THE TORCS REGIME

Submitted to:
Prof. Maria Editha Enumerabellon

Submitted by:
Damaris Joyce S. Torcal
October 12, 2012

INTRODUCTION

In more precise words, former U.S. President Ronald Reagan once said: Government is
not the solution to the problem government is the problem.
Indeed, it is evident in todays modern era, that there is no perfect government. Although
these governments, with the best interest at heart, exist for the purpose of serving the people they
govern, these bodies are not to be expected as faultless in their duties. For even with a very
strong and powerful government system, most countries, if not all, inevitably deals with teething
troubles in all areas of their rule in the community whether it be social, economical, cultural,
military, foreign relations, or domestic aspects in society, and the Philippine government is no
exception. If anything, the Philippines faces all kinds of these problems simultaneously in its
everyday operations. Hence, with such an ordeal, it is best to look back on all the political
theories in deciding what is best for the country at this present moment. After all, most of the
government regimes nowadays are only outputs of what was then yet only a theory. It is
therefore imperative to see things the way they were a thousand years ago for these philosophers
and political thinkers, despite the major evolution of societies brought by the advancement of
todays technological generation, to understand and realize the influence they have on matters
regarding that which is highly applicable in achieving the best and ideal state particularly in the
Republic of the Philippines.

ARISTOTELIAN INFLUENCE
Aristotle believed in the Rule of Law, or that which is a rule of reason devoid of passion.
For those who ruled, they must only rule with the full extent of reasoning, and not to distort that

reason with the follies of passion. A ruler must be firm in his decisions on what is right and what
is best for the people, and his judgment must neither be clouded nor swayed by the mere
influence of his passion. For that, he is certain of a strong reliable ruler who will rule with fair
justice reasonable rulers! Hence, Aristotle intends those reasonable men to be that of the
rationality of the middle class men in the society. Why? Because they are educated, civilized, and
experienced who better to know reasoning than the men who are knowledgeable yet are not
corrupted by the extremities of lifes situations?
The middle class men are those who have observed firsthand the follies and corruption
among the elite and among the impoverished. Those with power and with great riches, the Upper
class men, deals with life abundant in resources, and yet, they are consumed with greed and
power that they often are far too much overwhelmed by such wealth. These things corrupt their
mind as they neglect others, use others for their advantage, and fail to see reason and think
rationally. As for those who have very little, the Lower class men, deal with life scarce and rid of
resources necessary even for their own survival. With such circumstance in life, their poverty
corrupt their minds and hearts as they only see the failures of those installed high above them.
They become jealous, bitter, and eventually develop a revengeful way of thinking, desiring to
overthrow those in power and wealth, and acquiring abundance for themselves, hence, failing to
follow rationality in the process. The actual claim of, or perhaps, even just the thought of it, the
power and wealth will consume them entirely and in very little time that they will fail to see
reason not to mention the fact that they are deprived of the fundamental necessities in civilized
living, such as proper education. Hence, all these only add to the support of the fact that the most
reasonable men are those who bear witness to such actions from these two extremities. They

middle class have seen the errors of those who have very much and those who have very little,
thus, the desire in them to not let those errors be their own mistakes as well.
Furthermore, with reason in the hands of the middle class, Aristotle then states that the
State is governed by the Rule of the Majority, or in other words, the rule of the general will. Most
citizens of the State are neither on the extremities. Most of them are classified as Middle class
men, and they dominate the population of the State. It is therefore within their discretion and
power to rule the State with reason and justice towards peace and prosperity for the welfare of
the people.
This is what the Philippine government should endeavor. They must seek to educate the
people well enough in order to achieve a very good system of government, rid of very corrupt
officials, and put in their stead, more deserving rulers. Educated Filipino citizens would allow
them the privilege of choosing more suited representatives in the country. After all, this is
democracy. With better knowledge and understanding of Philippine governance, citizens will not
easily be captivated by charming talks and illusive words of charismatic politicians who are allwords and no-action, all-looks and no-substance. Rather, Filipinos are then capable of reasonable
criticism and reliable judgment all necessary for the decision of choosing the right
representation for every individuals voice.

PLATONIAN INFLUENCE
Plato believed that no man can stand alone. In his theory, one needs the services of others
in order to survive survival is a cooperative effort among each person in the society, giving and
benefitting from each other. Hence, the State was born. With the necessary servicing of people,
Plato believed that for a state to be prosperous, a person must find that Natural aptitude of his

and use it to his advantage by harnessing, honing his own skills and capabilities, developing into
an expert of that field, and specializing well on it that there will be no one who can do his job
better than he does. As he is in his proper station in life, then, can he be truly happy in his life.
This is precisely what the Philippines should aim for in the government system. Before
they can achieve something great for the country and for the people, they must first choose
wisely the leaders installed in position to govern. It should not be that only the people must
change in the process of achieving a better Philippines. The people would have done its part by
educating themselves and selecting the representatives whom they think are perfect for the job,
but for the government itself, it must be that they too must choose people who are capable of
running the country. Plato was right to think that people who are not where they are supposed to
be will never be happy in their lives. For why should someone, a carpenter perhaps, perform a
fishermans job? If he knows well how to build houses, why ask him to catch fishes? If a man is
meant to be a hero, why allow him to settle as a servant? If a man is not meant to govern people,
why allow him the privilege of possibly becoming a ruler? The Philippines already has several
problems coming at it in many different directions, and the people of the country must be certain
to install the right men in the government system, who knows well how to deal with these
problems those who know how to do their jobs. Governing and running a country, creating
laws that the country must implement, ensuring that justice prevails, and constantly securing the
peace within the country is a very huge responsibility. It must be affixed in the minds of the
people that they cannot just put anyone they want particularly those who use popularity and
money into position. If anything, the country must secure its own qualifications and credibility
for those who are running for public service. The matter concerning such should not be taken
lightly, rather, it is essential in itself to close all loopholes and trivial matters regarding the

governance of the country. After all, we claim to be a sovereign state, independent of foreign
control and independent financially, economically, militarily, and all other aspects of a free state.
Therefore, the people within the government system must see to it that their number one priority
is the welfare of the public.

CICERONIAN INFLUENCE
According to Cicero, comparable to Aristotles concept of reason in governing, the State
as a community of laws must be governed by reason as well. However, for him, it is not just
simple reason: it must be the right reason one that is only acquired through divine
intelligence from a higher power, which is God. The right reason is when man has this right
relationship with God, after which can he only acquire the right relationship among his fellow
men. That is when justice is achieved in the State. Furthermore, he asserts that all men are equal
in that all men are capable of reasoning.
In the Philippine context, it is difficult to say that a collaboration of the Church and the
State is an applicable idea at this time. With all the ongoing conflict between the two regarding
the laws to be implemented in the country (unresolved, most highly debated RH BILL), it is
difficult to assume that a peaceful cooperation and alliance is possible between the Church and
the State, neither is it easy to say that the outcome of such will be that which is favorably good
for the people. The Philippine laws specifically state that there is to be no overlapping
whatsoever in the powers of both Church and the State. These entities are to remain separate and
distinct from each other, and shall not influence the other in any way. Moreover, it is specifically
stated that the State shall not favor any religion for it is within the rights of the people to freely
exercise their own religious belief.

Should it be said that the Church and the State are to have one body and one authority
over the people, it would entail that the Church will have a very high influence on major state
decisions regarding all aspects of society. Despite the harmless suggestion of divine intelligence
granting right reason for those who govern, not everyone believes in God, and not everyone
believes in the same God. If the basis of such reason is to be divine intelligence, whose god shall
this divine intelligence come from? Anyone can claim that they have been bestowed with divine
intelligence from their own god yet, who would then be the person who were truly given the
right reason through divine intelligence? Exactly what divine intelligence would we then be
talking about?
What should be the focus here is the concept of equality among the people who are
capable of reason. Above everything else, man is born with rights which are inherent to and
inalienable from him. The Philippines must protect these rights above all and endeavor to, as
much as possible, in all its proceedings in the courts, in all its laws, be fair to the people and treat
them equally before the law.

MACHIAVELLIAN INFLUENCE
Lastly, Machiavellis theory on his work on The Prince would prove to be one of the very
effective ways in installing a competently strong and effective ruler. Machiavelli describes a
strong, powerful, authoritative dictator who fiercely fights his way to power, exhausting all
strength and fierceness of a hungry lion, and the cunning and wise-like mind of a fox!
In perilous times such as todays generation, I feel that that the country faces problems
which are far too big for the country to handle. Sovereignty, as claimed by the Philippines, is not
exactly evident not to its people, nor to the people outside its boundaries. Looking at the

country in all possible aspects shows that the Philippines is all but an infant only compared to the
super powers that lay watchful beyond national borders. Militarily, we are powerless.
Economically, we are deep in foreign debt and struggling not to mention dependent. Socially
and culturally, we are transforming conforming to the trends of modern Western culture, losing
our identity in the process. We are but one click of a button under US or China or Japan
weaponry and we are wiped off the face of the Earth.
Undeniably, the country is immersed in too much difficulty that dont even include
domestic struggle yet. Attacks from the rebels and the movements against the Philippine
government are gaining momentum. Poverty is widespread throughout the country, and there is
very little that the country can do for its people hence, the result of increasing Filipino citizens
working abroad. In other, more conclusive words, the country is falling apart which is why a
very good solution to address such problem is the advancement of a very strong, very powerful,
very determined ruler, The Prince.
This kind of leader is exactly what the Philippines need. Intelligent, fierce, and assertive
of authority is definitely someone who can bring justice, equality, peace, and true sovereignty to
the country. As he fights his way to power, his opponents will also do the same. It will go on
until the fight is over and only one brave leader will remain, proving himself to be rightful and
capable of fighting off enemies, fending not only himself but also the people, and proving
himself to be just what the country needs. The people will fear him, but he is respected at the
same time, as he goes on with his duties and obligations to bringing the people what they want,
addressing the problems that the country has, and allowing prosperity to come and endure within
the country. Nobody will dare challenge him, and he will be able to alleviate the poverty that the
people have known for a very long time. It is with that power that he will be able to do anything

he desires for the country, and with that power, he can return the much craved freedom back to
the people. He will never let conflict inside the country where he already had established unity
and stability. The people are gathered together, no longer divided amongst each other. This is the
leader that the Philippines must have in order to address their problems.
But more importantly, I am not suggesting a tyrannical government to govern the people
of the Philippines. No. What is good about Machiavellis theory is that it is only in the beginning
that the Prince presents the face of a dictator. When he is already in power, and he has gained the
respect and fear of his subjects, he then does what he can to stay in power and he does such
things no longer using force the way he did in obtaining authority, rather he does so in a way that
he is peaceful in his approach towards the people he governs. He presents a kind-hearted side of
his. He shows sympathy and genuine care for the welfare and happiness of his people. He
governs them with respect and refuses to abuse his authority as well as the people. He creates
and establishes good relations with them so that the people will not only fear him but also to care
for him. He endeavors for the people to desire that he stay in power because when the people is
with him, by his side, nothing and no one can ever dare to dethrone him. Everyone would want
him to rule for a long time, if not forever. The people themselves will serve as his protector.
So you see the effectiveness of such a ruler. He fights for the freedom of the people he
desires to see a State full of participative free men who is able to challenge those who are in
power. He is first a tyrant, but when he is in power, his good heart prevails. His intentions are
pure, and he desires nothing more but to see happiness and good life among the people. He
establishes good relationship with them and never abuses his power. That is the mark of a true
king a true governor a true ruler a true leader. All the world shall perceive him as a
powerful man who does not kneel in the hands of others. Nobody will dare bring chaos into the

his State and he shall lift the miseries of his people, making the country competent worldwide,
without internal struggles. It shall be an ideal state, where there is respect, fear and love for the
ruler from the people, and there is care and liberty for the people from the ruler.
A government like that, led by a ruler as mighty and as honorable as Machiavellis The
Prince, existing in the Philippines will be the salvation of the country.