EDSA lives
First posted 01:55am (Mla time)
Feb 24, 2006 INQ7.net
TWENTY years ago, a people found peace to be the strongest weapon against soldiers and tanks. People in peace gathered on the EDSA highway and powered a revolution, forcing a dictator to find refuge in a foreign land. It was declared a miracle, not only by nuns and priests, not only by women and children, not only by ordinary Filipinos who braved military forces with only flowers and rosaries, but by a world so shocked that peace, indeed, contained such power.
With a dictatorship toppled, Filipinos did not anticipate that corruption could grow to be a monster just as evil. Six years ago, a discredited president stepped down prematurely as his armed forces withdrew their support from his command and sided with people who massed up at EDSA.
Today, another presidency stands accused of similar crimes. It still stands because its opponents have not found the formula of change that others had found in February 1986 and January 2001. Perhaps, the political rivals of the current president are themselves a liability before the judgment of the public, or the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Whatever it is, there has been no people power, no EDSA revolution, and a threatened presidency remains ensconced.
For several months, the "Hello, Garci" controversy provoked speculations that a third president in 20 years would fall. She has not, but the efforts to bring her down have not stopped either. The fact that a president is not deposed does not mean she is strong; it means her opponents are not stronger, not yet, anyway.
The fact is that people power is a spirit as much as it is a revolution. The fact is that people power has not found its climax because it has not found the answer or response it demands for a proper closure. There will be another EDSA, or another place where people power will converge to express the angst that it is. It has no choice but to do so.
What do Filipinos want that drive them to take down presidents? The answer is easy, and natural. Filipinos want freedom. Filipinos want decency. Freedom and decency -- the Filipino angst.
Freedom is not a title, it is a state; it is a way of life. Decency is not a title either; it is also a state, a standard of living. There is no freedom, no decency, and that is why the Filipino angst persists.
Poverty denies freedom. The political freedom that is claimed by a dubious democracy is hollow when poverty defines it more than opportunity. Poverty is worse than living in submission to a colonial master when it happens under the governance of brother or sister Filipino. And massive poverty takes away the legitimacy of any government, illegal before God, illegal before humanity.
Corruption degrades human life. Corruption exploits. Worse, it exploits from a position of power and in especially depraved ways. What else can be more despicable than to exploit the very people one is sworn to protect? What betrayal is worse than the one that shepherds commit when they lead their flock to slaughter?
Yet, our poverty is like our national dress and our corruption a global shame. How can the poor choose daily , or the weak opt for abuse and degradation? The poor and the weak are victims, unwilling victims to forces beyond their power to resist. It is the rulers of the land who wield authority, the elite who control resources, who carry the onus of guilt for a people's suffering. All that the poor and the weak are guilty of are fear and the capacity to absorb pain almost indefinitely.
How then can the poor not dream of freedom and decency? A human being is endowed with a nature that seeks to survive and prosper. When the greed and despotism of societal leaders deny opportunity and respect to the poor, they simply foster an angst that seeks expression and resolution every time it can.
People power, then, is an open option to Filipinos, one of three. The two others are y revolution and extended submission and humiliation. Apparently, people power is a superior path than destruction or shame. If the people have any option at all, they will choose people power any time over y revolution or subservience.
That is how Filipinos are addressing their angst today. They are gearing for people power and do not be mistaken about it. They can go through stages that give the illusion of apathy but they are intently distressed in their hearts. They show forbearance but the tipping point is only an incident away. After all, who can happily live in poverty, in shame?
It is not wise to assume that people power can manifest only in one form, or that it can happen only in EDSA. People power simply means that people unite and gain enough power to make even the most drastic of changes. It can come in any shape or form, but it will come.
And people power may finally see its higher purpose, not so much in its capacity to remove undesirables but rather to build a nation befitting a free and decent society.
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