New Society: A State Of Nobility

Published: June 16, 2022

By: Francis Joseph B. Pagulayan, BA in Political Science

During President Ferdinand Marcos' decades in power in the Philippines, the New Society was his ideal state. Every Filipino now has the opportunity to see a noble society through the new order and goals for the country's progress. The world would recognize the Philippines as the Republic of Maharlika if we ever lived in a new society, where citizens are noble, which implies they have knowledge and skill. The Filipino people will be acclimated to integrity, freedom, independence, justice, and democracy, and will be capable of carrying out their duties and responsibilities as citizens of the new Philippine Republic.

The objective of Ferdinand Marcos' New Society, or Bagong Lipunan, is to empower every Filipino to reach their full human potential. The elimination of poverty, hunger, corruption, mass deception, and violence are the ultimate goals of this form of civilization. This is the outcome of decades of tyranny by colonial powers. Marcos made a number of specific pledges in his declaration of martial law in order to accomplish his New Society's goals. Many saw him as a talented statesman and orator, and his vision embodied the Filipino people's yearning to live in comfort and fulfillment.

Unfortunately, due to the people's enormous freedom at the time, opposition grew strong. Democracy was exploited to foment a revolt and to overthrow the government. People were successful in overthrowing the government and changing the political order in the Philippines. It is worth emphasizing, however, that the same was marred by fraud and corruption. People seem to prefer short-term gratification over long-term state growth, which explains why they have forgotten the former president's ideas and aspirations. The Marcos New Society served as a vehicle for the country to climb beyond the wreckage of crises like the communist takeover and civil strife.

On January 17, 1981, former President Marcos signed Proclamation No. 2045, lifting martial law in the Philippines. The President praised the New Society's accomplishments, highlighting land reforms, labor relations, political organization, and gains in peace and order, social services, and living standards. This moment of success, however, was short-lived. The people declared a new government via their own power on February 25, 1986, the day Marcos' 20-year dictatorship came to an end following a major demonstration against his administration. That day had been utterly forgotten by the New Society, and the Philippines' desire to become a great nation had vanished.

After Marcos was deposed by the people, our country was wracked by poverty, social problems, government corruption, and an oppressive democracy in which people blame each other for having different points of view. We would not be like this if people had thought things through first. If we want to see change across the country, we must think rationally and with integrity for the good of our country. We are knowledgeable enough as Maharlikans to consider what is best for ourselves, our fellow citizens, and the country, not because of our differing ideas. The New Society is our last hope, our only chance to become a great nation and a respected country once more. It is here that citizens promote themselves.

In the New Society, where individuals cherish the essence of justice, discipline is the ultimate form of virtue; without it, there will be no justice at all. The state requires discipline to ensure that its citizens follow laws or codes of behavior in order to become law-abiding citizens. Discipline is an essential component of eternal life. This includes specific philosophical ideas as well as citizens' scrupulous obedience to the law's canons. A disciplined nation can guide the country in the correct direction. Only when the nation is able to consider objectively and in a disciplined manner is the appropriate direction and action conceivable.

To endure the harsh realities of life, each person must discover his or her calling. Poverty is the most intense state of being alive. Poverty is defined as a lack of access to fundamental necessities such as education, health, food, clothing, and housing. Many causes contribute to this critical socioeconomic issue, including a lack of education, societal corruption, and a high birth rate. The same will not be avoided, but as sensible human beings, citizens must think practically and act and work hard for themselves as well as the state.

There will be a class division, not to disparage those in the upper and lower classes, but to emphasize that each group of people must adhere to their own set of principles that will benefit the new society. What is good for the citizens is good for the country; the same is true for the new society, and they will be affected by what occurs in it. Each class represents a virtue and must operate independently without interfering with others' concerns. There shall be equality for the good of the country, not for the sake of individual classes.

President Marcos promised that the New Society's core objective would be to make it a poor revolution, focused at defending the defenseless in Philippine society and eradicating the inequity that had prevented the country from properly pursuing inclusive progress. He decried the Filipino people's suffering caused by privilege and inequality, the undeserved misery of millions at the expense of a few. As a result, he sees a new society in which equal opportunity is not a myth but a reality. This basically means that a few people should not be born with everything while the rest of the population has nothing. Thus, Marcos promised a Philippines where true equality of opportunity could be achieved and where every Filipino, whom he claimed to represent, would be treated equally.

Marcos emphasized the importance of increasing food production in the country, in order to sustain the Filipino people’s basic need for nutrition. He was aware of the troubling fact that despite the huge potential of Philippine land to produce agricultural resources, millions remained hungry and malnourished. The New Society will produce goods to feed the Filipino people and provide their basic needs. He also aspired that our country will be an exporter of agricultural products to other countries. With these plans, hunger will be alleviated and export revenues will help improve the country's economy. Marcos also introduced reforms in the education and agrarian sectors. He emphasized the importance of instilling discipline in the students and the distribution of agricultural lands to the landless farmers to tilt the disproportionate gap between the rich and the poor.

Every individual must go through the State's rigorous education system in order to decide his or her life path. As a result, the New Society's functional expertise is discipline and justice. Children who have formally enrolled in elementary schools will receive discipline-based education while also learning about the arts, literature, and history of the country. Freshmen and sophomores are required to learn about philosophy, ethics, and Filipino through medium-based learning. Foreign language lessons are required for juniors, and military training is required for seniors and college students. The above-mentioned learning criteria are for the purpose of preparing every member of the New Society to produce intelligence and skills across the country and to contribute to the New Society's success.

The rulers of the New Society are composed of the President and the Prime Minister. The President shall be the head of the state and chief executive of the Republic of the Philippines. The same shall be elected by direct vote of the people for a fixed term of six years. The Prime Minister shall be the head of the cabinet and the head of the government. He shall, upon the nomination of the President from among the members of National Assembly (Batasang Pambansa), be elected by a majority of all the members thereof.

The Prime Minister and the Cabinet shall be responsible to the Batasang Pambansa for the program of government approved by the President. There shall be an Executive Committee to be designated by the President, composed of the Prime Minister as Chairman and fourteen members of the Batasang Pambansa. The Executive Committee shall assist the President in the exercise of his powers and functions and in the performance of his duties as he may prescribe. The President and the Prime Minister shall help each other to achieve one goal to help the Filipinos and the nation rise up. To promote development, and programs for the betterment of the New Society.

Conflict between the President and the Prime Minister will be inevitable but manageable. Both have different roles in the government, but let us not be confused about them. The Prime Minister of a parliamentary system establishes national agendas, chooses cabinet members, and governs at the request of a party or coalition of parties. If a President exists in those systems, he or she serves primarily as a ceremonial head of state. The king and queen fill such functions in constitutional monarchy. If a Prime Minister loses his or her parliamentary mandate, opposition parties may request a vote of confidence in order to destabilize the government. In this case, the President could be forced to formally dismiss the legislature and call new elections.

To his constituents and residents, the ruler of the New Society must be gentle. He must act as the nation's father, caring for his citizens as if they were his sons and daughters, and being the most revered member of society. But he cannot always be so gentle, because the opponent can take advantage of his vulnerability. In times of conflict, he must organize attacks like a lion; he must be prepared for anything and willing to sacrifice himself for the sake of the nation and its people. He must be feared and adored at the same time. He must be feared because he will act solely to protect and serve the people and the country.

For his people and country, he must be strong, not overwhelmed by his emotions or discouraged by the ideas of his foes and opponents. To meet the hardships and issues that his rule will face, he must be strong and fearless. He has no right to govern a great and vigorous nation if he is readily taken away by his emotions. If a leader is weak, it is simple for the opposition, his opponents, and the people to depose him from power. It is preferable for the leader to be emotionally stable.

Being a feared leader is critical for getting things done, turning the impossible into the feasible, and improving the country's political, socioeconomic, and political institutions. He must be a critical thinker who never simply accepts other people's opinions. Being a man of the world and calm in his confidence, his style was to present his sally and let it stand on its own merits, leaving the plaudits to the audience.

Marcos was forthright in his pledge to reform government in order to remove corruption, which he saw as one of the most serious barriers to national development. According to Marcos, the government must be reformed to meet the needs of national development. Government graft and corruption must be revealed and eradicated. He saw that the country's political climate needed to be changed from the ground up. The same aristocratic families should no longer be granted power based on family or connections.

He envisioned harsh retribution for those in positions of power who simply sought to misuse it. No matter what one's name was or which family they came from, the Filipino people would be treated fairly. He envisioned a model of dramatic political reform in which the Philippines would only have the best and brightest as leaders. Power could only be given to those who sincerely wanted to live a life of service and have the necessary skills.

In the Philippines, political dynasties are common, with one family member encouraging others to enter politics. Political dynasty is advantageous in the sense that the family's political clan rises through the ranks to serve the public rather than their personal self-interest. A political dynasty is beneficial if the family is politically active and serves the public. The drawbacks of this are that family members run for public office and defraud people of their taxes, and if the individual is a former celebrity who runs for public office, he wins the election due to his fame. People voted for him based on his popularity rather than his political will. A politician's power comes from adhering to the people's voice and listening to their thoughts, rather than from serving his own interests; in this way, he will learn the true meaning of selfless servant leadership.

The Philippines' guardians, or Armed Forces, are the people's and state's protectors. Their mission is to protect the state's sovereignty and the integrity of the national territory. The government's primary responsibility is to serve and protect the people. The government may ask the people to defend the country, and in order to do so, all citizens may be obliged to perform personal military or civil duty under the terms of the law. The maintenance of peace and order, the protection of life, liberty, and property, and the advancement of the public good are all necessary for all people to benefit from democracy's advantages.

The Philippines must acquire a missile project, such as the Santa Barbara Project, if our country does not wish to go to war. However, it is a fact that we must defend our country, our sovereignty, and our land against neighboring countries occupying our Exclusive Economic Zone. It is time to resurrect the initiative so that other countries do not mock us. The New Society's goal with the guardian is to serve and protect the citizens, and the project will only be used in times of conflict and defense.

The dignity of every human being is valued in the New Society, and human rights are fully respected. No one may be deprived of their life, liberty, or property without due process of law, and no one shall be denied equal treatment under the law. Unless a person is innocent, the state respects each of their rights under the New Society. If a person is arrested, with or without evidence or an actual scenario of the crime, they must be given due process. Until proven guilty, the person is presumed innocent.

Many activities that would be considered horrific crimes if judged in a court of religion or morality are permissible, even compulsory, under raison d'etat. For example, the drug war was launched to suppress the proliferation of illegal drugs in the country. Constrained by the turtle pace movement of our criminal justice system, the government allegedly sanctioned the conduct of extrajudicial killings among the stubborn and resistant perpetrators. Critics lambasted the government’s approach for being arbitrary and unlawful in violation of existing laws, rules, and regulations.

It is concerning that those suspected of drugs or criminality are not afforded full rights and due process when they are killed. In this reasoning, the government must be bad in order to combat evil. Just as they must resist police brutality when they utilize official commands to do immoral things, the government must oppose evil in order to end the drug trade and criminality in the country. That isn't to say that if the government orders "shoot to kill," individuals will be shot for no cause. Citizens and police officers must follow the rules of the state while preserving individual rights. Every man in the new society has the right to life, and he must be granted due process of law, which no one will violate.

We can deduce from the foregoing that the anti-drug war moral philosophy is utilitarianism. Utilitarianism is the belief that activities are justified if they are beneficial to the majority. Because wea are dealing with a state-sanctioned program, it is easier to categorize Duterte's war as state consequentialist. All behaviors, practices, and policies that enhance society's total wellbeing are ethically right, whereas those that interfere are morally wrong, according to this conviction.

True, the Constitution recognizes the need of maintaining peace and order for everyone's enjoyment. However, nowhere in the Constitution does the President have the authority to reject the rule of law or violate human rights in order to achieve these goals. Whether carried out by vigilantes or police officers, indiscriminate executions in the anti-drug campaign are in violation of the norms and ideals enshrined in our Constitution. Another argument is that the desired outcomes of the battle cannot be predicted with full confidence. They cannot be assured in the long run, either. There is evidence that the battle has yielded positive results in the near term.

Along with the fundamental problems that plagued the country, Marcos knew that everyday criminality was also pervasive. Murder, rape, and theft rates were unacceptably high, violating Filipino citizens' basic expectation of safety and security. Marcos vowed to work tirelessly to find solutions to the everyday violence and usher in a new era of peace. To fight local concerns, he outlined plans for a highly disciplined police force capable of not only stopping but also preventing crime through sheer force. President Marcos' objective was to establish a peaceful Philippines for the safety of all Filipino nationals.

The drug war is for the nation's advantage, as it protects individuals from illegal substances and criminality while also preserving society for future generations. The government must implement a plan to discipline its police force so that each individual's rights are respected. Every citizen in the New Society must adhere to the values of "Serving and Protecting." Without discipline, police forces will exploit government commands to carry out immoral acts, and the government will be held responsible. The government's directive is to use the police force to arrest persons who are involved in illegal drugs and criminality and not to violate their rights.

Citizens must be loyal to the Republic and honor the Philippine Flag, defend the State and contribute to its development and welfare, protect the Constitution and obey the laws, and work with the lawfully constituted authorities in achieving and maintaining a just and orderly society. Citizens must be patriotic and loyal to the Republic and its Flag; it demonstrates citizens' love for their nation, although in a little way as regular citizens. Citizens must be educated or have knowledge to do what is right, just, and good for their fellow citizens and for the maintenance of the new society in order to contribute to its progress and welfare.

Fake news should not be tolerated in today's society, but people prefer to trust lies over the truth. People believe opposition rumor more than the information of the government. People are bringing others down, and the country will be damaged. It is not desirable for the country to be flooded with bogus news; instead, we should help each other up. Marcos also saw mass deceit and disinformation as a serious affliction in Philippine culture. He believed that the wealthy and powerful had exploited the concept of freedom of expression, and that the media had become a weapon of a specific class rather than a public forum, and that the media institutions were owned by the affluent and powerful.

People defend the oligarchs and the media through press freedom, but they have no idea that if the media ever returned to broadcasting, they would not receive any assistance. The media mainly focuses on the government's wrongdoings and wealth, not on the people's participation. As a tool against the government and to topple it, the media is used. The media makes advantage of celebrities to elicit compassion from the public. That is why, in his book The Republic, Plato condemns democracy as a pleasant sort of anarchy. It portrays a democratic individual who enjoys an excessive amount of liberty and freedom of speech. Even when the people have seen the truth, they remain blind and refuse to accept defeat.

A Constitution is required for the New Society. The constitution will be the country's fundamental and paramount law. It is the mother of all laws in the new society, where no law can be passed without being linked to the supreme law. The Philippine Constitution must be enacted by the constituent assembly and written down so that all inhabitants of the republic can read it and understand it. It must be adaptable and elastic; as time passes, our society will change, and the old must give way to the new.

The New Society's governance is based on Federalism. It is a governing system in which two tiers of government rule the same territory. There are two levels of government: central and regional. The national or central government is in charge of wider territories, whereas the regional level of government is in charge of its own perimeter, locale, and federated regions. Federalism can aid the Philippines' development because the national government's focus is solely on diplomatic concerns and regional support. The regional government, on the other hand, is concerned with the economy and development of the country's federated regions.

To keep a political clown from seeking for higher positions in the New Society, our country should be governed by a parliamentary system. We shall gradually see a shift in our politics in the parliamentary system, with campaigns focusing more on parties and agendas and less on name recognition and personal popularity of individuals. It will be based on meaningful debates aimed at improving the lives of all people. Because of the political clowns sitting in their offices without accomplishing anything beneficial for the country, our country is weak under the presidential system. It is time for the country to shift to a Parliamentary-Federal system.

To develop the Philippines' regions, the country must be open to direct foreign investment in order to benefit all of them. By abolishing the restrictive clauses in our Constitution, it will increase employment in the country and attract as many investors as possible through open-foreign direct investment. Filipinos are skilled in all aspects of life, yet poverty forces some to leave the nation to work as an OFW, and in other cases, instead of jobs, they become victims of suffering in other countries. It is time for the New Society to make every regional state in the country the hub of commerce, rather than imperial Manila. Every region benefits from open-FDI, which boosts economic development and creates more jobs for Filipinos.

Marcos was brilliant not only in diagnosing the faults that had long plagued Philippine society, but also in laying forth concrete, ambitious measures to address them. His was undoubtedly a voice of hope and rebirth at the start of Marcos' rule. As President of the Republic, Marcos grabs the hearts of millions of Filipinos with his plea for a better future for the country. Despite the fact that President Marcos is now at peace, he still wants the Philippines to rise from the ashes of social evils. That is why, based on his goals and objectives, he founded the New Society to provide hope and development to the Philippines. A prosperous, peaceful, and universally regarded country.

The New Society is the New Republic's transitional administration. It was established to construct a new administration based on President Marcos' goals and aspirations. The New Republic will not emerge in front of us immediately, and the transitional new society will serve as our guide in forming a new ideal state for the Philippines based on the President's pledges. There will be a new existence, a new country, and a new society in the perfect state, where everything will improve. Every day is a new chapter in our lives, and it is time for us, Filipinos, and the New Society, to rejoice in peace, harmony, and unity.

The New Society is our final hope, our last hope for rebirth and renewal as a great nation and a respected state. Discipline is required for the country to develop. We can do it again if we did it before. President Marcos' pledges will be our guiding in making it a reality. As Filipinos, it is incumbent upon us to follow in the footsteps of the New Society in order to develop and promote patriotism and love for the country.