Pimentel, Bianca Zona Marie V.

2015-10540
English 10 WFX2- Review Paper

People over the President

Our country is one of the 123 out of the 192 countries who declare themselves as democratic. Democracy is
said to be the most wanted form of government in the modern world. Winston Churchill quoted, It has been said that
democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried. The basic measurement of
democracy in a state is its electoral efficiency which means that a country can be said to be democratic when it
holds free and fair elections with representatives from all competing parties (Borgen, 2013). Democracy emphasizes
the civil and political participation of the people and one of the most important practices of this is electoral voting.
A former scholar and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Jeane Kirkpatrick, defined democratic
election as a periodic and competitive activity where in the citizens select the chief decision makers in their
government (U.S. BIP, n.d.). In the Philippines, there are different types of elections. Regular elections is the type of
election that gives the people the power to assign their representative is under the regular elections.
As mandated by RA 7166 (in Section 2) of the 1987 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines, which
was approved into law in 26 November 1995, the next synchronized National and Local Elections (NLE) will happen
on the second Monday of May, the 9th, in the year 2016 (COMELEC, 2015). The National elections consist of the
election of the President, Vice-President and the Senators. Aside from the Senatorial election, which is held every
three years, the Vice-President and the Presidential election are both held every six years.
The winner of the election is decided by the majority of the voters. Everyone also have equal votes, since
Philippine election assigns a one to one ratio, one person is equal to one vote. The winner has the chance to be able
to sit in the chair, with the title of President, Vice-president or Senator on the table. The same process is done with
the Philippine presidential election, whoever wins the election makes a pledge and goes straight to the chair. This is
the reason why election is at the very heart of democracy, whoever the people chooses will represent the mass and
rule over the country.
The position of the President is the most important position in the country. This is because the president
holds the executive power, which grants the ability to assign consuls, ambassadors and cabinet members. This
power is prescribed by the law, so there can be no objections. The president also holds military, pardoning,
appointing, diplomatic, budgetary, informing and removal power, therefore it is objective to say that the president
have power over the country (BATASNatin, n.d.). This supreme power, however, is bestowed to the president by no
other than the Filipino people.
 Before being able to run as a candidate for presidency, a person must be able to meet certain requirements.
In the case of the Philippines, there are only five basic requirements. To be able to run for presidency, a person must
be a natural born citizen of the Philippines, a registered voter, able to read and write, at least 40 years of age on the
day of election, resident of the Philippines for at least 10 years immediately preceding the election (Philippine
Election Lawyer, n.d.).
The first requirement requires an individual to be a natural born citizen of the Philippines before being able
to run for presidency. A natural born citizen means that an individual who is a Filipino citizen from birth, without doing
any act to perfect the said citizenship and/or is born before January 17, 1973, of Filipino mothers, who, at the age of
majority chooses to be a Filipino citizen (Bureau of Immigration,n.d.). This requirement limits the candidate to
Filipinos only. This means that no foreigners or Filipinos of foreign citizenship can run for presidency. The very fact
that this requirement is prohibiting a certain group of people from running is already a red signal, a violation of
democracy. Democracy lets people choose their representative but the democratic state, itself, is choosing the
choices of the people. This means that the choice of the people is not their real choice. There would be some people
whose choice representative is included in the list of candidates, but there would also be some people who would
want to vote for people who are not in the ballot form.
Though, this requirement cuts down the choice of the people, it can also be justified by the fact that only a
person who feel what the people feel, can actually lead the state. If the elected leader doesnt know how his/her
subordinates think and feel, then the leader will not be able to give what the people need. Therefore, the voice of the
people can only be heard by someone who shares the same voice.
The second requirement wants the candidate to be a registered voter. Like the first one, this would also cut
down the odds of people who can run for candidacy. This requirement is a fairly justified one, but would be negative
for certain circumstances. It is not uncommon for some people who are registered, and filed all forms and
requirements to be able to vote, but come election period, their name doesnt appear on the list of voters. A person
who is not registered to vote can also be called a free-rider or someone who exerts no effort but still gets benefits.
Someone who doesnt vote loses none of his effort and time, because he/she wouldnt be waiting in long lines just to
get his vote counted, yet he/she can still benefit from the elected presidents reforms and programs. A free-rider
obviously doesnt have the right or capacity to rule over the state, but if the requirement only limits people who are
not registered to vote, then how about registered voters who are also free-riders? There are registered voters whose
names appear on the list, but they choose not to vote. The second requirement should be more specific, to prevent
an incompetent leader from representing the Filipino mass.
The third requirement states that a candidate must be able to read and write. It may seem to be an insult for
illiterates, but the duty of a president is not just a simple sit-in-the-chair job. The powers held by the president are
critical and important ones that can decide the fate of the whole country and for that, this requirement is more or less,
undebatable. The president proposes, approves and signs laws that he makes or is passed to him, so it is very
obvious that he needs to be able to read and write for convenience. It would be inconvenient for the state to spend its
money to hire a translator or assistant who would read and write everything for the president.
The fourth requirement requires the candidate to be at least 40 years of age. This requirement again
violates the democracy of the state. If the people want to vote for a president younger than 40 years old, then why
stop them? This is like telling the people that anyone younger than 40 years old does not have the capacity to run for
president, which means they are indirectly shaping the judgment of people, clearly not very democratic. However, if
the state holds onto experience and knowledge, then this might justify the fourth requirement.
A certain study proved that older people exhibit a greater financial and debt understanding and they were
also less afraid of losses (Innes,2013). The article also said that the experiences of older people are more refined
than those of the younger group. The requirement, then means that the state want an experienced leader to preside
over the country and the Filipino people would of course, choose an experienced leader rather than an inexperienced
one to lead them.
The last requirement states that a person must be a resident of the Philippines for at least 10 years
immediately preceding the election to be able to run for presidency. Like the first two requirements, this limits the
choice of the people on who they want to be the President, but this just shows that the state needs someone who
knows what is actually happening in the country. A president should be able to know the current state of the country
he is supposed to be leading, so that he may be able to know what steps to do to be able to improve its economy. Its
simply the fact that a person will be able to lead more effectively if that person knows a lot about the place hes
leading. This would serve as a strong asset for the president, because he/she would be able to tell whats best for the
country.
The requirement for presidential candidacy may seem to limit the peoples democratic rights, at first sight. It
may look like its violating the voice of the people and the democracy within the country, but if we look at it in a closer
scope, it actually helps the state remain democratic. These requirements are prescribed by the law, passed by the
legislation which the people elected.
This means that these requirements are actually what the people wants. These conditions are what they
would want to see in their president. Someone who have an executive power and can exercise power over the whole
country must, of course meet certain conditions that will make them qualified for the most important job in the state.
So, these five basic requirements dont limit our democracy, but reflects it. In the end, these presidential qualifications
only prove that democracy is really government of the people, by the people and for the people (Lincoln, 1863)
wherein the people are over the president.
BIBLIOGRAPHY

BATASNatin Philippine Law. (n.d.). The Powers of the President of the Philippines. Retrieved October
24,2015, from http://www.batasnatin.com/law-library/political-and-public-international-law/constitutional
law/1493-the-powers-of-the-president-of-the-philippines.html.

BORGEN. (2013). How Many Democratic Nations are There?. Retrieved October 24, 2015, from
http://www.borgenmagazine.com/many-democratic-nations/.

Bureau of Immigration. (n.d.). Who are Classified as Filipino Citizens. Retrieved October 24, 2015,from
http://www.immigration.gov.ph/faqs/citizenship

Commission on Elections. (2015). Elections. Retrieved October 24,2015, from

http://www.comelec.gov.ph/?r=Archives/RegularElections/2016NLE/2016COC

Philippine Election Lawyer. (n.d.). Qualifications for Philippine Elective Office. Retrieved October 24, 2015,
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Innes,E. (2013). Wisdom really does come with age: Older people's knowledge and experience means they
make better decisions. Retrieved September 24,2015, from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-
2432221/Wisdom-really-does-come-age-Older-peoples-knowledge-experience-means-make-better-decisions.html.

Lincoln,A. (1863). Excerpt from The Gettysburg Address. Retrieved October 24, 2015, from
http://www.abrahamlincolnonline.org/lincoln/speeches/gettysburg.htm

U.S. Department of State's Bureau of International Information Programs. (n.d.). Elections. Retrieved
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