Once in a while it takes the youth to remind the old of how the latter has degraded and trampled upon the valuable lessons provided by historical events that had transpired in our country.
Such is the case of EDSA I and EDSA II.
Sometimes I wonder how President Gloria Arroyo, who has always been proud of her Ph.D. and other high academic credentials, could intentionally dismiss and ignore the old adage that a person or a country that ignores the errors of the past is bound to repeat them.
I shed a tear out of joy and respect for the Filipino youth when I read a recent commentary by a young Australia-bred Filipino writer, in the persons of Ania Aquino of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, when she wrote a critical analysis on how we, the older generation, more particularly EDSA II-generated Pres. Arroyo and her paid political clique, have dishonored by neglect the invaluable historical lessons of EDSA.
I want you to read the materials below which deal with the above topic. One by Ania Aquino. The other by former Supreme Court Justice Isagani Cruz. And form your opinion.
I see EDSA as a symbol of truth and justice.
I was there in EDSA I and EDSA II. The first one, with my friends in the parish. The second one, with my young children.
We risked our lives for truth, justice, democracy, and freedom.
Despite the travesty and dishonor the memory of EDSA has received from our corrupt and hypocritical political leaders/mercenaries, I still pray that the future generations of young Filipinos will not lose sight of what the common Filipinos are capable of achieving and dreaming, for the sake of truth, justice and freedom in our God-forsaken country.
I truly hope and pray that the future youth of this country will not take the selfish and deluded path that their elders have taken.
COMMENTARY
What a shame: Patching wounds of Edsa
By Ania Aquino
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 02:54:00 03/01/2009
(The author is a student taking up communications and law at the University of Western Sydney. She is currently serving an internship at the Philippine Daily Inquirer.)
PRESIDENT Macapagal-Arroyo did not attend the 23rd Edsa commemoration on Feb. 25. The Vice President arrived, then left after a few minutes. I am a third-generation Australian-raised Filipino. I was there. I stayed.
I was only two months old when the first People Power Revolution broke out. I do not remember Edsa I, but I want to.
And so at the crack of dawn, I was at the foot of the Edsa Shrine, wondering to myself: If democracy was returned to the country here, if this monument of Filipinos with arms raised is so significant, then where is the President and why did my parents still opt to raise me abroad?
I was born in Manila, but as soon as I could crawl, my parents left in pursuit of what is arguably the “Pinoy Dream”—a life away from here.
The year 1986 was supposed to mark the rebirth of the Philippines, a time to rebuild the republic and turn it into the nation it should have been. Edsa was seen as the moment in history when Filipinos were peacefully empowered to stand up against the Marcos dictatorship and recover their lost democracy.
We were given the chance, but looking down that battered highway called Edsa, it seemed how soon we forgot.
In 2001, President Joseph Estrada was accused of violating the Constitution, through perjury, misuse of public funds and illegally enriching himself from illegal gambling bribes. Estrada faced impeachment but resigned, so welcome Edsa II.
No to Edsa III
But now the thought of an Edsa III is embarrassing to the President who first gained her seat in Malacañang through Edsa II. To President Macapagal-Arroyo, another Edsa would not be good for our international reputation, so let’s just forget about it.
“The world will not forgive an Edsa III, but it will instead condemn the Philippines as a country whose political system is hopelessly unstable,” said Ms Arroyo.
The Philippines was ranked 90th out of 177 countries in the 2007/2008 Human Development Index of the United Nations Development Program, which provides a composite measure of human progress and the complex relationship between income and well-being.
The National Statistical Coordination Board in 2006 found poverty incidence in the Philippines at 32.9 percent.
Forty-two percent of respondents in a Pulse Asia survey believed President Macapagal-Arroyo to be “the most corrupt” of the country’s presidents.
And while numbers and statistics are arguable, do not fret as compilation and accuracy of election results has never been the country’s strong point.
The real picture is in the eyes of the people, and, ironically, recognition of this was what I thought People Power was about.
Is this theme now finished?
With or without this global financial crisis, stability never arrived.
Whatever happened to Jun Lozada?
The President has had impeachment complaints filed against her in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008. Her husband, Jose Miguel Arroyo, got the head start in 2009 with allegations of his links to the World Bank collusion deals.
Rampant political corruption continues, from the 2004 election fraud, the NorthRail project, the Mt. Diwalwal project, the alleged bribery House members to the scam under the Rural Credit Guarantee Corp., the NBN-ZTE deal and the fertilizer fund scam.
Will it stop with the change in government in 2010?
Whatever happened to Jun Lozada? Is he still “touring” Villamor Air Base, Cavite,
Calamba and Laguna? Will he and his family now forever be taking sanctuary at La Salle?
Are we really living in a democracy?
On a global scale, poverty is now part of the Philippine identity.
Record murder rate
The Philippines holds the record in the 2009 Guinness Book of Records as the country with the highest murder rate. We are also ranked highly in journalist deaths in the line of duty.
Edsa was intended to be the moment for the country to take off and move forward. Why do these records reflect otherwise?
As I stand here in front of the People Power monument, the resonant holler from construction workers, strapped and crammed into the back of a semi-trailer, rings in my ears.
In Australia that would be illegal.
“Nothing will change,” said Romar Balagtas, the driver of the battered taxi that brought me from Makati to Manila one day. He insisted on a set fare of P300 until I spoke to him in Tagalog.
“Sorry, ma’am, I thought you were a foreigner,” said Romar, who clearly would have overcharged me if he had the chance.
“Ma’am, passport cover? Sampaguita flower?” cries a desperate street vendor as I stand on the site where freedom was reborn.
They all have their views, they are the victims—but not one will vote in 2010.
‘Retrogression’
“It’s retrogression, not progression,” said my Dad.
During my stay here, my father, a clever savvy character, phones me from Australia. He advises me to constantly watch my back, dress down and only carry what is necessary.
I am not the daughter of a businessman, a politician or an heir to a family fortune. But, regardless, I’m told not to feel too at home, in a place that should really be home.
Last year, my father and mother returned to the Philippines after 20 years of living Down Under. With their childhood memories scattered all over our 7,000 islands, the excitement in Mum’s eyes soon turned to dismay.
Mum was hit with a migraine as soon as she entered the airport. Her face said it all, nothing had improved from the time they were here.
“What happened to the church? We used to go there! What happened to Manila? Where is the river?” Mum said as we drove past the murky, near nonexistent Pasig River.
Culture shock
My two younger sisters, who were here for the first time, gasped and jumped in culture shock.
For the duration of that month-long holiday, my sisters opted to stay in front of their computers attaching themselves back to Australia rather than discovering what should also be their home, the Philippines.
I don’t mean to offend, but my family is just a small piece in the big puzzled view of the global Pinoy. It’s a national problem that has gone international.
These views are real. Or have we all become complacent and forgotten? One drive around Metro Manila speaks a thousand words.
Just as United States President Barack Obama stands strong affirming his commitment to the American people in their time of crisis, our President is supposed to be our pillar of hope.
Her no-show at the Edsa I celebrations leaves me feeling lost.
Has the Philippines succumbed to this spiral of hopelessness and loss of confidence? What does the administration’s near nonattendance mean?
People Power so yesterday
Forgive my innocence, but if it is the day that Filipinos were freed, then why must we suppress rather than express? Oh, that’s right, it’s embarrassing. So, okay, then let us save face.
Let us just leave Edsa to history and move forward. Correct, President Arroyo? We will move forward in the direction Edsa is now known for today.
For many third-generation Filipinos bred overseas, Edsa means the congested road of traffic linking one mall to another, the road where many aspire to have their faces planked on the commercial billboards, and the path “where something happened, just not sure what,” as another Filipino-Australian puts it.
That is Edsa today. People power and national progress are so yesterday.
Traffic is its metaphor. Edsa is the road we avoid in our travels.
What a shame.
The Philippines is blessed with rich natural resources. The Filipino is strong. We have the manpower to move mountains, rebuild towns, topple tyranny and replicate anything.
It’s true our OFWs are the most desired globally. If we are to leave this country, let it be because of the desire to grow and spread the Filipino, not to escape and deny.
A miracle happened in 1986. Unity and consciousness shone on the Filipino people. Is it really us who should feel shame in celebration? Is it really us the world won’t forgive?
See:
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20090301-191649/What-a-shame-Patching-wounds-of-Edsa
Separate Opinion
Above all liberties
By Isagani A. Cruz
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 04:58:00 03/01/2009
I AM only one of the millions of Filipinos who disagree with Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s dismissal of the Edsa demonstrations—particularly of Edsa III that challenged her ascension to power—that she said might be interpreted by other peoples as evidence of the instability of our government.
She did not specifically refer to Edsa I the anniversary of which we were celebrating at that time or Edsa II that legitimated her accidental succession to the presidency. She was especially critical of Edsa III, which foretold the people’s dissatisfaction with her that unfortunately had not yet revealed the fangs behind the smiles. Everybody knew that she was also referring last week to future attempts to oust her from the office she has been precariously holding since the Garci tapes.
Edsa I was hailed by the rest of the world when unarmed civilians faced the mighty tanks of Marcos that yielded to the flowers offered by an old grandmother from her wheelchair. Edsa II belied the hopes of the nation that was jumping from the frying pan into the fire. Many people still think today that Edsa III was better than Edsa II, comparing the past minor embezzlements with the present mammoth pillage.
Consider the report of the Senate blue ribbon committee on the P728-million fertilizer fund. Former Agriculture Undersecretary Jocelyn Bolante, with nine other confederates, have been found responsible for the crime of plunder and other related offenses that, it said, should be prosecuted by the Office of the Ombudsman. It also called for the resignation of Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez for suspicious dereliction of duty.
The report cautiously did not mention President Arroyo among the named offenders but noted in unmistakable language her participation in the massive fraud. It said that as chief executive and head of the Cabinet, she would have been on top of the official acts of its members and should at the very least have known about their operations. The hundreds of millions of public funds could not have been distributed illegally without her consent or, in fact, direct orders. The double entendre against Ms Arroyo was clear enough, but the dissenting senators felt it should have been more direct and less evasive.
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was like Richard Nixon, who was not included with his identified staff members all of whom were prosecuted for and convicted of their various crimes in the Watergate scandal. The American people knew he was the unnamed principal who directed their cover-ups and, for the first time in the history of their country, was forced to resign to avoid his impeachment and removal.
The NBN-ZTE contract is still too fresh to be forgotten although it took President Arroyo to go to China herself to cancel it because of its awful stench befouling our country. When Romulo Neri had earlier reported to her about being bribed P2 million to support the contract, she told him to reject the money but, just the same, to approve the deal. Pressed for more information by the Senate, he invoked the President’s executive privilege and was sustained by the Supreme Court. Rodolfo Lozada testified he was kidnapped by government agents to prevent him from spilling the beans about the contract; another witness spoke about the “greedy people + + ” who wanted their share in the spoils; and the problem, according to Neri, was how to “moderate their greed.”
And now we are intrigued about the insinuation from the World Bank that some influential persons have been receiving substantial “commissions” for brokering certain public works contracts in the Philippines funded by it. Among those mentioned are members of the House of Representatives and Jose Miguel Arroyo, the President’s husband, who is also suspected of involvement in the NBN-ZTE contract.
The World Bank, which had earlier declined to elaborate, has finally issued a lengthy but inconclusive report about the alleged wrongdoers. As in the Bolante case, Ms Gloria has yet to be heard in their defense or condemnation.
As an ordinary citizen, I am alarmed by President Arroyo’s suggestion against rallies as indicia of the weakness of our government. I hope it is only a suggestion and not a command she can enforce as commander in chief of the Armed Forces of the President. Forcible prevention of rallies is a malediction that has no place in a republican regime. The prohibition has the evil earmarks of the dungeon and the rack and the Court of the Inquisition.
I am no communist although I share many of his complaints against the government. I am not an oppositionist and much less a cohort of Malacañang. I am a witness of current events and offer my little share, like many other citizens, to improve the future for our country. I am a free Filipino. I participated in Edsa I and in Edsa II but not in Edsa III that was no more than a gathering of hired rowdies. If there is an Edsa IV against Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, I will be there to join the angry millions.
Milton said, “Give me liberty to know, to utter and to argue freely, according to conscience, above all liberties.” This we can enjoy in the ramparts of Edsa.
See:
http://opinion.inquirer.net/inquireropinion/columns/view/20090301-191658/Above-all-liberties