EDSA: Milking A Dead Cow

Twenty-two years ago (this week), a historical event rocked the Philippines. It was a week of change – a time when the Filipino’s infinite river of patience burst its banks. The docile Filipino woke up and kicked the dictator all the way to Hawaii. EDSA became a byword.

It was the best of times…I was a 2nd year high school student stuck in Diliman due to the military rebel incursions into the PTV-4 compound (the Marcos government’s propaganda mouth). This all but closed Quezon Avenue to normal vehicular traffic while EDSA was closed from Aurora Boulevard up to Makati. My parents wanted me to go home to Cavite but I was enjoying myself at the campus dormitory – playing basketball while listening to the radio for the latest developments.

It was the worst of times…Yes, Filipinos were able to unite but only for a split second. The moment Marcos left, our people’s penchant for greed and “being one step ahead of the rest” (or in Tagalog “gusto laging makaisa”) as well as our tribal/clan loyalties came forth like the alien ripping out of Ripley’s chest in Alien 3.

Now, twenty-two years later – the EDSA Revolution is but an afterthought to a dream. Ninoy said that “the Filipino was worth dying for”. That was certainly the case back then…Now, this phrase is more like an aspiration rather than an affirmation.

Why did the dream die? Dreams are made by people…and sad to say, it is people themselves who kill off their dreams. This is clearly demonstrated by the key players of the EDSA Revolution and how – through their own actions – they killed off the hopes of EDSA.

CORY

She was the toast of the international community. She could have made massive sweeping changes across the land due to the overwhelming support of the people. Instead, her administration blundered from one quagmire to another.

• Instead of finishing off the Communist insurgency (NB: Remember that the Leftists ignored the snap elections and marginalized themselves from the people by being out of touch with reality and not joining EDSA), she did the unthinkable from a national security point of view: She released the Communist ideologue Jose Ma. Sison! People said that she was probably assuming that Sison would just repudiate his communist past and join her administration in the spirit of true solidarity. Cory thought Sison was against Marcos – he was actually against the whole damn system. Sison did the exact opposite – he scooted off to the Netherlands and is still leading the insurgency to this day trying to grab power in whatever means possible! Sabi nga ni Johnny Tango: “Ay tanga! Dakila naman…”

• The same thing happened to the Muslim secessionists. Nur Misuari has been marginalized for quite some time before EDSA. People no longer remember his name and no longer has diplomatic clout with the Organization of Islamic States. Cory ressurected him in the hopes of achieving peace in Mindanao. Again, another naive gesture. The achievement of peace in Mindanao is rooted on economic – not political solutions. As such, Misuari and his ilk (MNLF and MILF) continued with their struggle and it could be argued that the rise of Islamic fundamentalism and the total war in Mindanao (during Erap’s time) is a direct result of this misguided presidential action.

• We could have changed our whole system of government back then. Instead we chose to simply revise (as opposed to overhaul) the 1973 Constitution. The result? A paranoid document which is so heavy on preventing presidents from doing a Marcos – but to the detriment of governing a nation. The Constitution sets so many checks and balances that decision-making is effectively stymied. Before a presidential action becomes law it has to go through a lot of vetting that by the end of the day – the law is nothing more than a watered down piece of legislation with minimal impact on the populace. A bicameral Congress slows down legislation and instead fosters constant bickering. The Judiciary is now so powerful that it can basically dictate political and economic policy – not because they wanted to but because the Constitution dictates it.

• Agrarian reform – the Aquino administration’s flagship program – is a complete and dismal failure. The government forgot Leadership 101: “Say what you mean and mean what you say…” The Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) is all for agrarian equality except for Hacienda Luisita (which is why you see the Aquinos supporting Erap nowadays). George Orwell’s Napoleon put it so eloquently: “All animals are created equal…but some are more equal than others.”

EDDIE

He was (and still is) quite a good president (at least from my personal viewpoint).

• During his time, there was optimism in the air. His Philippines 2000 Plan – whilst scoffed at by critics – is a new experience for me. We, as a people, need a vision and the president should provide that vision. Cory’s vision is non-existent, Erap’s vision is his own reflection in the mirror while GMA has a hard time expounding on her vision. The Ramos presidency had the clearest vision of the four (in my book).

• It was also a good time for the relationship between Church and State. Since he is a Protestant, the Church is “outside the kulambo“ when it comes to policy making – WHICH IS AS IT SHOULD BE…The First Family is very low key which is a welcome respite from Kris Aquino’s antics and “kaek-ekan” (Oh…How I miss Jo Ramos…).

• Unfortunately, several scandals tarnished his administration and this clouded his legacy post-EDSA…PEA-Amari, Expo Filipino etc.

JOHNNY

He was the mastermind (with emphasis on this word) of Martial Law and at the same time a hardy political survivor.

• Unlike Eddie which exudes sincerity at EDSA, Johnny bordered on paranoia and self-serving actions. I can still vividly remember the look of fear (“Oh God I made a horrendous mistake…Maybe Da Apo will forgive me…”) and paranoia (“Everyone is out to get me…I need my Uzi close to my chest…”) on Johnny’s face at EDSA. It was a warm February and yet he had his jacket zipped up to his neck – to cover his bulging bullet-proof vest. Contrast this with Steady Eddie grinning like a candidate for President and just wearing a simple shirt sans flak jacket.

• Right after EDSA, he parted ways with the Administration because (in his mind) the revolution should have resulted in him being in power. Remember GAD (Grand Alliance for Democracy) – a smorgasboard party of Marcos cronies and ex-EDSA heroes? INGRATE! INGRATE!

• A political gadfly and the proverbial fly in the administration’s ointment…he is still around and has survived various administrations and elections by standing for the sole thing which mattered most to him: himself. Talk about being obsessed with I, me and myself…

GRINGO

I consider him the traitor of EDSA.

• A year after the Revolution, he led a coup attempt (one of many) against the government. Unfortunately for us (and fortunately for him) – we Filipinos suffer from short-term memory loss. We elected him (What the @#$%&!) to the Senate where he excelled at doing nothing and plotting attempts to destroy the government.

• He should have been sent to the gulag because his coups destroyed whatever chance we had of economically taking off. Investors were keen on investing again in the Philippines with the advent of EDSA – then suddenly – instability courtesy of this disgraced soldier brought us back to square one.

• We should have allowed Marcos and his tanks to run over this poor excuse for an officer together with his ilk…Gumaan pa sana ang problema natin…Now, he is still around corrupting feeble minds like Trillanes and his buddies…

JAIME

• He was the spiritual shepherd at EDSA and the one who viewed the events within a religious context. During and after EDSA, he was the conscience of the nation although I disagreed with him when he opposed Ramos during his presidency. He led EDSA 2 which led to the downfall of another greedy president.

• “Kung gusto niyong makialam sa pamamalakad ng gobyerno, magbayad muna kayo ng buwis kagaya ng mga karaniwang mamayan…” Tsk…Tsk…Hindi na nga nagbibigay ng kontribusyon – nakikialam pa…

DA APO

Come to think of it, Da Apo probably got the better part of the deal after EDSA. Sure, people branded him a thief and dictator but Da Apo came and went and we were not able to extract our pound of flesh. He was never tried in a court of law, we were never able to recover his millions and his family is back in power in their political bailiwicks! Ah…Maybe we will have justice in the afterlife…

Sad to say, the young people nowadays are products of post-EDSA conceptions. The only Marcos they ever knew is that bratty, perenially pouting Borgy Manotoc – who had the gall to even attempt a run as mayor of Manila! The only face of Imee they ever saw is the face she is wearing now. Imelda to them is a portly woman who had a shoe fetish.

We let the dream die by allowing the key people of EDSA to run amuck with the revolution’s ideals. Some of these players betrayed EDSA because they are naive, some because they didn’t know better, some because of greed, some because they felt they should while some did it out of plain stupidity…

And so…Twenty two years later, we still celebrate EDSA trying to extract value from a singular moment in time when the Filipino was at its best…

It’s like trying to extract milk from a dead cow…