Tangkakal is an old Tagalog term that means Defense, in this context, the Tangkakal Institute, The Malayang Lansakan (short for Malayang Lansakan para sa Matangkakal na Demokratikong Barangayan) and all associations affiliated with it under a common umbrella shall clamor a stronger Tangkakal of our fledgling Philippine Democratic expressions through a Tangkakal Demokrasya, and the improvement of the Philippine Liberal Democracy towards a Libertarian Democratic Basic Order based on Libertarian Values and Demokratikong Barangayan.
We believe that the Development and Supplementation of the current Philippine Democracy towards a more progressive model is a must whereby it excludes any form of tyranny or arbitrariness and represents a governmental system under a rule of law, based upon self-determination of the people as expressed by the consensus will of all, Democratic Confederalism and upon freedom and equality. The fundamental principles of this Libertarian Democratic Basic Order must include at least: respect for the human rights as given concrete form in a Constitution, in particular for the right of a person to life and free development; popular sovereignty; separation of powers; responsible governance; lawfulness of administration; independence of the judiciary; the multi-party principle; and equality of opportunities for all political parties.
We envision and advocate for a Tangkakal Demokrasya, an indigenous model of Democratic Self-Defense taking into account domestic realities and needs of the Filipino, that is characterized by two approaches: combative, and social. Thereby, a combination of German Militant Democratic, and Social Democratic models of Democratic Self-Defense. This mirrors the domestic mix of political and humanitarian approaches of most existing social and mass movements in the Philippines in achieving their respective advocacies.
The combative approach shall consist of the following measures of Democratic Fortification:
- The constitutional entrenchment of certain fundamental principles of Philippine Democracy such as respect for human rights, popular sovereignty, separation of powers, responsible governance, lawfulness of administration, judicial independence, and pluralism through an eternity clause that shall make it unremovable even by legislation.
- Clear, Comprehensive and Enforceable Anti-dynasty Constitutional provisions.
- The creation of a separate Constitutional Court as a High Judicial body that shall be given extensive responsibilities and duties, among others, to defend the Libertarian Democratic Basic Order (points 1 and 2) through the combative tools of the German Militant Democratic model against those who want to abolish it, to disallow even the popular installation of a totalitarian or autocratic regime. Such powers and duties include the following:
- To label political parties and social groups that, by reason of their aims or the behavior of their adherents, seek to undermine or abolish the Libertarian Democratic Basic Order or to endanger the existence of the Philippines as “Enemies of the Constitution”, and shall therefore be treated and proscribed to be unconstitutional.
- To declare the forfeiture of the guarantees of protection, granted upon by the constitution to all abiding individuals, of certain basic rights such as the freedom of expression, in particular the freedom of the press, the freedom of instruction, the freedom of assembly, the freedom of association, the privacy of correspondence, posts and telecommunications, the rights of property, or the right of asylum by and of individuals who abuse these basic rights in order to combat the Libertarian Democratic Basic Order.
- Institutionalize the principles and tools of transitional justice such as the strengthening of democratic institutions, and to some extent, a lustration of previous autocratic abusers.
- The constitutional acknowledgement of the right to resistance against anyone who wants to abolish the constitutional order, though only as a last resort.
The social approach shall take form through the promotion of an inclusive organization of democratic politics along with an emphasis on social justice through greater socio-political inclusion and representation under the principles of multipartisan pluralism, equality of opportunities for all political parties and social groups, and the use of democratic collective action to extend the principles of freedom and equality valued by democrats in the political sphere to the organization of the economy, society, and even culture.
We envision and advocate for this Libertarian Democratic Basic Order to be grounded upon the principles of Demokratikong Barangayan where all powers of governance must emanate from the individual as a self-organizing sentient being through the expressions of direct democracy with the Barangay, the most immediate level and expression of governance as supreme with all succeeding levels of governance as merely free associations of these Barangays and Individuals that form it, and shall be upon subordinated to the Barangays in a bottom-up approach of decentralization and devolution in which ecology shall be the center of all activity
Social ecology is based on the conviction that nearly all of our present ecological problems originate in deep-seated social problems. It follows, from this view, that these ecological problems cannot be understood, let alone solved, without a careful understanding of our existing society and the irrationalities that dominate it.
We adopt this line as it could serve as an alternative to the reductive solution proposed locally and nationally on the wrath of the climate crisis. We will actively engage the masses to make them realize that they are part of the developmental process of nature. To make them realize that they are not parasites to the world, but a human being that has the consciousness to potentially change the structure of society and live with ecological ethics.