Quis Custodiet Ipsos Custodes? by Ronan S. Estoque, MA (August, 2006)

During the recent State of the Nation Address of the President, PGMA acknowledged the contribution of some military generals who protected and guarded the government during the failed coup attempt last February. While I have nothing against the generals, a Latin phrase hounded my imagination. Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

Literally, the translation is "who will guard the guards?" If we need a guardian to guard our democracy to a certain extent - someone must come in and watch the guardians.

In the days of Augustus Caesar, the Praetorian Guards became notorious in discharging their primary duty. Essentially, they are tasked to simply ensure the safety of the republic. In the course however of their its "discharge of duty", the Praetorian guards started to meddle in politics, public administration and even in the determination of policies, rules and regulations in the Roman republic - in short, they became a de facto "kingmaker" (because their support is needed for gaining a high political office). And to think that before the mutation of their responsibilities, they were just glorified bodyguards. All "meddlings" were hidden under the dictum of protecting the state. It is because of this scenario that the immortal Latin Phrase was uttered: "Quis Custodiet Ipsos Custodes"

Who will guard the guards? For the Philippine republic, we are in trouble when the very fabric of democracy is under the care of the military. Because under our democracy, the military always subscribes to the rule of a civilian leader. And in this case, the civilian supremacy is under the auspices of the Philippine President.

To have our democracy guaranteed by the military is an offense to the very definition of democracy. The moment we operate on such a tenet, our democracy now operates under the barrel of the gun. And in any definition: such falls under the category of a 'Banana Republic.'

Civilian supremacy over the military is a basic tenet in a democracy. Though, we are still nowhere near the dictate of the military - a creeping military presence in governance might foretell a more threatening scenario for the government. Honor the military, commend the military and even cajole the military. But at the end of the day, the military really shouldn't be the last bastions of democracy because in the final analysis, it was the people themselves who protected the present administration by not joining the agitators last February.