracy, particularly in terms of the rights, duties, and privileges bestowed on the
people as sovereigns, as well as the power and functions given on the authorities chosen by the
people as their representatives in political society. Consequently, this paper will revolve around
identifying these resemblances and similarities. My aim for this study is to influence and
inculcate the essence of democracy in the minds of those who are within the scope of democratic
civilization, especially the Filipino people, in this upcoming national election. Through this
study, I intend to explain to the Filipino citizens the principles of democracy according to John
Locke, which are closely comparable to Philippine democracy. This will lead to empowering
some Filipinos who will just allow immorality and oppression to prevail, and eventually to
keeping alive the essence of democracy in society and also to preserve what our forefathers and
national heroes have fought for against colonizers and tyrannical government leaders who
attempted to distort the standards of democracy and deprive people of their rights. This history of
disfiguring and overthrowing democracy repeats itself in the present time, particularly in the
previous years of the current administration, which compels me to stir the dozing spirits of those
who ignore these undesirable events to happen. This study would also be of great significance to
current as well as future politicians and government leaders. They will be roused to recognize the
limitations of their power and to better embody the will and aspirations of the people.
Though John Locke came up with various political teachings, this study will only focus
on his notion of democracy based on the second treatise in his Two Treatises of Government,
since the first treatise of Locke’s political philosophy is not relevant to the theme of this paper. I
will delve into Locke’s idea of democracy and determine its similarities and resemblances to the
concept of Philippine Democracy based on the 1987 Philippine Constitution, which is the
currently used constitution in the country. In tracing the similarities, I will only consider two
aspects: the power and functions granted to the civil government and the rights of the people, for
they are the two central characters that comprise a political society. This paper will be divided
into three parts. The first part will present the reasons for how Locke came up with his very own
notion of democracy. The second part will discuss Locke’s concept of democracy within the two
aspects that I considered. The last part will determine the similarities and conformity between the
Lockean and the Philippine concept of democracy.