Democracy And Substantive Democracy

Democracy, if we are going to technically define it, is a system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives. On the other hand, according to the article’s author, Clifton Sherrill, democracy is generally accepted to mean more than simply the will of the majority. She proposed an approach to defining democracy, in such a way that it divides the term into substantive and procedural democracy. Procedural democracy includes the exercise of rights, such as holding popular elections, whereas, rights, such as freedom of speech, and the like are enclosed in Substantive democracy.This just goes to show how democracy is elusive.

Sherrill specifically pointed out how democracy

Such effects were evident during the Marcos regime, where he implemented martial law in hopes of extending his term and abusing his power with regard to his own personal liking. Although Corazon Aquino paved way in the return of democracy in the Philippines, the ill effects of ineffective democracy continued to take over the Philippines. With the elites still in power, “democracy” in the Philippines cannot be considered as an ideal democracy.
In relation with the author's claims, Democracy in the Philippines is indeed in a state of disrepair. Meticulous assessments and profound studies have depicted the 'democracy' in the Philippines as ineffective in terms of implementation and enactment. Thus, in accordance with USAID's four main principles of promoting democracy, the Philippines, unfortunately, lacks in all four

President Rodrigo Duterte's Anti-Dangerous Drugs Campaign dubbed as 'War on Drugs' blatantly depicts actions that violate human rights and is outright murder rather than simply “extrajudicial killings.” This just goes to show how lack of respect for human rights is the lack of promotion of democracy.

More importantly, the biggest problem that the Philippines might face in the near future, is to repeat the mistakes of the past. If the Filipinos will never learn, our situation will never improve and we will be in the same place we were before. Likewise, it is best for the Filipinos to reevaluate themselves and their decision-making in order to have the capacity to vote for the right people. In the same way, the honest, competitive and sincere politicians left in the government must do anything in order to at least maintain or improve the state of democracy in the