RULE OF LAW: THE LAMP THAT ILLUMINATES
By: Elai

The law is the last result of human wisdom acting upon human experience for the benefit of the public. -Dr. Samuel Johnson-

In one of my seemingly usual college days, my professor in International Law unexpectedly lowered her wall and allowed her students to see her evident desperation over our nation’s state of affairs. This emotion was triggered by the fact that the white board marker did not have enough ink to allow the professor to scribble an outline of her day’s lecture. She was desperate because she was supposed to be honing the most brilliant minds in the country’s premiere university. And this premiere state university did not even have the minimum facilities for her to do just that. An example - the white board marker that does not leave a mark at all. In the midst of her outburst, and with tears in her eyes, she said “ I hoped that my generation could bequeath you with a nation you deserve. I hoped. I guess in more ways, we have failed you.” Sooner than expected, half of the members of the class were likewise crying. This made our professor ask her students why. We told her “your generation was better than ours and you failed. What will the next generation expect of us?” A few years later, the constantly confused law student that I am, I find myself pondering at the scene and finding its relevance as I try to understand the role that the rule of law has to play in the development of our nation’s affairs. I look a few years ahead and wish to discover that my classmates and I were wrong when we assumed that our generation would likewise fail the next if only because students like myself who attempted to be familiar with the law did not succeed in applying the same for the betterment of this country. In law school, I have learned that in a litany of cases decided by no less than the highest bastion of justice in the Philippine Islands, the High Tribunal has repeatedly declared that ours is a nation of laws and not of men. To a common citizen, this will simply mean that our laws are superior to the men mandated to implement the same. To the mind of a struggling law student, it means that despite the unfortunate reality that constantly haunts his everyday life relative to the infidelity in the execution of the laws he painstakingly endeavors to master, the phrase “a nation of laws” connotes his whole law-lifetime of bringing about a better change in the best way he knows how. The rule of law is theoretically a concept alien to most people who know what it means but do not have the correct term for it. It is regrettably an idea that seems to have escaped the contemplation of our leaders. It is presumably a notion that is innately embedded in the nation’s heart. It is also a lamentable reality that to a common Filipino, the rule of law has no better role to play in the development of our country. This image within the realm of republicanism and due process has for its purpose the prevention of the concentration of authority in one person or group of persons that might lead to an irreversible error or abuse in its exercise to the detriment of republican institutions.[1] Ultimately, it demands that there be no status or age or degree of capacity before the eyes of the law. It is in this sense that the poorest and the richest, the strongest and the weakest become equivalents of each other. Development, on the other hand, is the process of making possibilities evolve.[2] National development, then, connotes the recuperation of our ailing motherland. In practical terms, it means that every Filipino has a spoonful of food to put into his mouth during the hours universally designated as mealtime. In political terms, it means coming into agreements with other nations so that our own can derive the most benefits out of its natural and human resources without compromising a great deal of national pride in the process. In economic terms, it means being able to increase our Annual Income to augment our international debt and to combat the continuous decline of the peso making it of less and less value. In an almost spiritual term, it means to win the war against the loss of faith of every Filipino in any God that our nation has chosen to embrace. Intimately related to the rule of law and national development is public administration. According to Savage, it is a powerful, necessary, but not always sufficient instrument for man’s mastery of the terms of his existence.[3] Moreover, according to Appleby, public administration is not merely “management” as ordinarily treated in technical terms, or “administration” as ordinarily treated with only a slightly broader meaning. It is public leadership of public affairs directly responsible for executive action in terms that respect and contribute to the dignity, the worth, and the potentialities of a citizen.[4] In the Philippines, law and public administration have been the subjects of one too many recorded discussions relating to the question of the efficacy of our government and its officials to carry out the command of their seats of power and to put into operation the rule of law. They have been the groundwork of the success or failure of politics in this country; the very foundation that translates values such as integrity and service into actuality; and the explanation to the inquiries associated with the future of this nation.[5] Having laid this groundwork, the question is asked: what is the role of the rule of law in national development? To attempt to answer this query, it is imperative that the student not only re-evaluate his own understanding of these concepts but likewise open his eyes to the inevitable reality that makes these concepts operative in the space in which he thrives. Among others, the rule of law is supposed to serve as the framework for public administration to be effective. It is meant to equalize the attempts of the members of government at political engineering and balance this with their respective accountabilities to the people they have vowed to serve. Fundamentally, the rule of law is the source of hope for the inhabitants of a territory so that their rights will equally be enforced and protected because the law is essentially the source of power of the government the same inhabitants have opted to adopt. To say it with the least legalese, as national development is anchored upon an uncompromising rule of law, common sense will tell us that the only way to make our system work and ultimately to alleviate the status of this country that has remained to be classified as “developing” despite the drastic change of events in the international arena, is for our laws to be implemented as strictly as they are written on the pages of the Legislative Journals. The rule of law is likewise intended to be the basis of justice. Under its careful watch, everyone is given what is due them and those who are shameless enough to take more are theoretically subjected to its wrath like any other mortal who caused displeasure to the gods. To equate this argument with the role the rule of law has to play in national development, reality will tell us that in order for this nation to move forward, the service of justice to whomever it is due should be the primordial task of any person who claims to be a public administrator. In the private relations of men, the rule of law is anticipated to provide for an unwritten rule that will govern the conduct of their affairs. Operating on this premise, this concept is the quintessential norm that every person has to abide by. More than the relationship of a citizen to his government, his daily transaction with every other citizen must likewise bow to this principle if only because the rule of law does not only imply justice but equity as well. And equity having been defined as justice outside the law, it is equally important that men, no matter their stature, are placed on the same playing field and moving on the same rules that cannot be whimsically changed in the middle of the game. Hence, the role of the rule of law in national development can be stated in a simple sentence: it is supposed to make this nation what its forefathers fought for it to be – self-sustaining, self-reliant, sovereign, and most importantly, special. To ponder upon this, one would surmise that it is not a very simple task at all. This idea of making all the people within the jurisdiction of the Philippines bow to its laws is fascinating. It spells out democracy in its truest sense in that before the eyes of the law, everyone stands on an equal plane. It is a promise that nobody will have the temerity to even think of ways to circumvent the laws as the crux of a democracy evolves around the principle of checks and balances. And, in a democratic state such as ours, it is the judiciary that equalizes the legislation and execution of our laws in order that the common good may be adhered to. This, because, as Justice Teehankee so aptly said “to all human beings, the denial of justice is a mortal assault on life itself. Where the human spirit is brutalized by abuses and inequities, the ultimate hope for liberalization lies in the force of arms unless the courts can effectively enforce the rule of law[6].” To the student, the rule of law is more than just a part of a Supreme Court decision.[7] It is essential to nation building because absent a set of rules that governs human conduct and relations, the state is but an institution possessed of the requisites but without any significance at all. More importantly, absent compliance with these rules makes a mockery out of state sovereignty that makes it unique in the League of Nations. Maybe, this is why our more sensitive legislators have aspired to give our laws stronger legs to stand on and sharper teeth to puncture with. This is why they have created acts that make even the occupant of the highest seat of the land obey. Supposedly. However, as is always said, some things happen “only in the Philippines.” National development being dependent upon public administration, and the latter being built around the law itself, one will wonder why the Filipino nation has sunken this deep. The answer is obvious. Sometimes, the most powerful person in this country declares an exception and then clothes this utter disregard for justice and the truth with a term invented by lawyers – executive prerogative. Sometimes, the men who are disguised as our lawmakers forget that the goal is national development and make the halls of Congress an avenue for the development of personal interests. Once more, they hide beneath another phrase invented by lawyers – legislative prerogative. Somewhere along the way, the rule of law was set aside and lawyers have likewise invented a term for this – tyranny. Recently, the President exercised her executive prerogative of granting pardon to her predecessor whose impeachment and resignation she so persistently pressed to happen. She allowed for the trial to pursue. She permitted a judgment to be rendered. And then, by a technique not all too often used and expected, the accused sought for a review of the decision but withdrew the same and waited for the decision to become final and executory. The rest was predictable. And while the student is compassionate about the plight of the ousted President and his supporters, he feels nothing but dismay for the trial that seemed to him a play staged for the entire nation to cry, laugh, and feel jubilant and appalled all at the same time. The efforts of the State Prosecutor proved to be in vain. Maybe, had he known of the plot of this story, he would not have exerted the same effort at trying to make the truth come out. Of course, the Filipino nation is forgiving. We are taught to be that. But forgiveness in the guise of a political strategy is nothing but hypocrisy. How do we expect national development to arise out of this scheme that does not respect boundaries at all? Where can we find the rule of law in the territory of checks and balances where the demarcation line is drawn by the brilliantly crooked minds of our politicians to serve not the common good but their own selfish interests? In this scene, where does the rule of law find its place in national development? Is the common Filipino correct at saying that there really is no role to be played? As said, the development of this country affixes its magnitude upon how well our leaders adhere to the rule of law. This is so because like every other concept, this phrase is something that is conceived in the mind; it is abstract; a generic idea[8] that has to be put within the ambit of an imaginable realism. To the student’s mind, this realism should not be very far off if only we, as a people, come into terms with the undeniable fact that our laws are sufficient and they are there. The only aspect we need to work on to fully progress together is the faithfulness in the observance of the time-honored principle of the rule of law. This principle is an echo that reverberates in the student’s ear. It is a mantra that provides for the much-needed inspiration for the student to overcome the adversities that he voluntarily assumed to face in law school. It is the very meaning of his journey to the attainment of sufficient knowledge to become not only a member of the Bar but also to live up to the obligations of that higher place, which society has allowed him to occupy. The issue in that classroom some few years ago was whether or not it will take an exemplary generation to make an exceptional decision to make national development a reality for the benefit of the generation to whom it will bequeath its history, its battles, and its victory. The issue of this essay is the role of the rule of law in national development. It is about how these principles could be merged so that my generation can proudly pass a better nation to the next. As I metamorphosed from a college student unable to breathe with all the idealism still running through my veins into a law student whose main goal is to get the correct answer to the professor’s recitation question, I remember my college professor and wonder what has become of my idealism and youth. I bow my head in admission of the fact that during my younger days, I believed in things like truth and justice. Now, they seem to have been reduced into words I read only from my law books and cases. Then I ask myself: what really is the relevance of my study to the society I seek to give back to? As a law student, I would say that the role the rule of law is bound to play in terms of national development has been staring me point blank to my face throughout the years. It is supposed to transform its promising nature from a snapshot to a moving picture. It is meant to be the backbone of an effective national advancement. It is intended to have been the key to our nation’s seemingly incurable problems. It is supposed to put our country on the map. Failing in this sense, my generation will probably disappoint the next if only because despite the presumption that we should have learned better, we will likewise fall short in recognizing the fact that we, too, have not succeeded at strictly adhering to the rule of law. Maybe, when I become an educator, I will also find myself in the same predicament as my old professor. I will also cry in desperation. I will also wish that my generation were better. Fortunately, this supposition is premature as my generation is likened to a flower that is still budding. Maybe, in ways I refuse to admit, our answer to our professor’s outcry was misplaced. And this could be true because my generation is bolder, braver, more attuned to the times. It could be that my league will do better not because we love this country more but because the tragedies that we, as a nation has faced, are like scars that we carry within the core of our beings that will remind us of the very reason why those who came before us failed. Most importantly, we have carved into our consciousness, albeit unknowingly, the importance and urgency of following the same mantra that resounds in the ear of probably every learner who stands in proximate description of a law student: adherence to the rule of law is the lamp that sheds light to the darkest hour of the night, delivering our country, finally, unto its renaissance. This mantra, we will live by. And then, my generation will not have been a frustration to my old professor. And we will not have become a false hope to the heirs of this nation. Until such time, I will be like her. And like her, I will also hope.
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[1] Isagani Cruz. Outline Reviewer in Political Law. (Quezon City: VJ Graphic Arts, Inc. 2006).
[2] Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary. (Massachusetts, U.S.A.: G & C Merriam Company. 1979).
[3] Ranney, Austin. Governing An Introduction to Political Science. (Singapore: Prentice Hall
Simon and Schuster (Asia) Pte Ltd.1995.)
[4]Appleby, Paul. Public Administration and Democracy. In The Dimensions of Public Administration. Ed by Uveges, J.A. (Massachusetts: Allyn and Bacon, Inc. 1975.)

[5] Uella Vida V. Mancenido. “The Hands That Mold.” San Beda Law Journal Vol. XLIX, March 2007. p. 34
[6] Illagan v. Enrile, 139 SCRA 649. Dissenting Opinion.
[7] Villavicencio v. Lukban, 39 Phil.778.
[8] Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary. (Massachusetts, U.S.A.: G & C Merriam Company.1979).