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TODAY, September 15, is the International Day of Democracy as declared by the United Nations General Assembly in 2007.

This year's theme - Engaging Young People on Democracy seeks to highlight the challenges and opportunities of young people engaging in democratic processes.

"I call on members of the largest generation of youth in history to confront challenges and consider what you can do to resolve them. To take control of your destiny and translate your dreams into a better future for all," said UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

We claim to be living in a democracy, hanging on to that claim since we booted out the Marcos Dictatorship in 1986.

But are we?

How does the UN define democracy? Lets see.

It says: Democracy is a universal value based on the freely expressed will of people to determine their own political, economic, social and cultural systems and their full participation in all aspects of their lives.

If that is so, then whatever is keeping the Administration from passing a Freedom of Information law is definitely not something based on democratic principles; that is if they consider the people and not just themselves.

Truly, majority of those in power do not want an FOI. It will expose them for what they truly are: greedy politicians who have lived off the sweat of the wage earners through the decades that their family is in power. Thus, in the myopic view of the present administration, there is really no urgency for an FOI since majority are not for it, anyway. Majority of them that is.

Still, this is a day worth pondering on simply because we may have been allowing ourselves to be deluded that we are still living in democracy by people who are not above using icons of democracy and democratic principles to deny the people of the real one. Think: Edsa Revolution and all those who are now in power because of it. How many of them are truly standing up for real democracy, let us ask ourselves that in between pondering how much better we are now than we were under a dictatorship

Link:
Editorial: International Day of Democracy