With the conclusion of the legislative and local elections in the Philippines on May 14, the extent of deaths, violence and corrupt practices that have occurred during this electoral exercise is extremely appalling. This violent exhibition of democracy has cast serious questions upon the capability of the government, in particular the Philippine National Police (PNP), to execute their duties and responsibilities to protect the lives of the people, enforce laws and uphold order. As of May 15, the PNP reported 126 deaths from election-related violence since the beginning of the campaign several months ago. Each of these cases demonstrates the ugly reality of the state of law enforcement in the country.
For armed men to conduct grenade attacks at polling precincts and schools, kill candidates and their supporters, murder teachers serving the voting process, carry firearms despite a gun ban, among other irregularities, demonstrates how the law enforcement authorities have lost control of maintaining law and order. Violence in some areas was so intense that the election was declared a failure. What has gone so wrong in the Philippines that even the simple political exercise of holding an election is almost impossible to do peacefully? These armed men, however, were able to violently disrupt the election and sow fear among the electorate, yet they were able to do it so easily and with impunity.
When the police force is no longer able to execute their law enforcement duties, in particular to provide protection and uphold order, an enormous number of deaths and violence become inevitable. These armed elements knew fully well that they would not be prosecuted and held accountable for their acts. The police, in fact, appeared to be totally helpless.
The admission of difficulty by a senior police colonel to maintain law and order in Abra Province in the northern Philippines deserves an in-depth reflection of the extent of violence that can be unleashed when the policing system no longer functions; for in this province, the cycle of violence and deadly electoral rivalry subconsciously became part of life. In this environment though, the police were powerless to enforce the law, including a gun ban, and stem the electoral-related violence.
It is not only the culture of violence that is at fault but also the toleration of such extensive violence that goes unchallenged that contributes as well. Moreover, the failure of the country’s legal system has worsened the situation. The lack of law enforcement has become so pervasive that ordinary people attack perpetrators as a form of instant justice, thus furthering lawlessness in the country. In such a climate, there is no amount of changing society’s morals or values, as the police claim, that can stop the violence that the people are forced to accept as a way of life.
What is also shocking is the level of acceptance by the people, whether candidates or the electorate, of corrupt practices during elections. Vote-buying and other forms of corruption during elections is public knowledge and a widely known phenomenon in which candidates are expected to give and voters are expected to receive money. The level of silence and tolerance of this corrupt practice though is shocking. The candidates even bribe voters in public. Some citizens consider it a good gesture rather than an act of bribery and that these candidates are worthy of their votes. There is a mentality that has developed in which voters question why they cannot cast their ballot for candidates who distribute money when they even vote for those who do not give them money at all.
The level of corrupt practices has even reached a point where politicians accused of vote-buying have felt that they too may be victims; the way in which elections are conducted shocks them as well. There is no end to the creative forms of electoral corruption: reports of missing election materials and ballot boxes, election documents found inside a political rival’s quarters, a massive increase of a questionable number of registered voters, disfranchisement of voters, names of deceased persons allowed to vote and so on. Although these practices are common during election day, people often do not consider their gravity and implication for the long-term governance of the Philippines. If this is how Filipinos elect new senators, members of Congress and local leaders, what kind of leadership and good governance can be expected from them in the future?
What is also appalling is the government’s denial and apparent lack of will to acknowledge and accept that there is something systemically wrong with the electoral process. This apathy to the failure of the country’s electoral system is especially evident in the response of the PNP to the recent election; for despite 126 recorded deaths, the violence that has taken place, the declaration of the failure of the elections in several areas, among others, it has described the May 14 elections as “generally peaceful” compared to previous elections. This reaction, however, is merely a superficial comparison with previous elections. Why is any violence tolerated, especially by the PNP? Why are the systemic defects of elections not condemned and resolved? Regardless of the number of cases and incidents reported, the fact that violence and corruption continues unabated during elections cannot be justified and, in effect, condoned. The PNP must acknowledge the deteriorating state of its police work and seek to improve it instead of concluding that the conduct of the May 14 election is better than earlier electoral exercises.
The absence of enforcement of the law during elections is merely a reflection of the in general, however. It is the lack of legal remedies within the existing criminal justice system in which perpetrators are supposed to be held accountable that worsens the condition of the state of lawlessness and injustice. For instance, a lawyer who practiced law in Jolo on the island of Sulu for many years described how his clients have suffered injustice as the result of judicial delays. For more than 40 years of his legal career, not even one of the cases [he has] handled prospered, he lamented. This sorry state of this conflict-ridden island’s judiciary has forced the people to resort to extrajudicial practices. It is also on this island where violence, even during ordinary days, has virtually become part of everyday life.
When the existing system of law enforcement and justice no longer function properly, the worst forms of violence, corrupt practices and state of lawlessness become inevitable. They have become a way of life where the people are subconsciously forced to accept them. What can be observed in the recently concluded May 14 election is the ugly reality of the country’s deteriorating law and order conditions as a result of the systemic denial of legal redress for victims of violence. Without addressing these defects in the country’s legal system, meaningful elections in the Philippines are just a dream.
