By Caloy Diño, General Secretary of Votenet Philippines
Sovereign Filipino People
The Gospel declares that “Jesus Christ is Lord.” He is the supreme authority in all heaven and earth.
At the same time, the Bible teaches that all human authority comes from God. We hold on to the Apostle Paul's teaching that "there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God." (Romans 13:1).
What we often forget is that in a constitutional democracy like the Philippines, the ultimate political authority resides in the "Filipino People" The preamble of the 1987 Philippine Constitution declares:
At the same time, the Bible teaches that all human authority comes from God. We hold on to the Apostle Paul's teaching that "there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God." (Romans 13:1).
What we often forget is that in a constitutional democracy like the Philippines, the ultimate political authority resides in the "Filipino People" The preamble of the 1987 Philippine Constitution declares:
"We, the sovereign Filipino people, imploring the aid of Almighty God, in order to build a just and humane society, and establish a Government that shall embody our ideals and aspirations, promote the common good, conserve and develop our patrimony, and secure to ourselves and our posterity, the blessings of independence and democracy under the rule of law and a regime of truth, justice, freedom, love, equality, and peace, do ordain and promulgate this Constitution."
Democratic Elections: Grace of God to Filipinos
Being a democratic nation, whoever gets to serve as governing authorities are a collective decision of the Filipino people, done through elections. Not all nations have this privilege. Many countries are still under autocratic rule where people have no role in choosing their leaders. Others are failed democracies where powerful interest groups have corrupted the democratic processes to perpetuate themselves in power.
We are blessed because in the Philippines democracy remains vibrant, albeit imperfect. The right to vote is God's grace to the Filipino people.
We are blessed because in the Philippines democracy remains vibrant, albeit imperfect. The right to vote is God's grace to the Filipino people.
We Get the Leaders We Deserve;
We Deserve the Leaders We Get
Grace given, however is accompanied by responsibility. God gave us the right to choose leaders, and we may use that faithfully to choose good leaders, or squander it to choose bad ones. Through elections, God gives us the leaders we deserve. And because God does not take away man’s responsibility for his decisions, we deserve the leaders we get.
Christians as Salt and Light in Philippine Politics
Of the more than 50 million registered voters in the Philippines, it is estimated that at least 10% or 5 million are evangelical Christians. As Christ's salt and light in Philippine society, it is our role to:
- Seek God's will about the leaders we will choose
- Influence other Filipinos to choose wisely
- Ensure the integrity of the electoral process, that election results truly reflect the 'will of the people'