I am reposting this to remember the 35th anniversary of the EDSA PEOPLE POWER REVOLUTION.
Maybe for some people, they no longer see the relevance of the peaceful revolution that happened 35 years ago to oust a dictator. They are back and aligned themselves to the present useless leader of the land. Even if it was already ruled out that Leni Robredo is the legit winner of the Vice-Presidency, still the younger Marcos insists that he won. Third count of the election results and he would not give up. What a shame! What an ambition.
I do think that some Filipinos never learned. They still embrace another dictator in the making. Those in power have lots of (people’s) money to burn, pay for trolls who disseminate fake news against their enemy. Some are diehard fanatics of this administration. As we say in Tagalog, they are “bulag, pipi at bingi”.
It’s February 26 now but I know when I publish this short post, it would still appear as February 25.
Yesterday, we celebrated the 30th anniversary of the EDSA People Power Revolution. Yes, it was long ago but I am wondering if most of us Filipinos still remember the significance of what the Filipinos sacrificed for in the name of freedom, freedom from a twenty-year rule by a dictator. Martial law was declared on September 21, 1972 (Proclamation 1081) and we witnessed the unrest that followed, many people died in the hands of the dictator and so many political arrest was made. Long years of siphoning off the wealth of a country by greedy hands in the government, long years of wondering when it would end. What finally triggered the historic EDSA revolution was when Ninoy Aquino was killed in the tarmac of the airport back in 1983.
The youth of today would probably remember Ninoy as just a face on our five hundred peso bill or just a few lines maybe in their history textbooks. But for me, Ninoy represents a dream that never came true, a future for the Filipinos that never was. I have my own memories of Ninoy. I was in third year high school (or was it my senior year?) when Martial Law was declared. Back then, we would always see demonstrations by the Kabataang Makabayan. There was even a time when they entered the UST campus and paraded empty kabaongs – the turbulent times of the Martial Law years. We learned to live with it for more than a decade until the time Ninoy was shot at the tarmac of the Manila International Airport on August 21, 1983.
What followed were the struggles we have to go through just to oust a dictator. Rallies were held almost every day on main streets of the country. Ayala Avenue was always the hub of afternoon marches on the street and we were part of it. Yesterday, my former boss at Bank of the Philippine Islands posted so many photos he took of those days when we did our own share of our fight for democracy the BPI way – nostalgic replay of events that finally lead to a bloodless revolution thirty years ago. Yeay, those were the days – making yellow flowers out of crepe paper, making banners and banderitas , throwing confetti, braving to sit at the third floor window ledge of BPI so we could get close to a concert right in front of our building. We even experienced being tear gassed while we were in the middle of watching rallies from our floor.
Those in power thirty years ago are still in power now and we are even threatened by another Marcos win in the vice-presidential race. Have we not learned what EDSA stood for? The youth of today would not know of its significance unless their parents and relative who were part of it tell them in details what happened. It’s a good thing the organizers of the commemoration of the EDSA revolution put up an Experiential Museum recreating the experiences that awakened Filipinos to stand up and be counted. I hope they would find a place to make it a permanent exhibit for all of us to visit because it is only open until today and you have to reserve a slot for viewing.
I hope the youth of today would somehow learn from the past. They are the future of the present generation.
The date August 21, 1983 caught my eye. That was the day John’s sister Barbara, her husband Thom and their four children sat in an airplane in the Manila airport for hours, waiting to take off for Japan. They didn’t find out what had happened on the other side of the airport until they landed in Japan. What a shock it was!
I’m so sorry your country has been through so much upheaval. How I wish the whole world could live in harmony!
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Oh, your relatives were part of history. Both of their burials, Ninoy and Pres, Cory Aquino (his wife) were the only burials we witnessed attended by millions of people. They were the only two people in my life that had that much, they were loved by the Filipinos.
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There was an outpouring of love for them.
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Yes, truly amazing.
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Thirty years? Already? Sadly nobody remembers last year, let alone 30 years ago. Here in Mexico, they forget everything. In France too. I must admit I am very pessimistic about the future. Ok. Amend that: slightly pessimistic about the future. There are dictators sprouting everywhere. Brazil. There was one in the US for 4 years. Turkey. The entire middle East and Africa. Russia. etc. Let’s keep the memories alive. 🙏🏻
Salamat for this post.
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Salamat din Brian. It’s 35 years now. It happened in 1986. Yes, they seem everywhere, sad isn’t it?
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Hannah Arendt once said “every human beong born needs to reinvent the world for him- or herself. We cannot share our memories as in telepathy. Hence, she said, the importance of education (and history) to pass on some memories. But given the sorry state of education everywhere… It’s understandable nobody ever learns. Anyway, stay safe Arlene.
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I do agree Brian. Even the head of the Dept. Of Education here is not so decisive. And the marcos family is trying to change the course of history to their advantage. Ah, small cap on their name is deliberate 🙂
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I like the Detail. 😉
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That’s a good time to remember, but sad that you are still not in a good situation for most of the people, Arlene.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Yes, I guess the present one is worse, he idolizes the strongman.
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Nasa Pilipinas pa ako noon. Part ako ng mga rally sa Edsa at pagsabog ng yellow confetti sa Ayala.
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Wow, part tayo ng history na binabaliktad nila ngayon.
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Oo nga sayang ano!
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Sinabi mo, they are so greedy. Harap harapan panloloko. Katatakot takot na panlalait na naman ginawa ni dutz kagabi when in fact siya yung walang laman ang bao.
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Kaya yata sumasakit ang ulo mo e haah
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Tension headache….hehe!
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