THOSE who braved EDSA in 1986 were there for varied reasons.  And for people who were not there, they mostly wondered what the ”People Power Revolution” was really all about.

Why did it happen? Was just about the only common question. It’s the same question being asked even today by those born from the 90s, they who are called to “Never forget.”

Was it about ousting Marcos dictatorship? Was it about protecting the Enrile-Ramos tandem from being eliminated? Was it about the Catholic Church rallying behind Cardinal Sin? Was it about restoring democracy and freedom?

Ironically, through all the motherhood statements hailing that “sacred moment” in modern Philippine history, there was scant mention of what it was all about, what started it – that it was the deep sense of desperation and frustration of the governed and the masses yearning for meaningful reforms that would uplift their lives.

The ouster of the Marcoses and cabal and takeover of the Cory legions were unprecedented political events that made people believe it was the beginning of a new era for our people, the start of sincere efforts to reform our political and economic system.

“Magbago na… Magkaisa” came the emotional lyrics that marked that revolution.  But over the years, the vision of the People Power remains a distant dream.

Each election in the past was a replay of the wants and hopes of the People Power. We continue to see that today because People Power remains a failed vision.

Forgetting history

FORGET history and you are bound to repeat it.  That’s a cliché as old as time. Take the case of Juan Ponce Enrile. He was part of the breakaway group that triggered the Edsa Revolt in 1986, forcing the Marcoses to flee Malacanang after a 21-year reign marked by repression, torture, disappearances and murder. Some 36 years later, Enrile wants the son of the unlamented dictator he had helped oust to become president. Same with Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Did you know that Arroyo’s father, Diosdado Macapagal, was the president whom Ferdinand Marcos Sr. kept insulting in his public rallies during their 1965 presidential duel that he won with 51.94 percent of the votes?  Forgotten was Marcos’ crisp “Alis dyan” digs at Macapagal in their mud-laden campaign tussles, a taunt that haunted Gloria’s father up to his dying day. Today, Arroyo wants to send the son of her father’s insulter back to Malacanang. Damn history.

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