ANNOTATION our society.
Yet in my humble and limited opinion, I believe that
THE RIGHT TO BELIEVE
By
DAVID ROBERT C. AQUINO, CSEE 1
_________________
There is common practice among government offices to mandate
the attendance of its personnel in its Monday morning flag raising
ceremony. In fact, such a practice is already considered a matter
of policy with the end in view of instilling patriotism and national
identity among civil servants. This practice is mirrored in public
and even private schools with the same purpose in mind. Such a
practice is often effected through an office or school advisory.
It is respectfully submitted that any advisory enjoining all
employees to attend, although of noble intention, needs to be
revisited using another perspective.
Let us ask ourselves—Do we, as Filipinos, and more particularly
as public servants, need an office directive so as to ensure our
attendance and participation in the regular Monday flag raising
ceremony?
Allow me then to submit for everyone’s consideration and for
purposes of academic discussion, my humble opinion on the
matter. Moreover, it would be very much appreciated if discussion
and enlightenment on the appropriateness of such a policy would
be facilitated either through concurring or dissenting views, since
this humble opinion takes the position and role of a devil’s
advocate.
Allow me to being—the compulsory attendance in flag raising
ceremonies in government offices is a long established practice in
this practice, infringes in a way, an individual’s right to act in
accordance with one’s belief.
Allow me to humbly elucidate:
Among all the rights guaranteed by the Constitution all, save one,
may be curtailed by the state’s inherent powers—police power,
eminent domain and the power to tax.
This one exception is THE RIGHT TO BELIEVE. This is the only
right that is absolute.
From this premise—the state cannot curtail nor regulate this right.
It can only regulate the actions that emanate from such belief. The
state can only act if such beliefs spawned acts that are detrimental
or injurious to others or to the state.
State action, however, cannot be arbitrary—there are established
tests in order to validate an exercise of the state of either its police
power or eminent domain. These tests that qualify a state act as
valid or not are the balancing of rights testsand the clear and
present danger test. If such acts of state do not pass these
established tests then the state action in itself is a grave abuse of
power.
It should be noted that variations of this issue are not new. In fact,
orders or directives compelling attendance in flag raising
ceremonies have been the subject of judicial contention in the
past since the Gerona case was overturned by the Ebralinag
case. 2
Although said case focused on the primacy of religious belief over
the state’s power to compel attendance in flag ceremonies, I
believe the doctrine laid down in that case may be expanded
further.
Religious conviction in the ultimate analysis is nothing more than
personal belief or conviction—the right to believe in a divine entity
or the right not to believe.
The bottom line is, the right to believe takes precedence over all
else. Hence, we again go back to the premise that belief is an
absolute right—it is only when actions done pursuant to such
belief conflicts with law, morals and public order can such acts be
regulated through the state’s police power subject to certain tests
or parameters mentioned earlier.
As to the issue of patriotism—to inculcation of which is one of the
purposes behind the mandatory attendance in flag raising
ceremonies, I do not believe that non-attendance in the same
would make any person less of a patriot. Patriotism is nurtured in
the heart through spontaneous and voluntary action.
Simply put, patriotism can never be forced. As remarked in a case
from a different jurisdiction:
“... to believe that patriotism will not flourish if patriotic ceremonies are
voluntary and spontaneous instead of a compulsory routine is to make
an unflattering estimate of the appeal of our institutions to free
minds...When they [diversity] are so harmless to others or to the state
as those we deal with here, the price is not too great. But freedom to
differ is not limited to things that do not matter much. That would be a
mere shadow of freedom. The test of its substance is the right to differ
as to things that touch the heart of the existing order.” 3
And in another decision:
“Furthermore, let it be noted that coerced unity and loyalty even to the
country, ...—assuming that such unity and loyalty can be attained
through coercion—is not a goal that is constitutionally obtainable at the
expense of religious liberty.”4
We are a country that espouses democratic ideals and institutions.
Such a situation not only contemplates freedom of choice but also
freedom of diverse choices.
It is certain that not every conscience can be accommodated by
all the laws of the land; but when general laws conflict with
scruples of conscience, exemptions ought to be granted unless
some “compelling state interests” intervene. 5
Freedom of speech includes the right to be silent.
Aptly has it been said that the Bill of Rights that guarantees to the
individual the liberty to utter what is in his mind also guarantees to
him the liberty not to utter what is not in his mind. The salute is a
symbolic manner of communication that conveys its message as
clearly as the written or spoken word ... This coercion of
conscience has no place in the free society. 6
In sum, compulsory attendance violates the fundamental law of
the land not because the aim of the exercise is doubtful but
because the means employed for accomplishing it is not
permitted.
Legitimate ends cannot be pursued by methods which violate
fundamental freedoms when the ends may be achieved by
rational ones.
Finally, allow me to humbly state that the Machiavellian tenet—
the end justifies the means—is anathema to the democratic
character of our nation.
Let us not lose sight of what our democratic institutions stand
for—that we may not allow the ends to justify the means.
——o0o——