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 nations 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 days lecture. She was desperate because she was
supposed to be honing the most brilliant minds in the countrys
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 nations 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
nations 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
1
2

Isagani Cruz. Outline Reviewer in Political Law. (Quezon City: VJ Graphic Arts, Inc. 2006).
Websters New Collegiate Dictionary. (Massachusetts, U.S.A.: G & C Merriam Company. 1979).

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 mans 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
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.)

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

Uella Vida V. Mancenido. The Hands That Mold. San Beda Law Journal Vol. XLIX, March
2007. p. 34

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 law6.
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
6
7

Illagan v. Enrile, 139 SCRA 649. Dissenting Opinion.

Villavicencio v. Lukban, 39 Phil.778.

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

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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.

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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 students 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

Websters New Collegiate Dictionary. (Massachusetts, U.S.A.: G & C Merriam Company.1979).

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faithfulness in the observance of the time-honored principle of the rule

of law.
This principle is an echo that reverberates in the students 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.

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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 professors
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 nations seemingly incurable
problems. It is supposed to put our country on the map.

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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 professors 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

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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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