White hair chronicles XXII - I remember people power 1

Tempus fugit! It's now more than a generation since the EDSA people power revolt but I still remember vividly those heady days.

In '85, Marcos was still so well entrenched despite the swelling sentiment against his regime that he confidently called a snap election when pressured by his American masters. I personally thought there was no way Cory could win, even without Marcos cheating. The people were still deathly afraid of him. In my office then, a government corporation, the staff was even scared to talk about the signature campaign for Cory to run. Young and fearless, I did what to my office mates was unthinkable. I signed the petition. The signature campaign caught momentum and since then I knew Marcos' end was near.

I became part of my office's hakot brigade in the Batasan canvassing. The session hall was divided between the pros and antis. The government hakots composed the pros. The antis sounded to have more fun compared to the nervous air in the pros side. They  boisterously cheered each time Bono Adaza noticed small defects on a canvass. They booed when the chairman just said 'asteriks'. I cheered and booed with them even if I was on the pros side. I wandered around the corridors to find a way to get to the antis. When I got to the other side, I proudly waved at my office mates. Their shock and disbelief is still etched on my mind.

On the second day of the EDSA uprising, I asked them who's coming with me to EDSA. Although still very wary, many dared and went with me. The atmosphere was still tense, anything could still happen. But I believed it was just a matter of days before Marcos goes. They couldn't kill us all, I told my friends. By the fourth day, I was at home when it was announced that Marcos had fled. I went outside and shouted at the top of my voice "wala na si Macoy, lumayas na!".  Ah, those were the days.

Pacquiao sings

Manny Pacquiao's attempts at singing. This video is at Yahoo Sports.


This is a link to a video at TMZ.com of the PacMan singing La Bamba.

This is from Jimmy Kimmel Live.

For bad leaders people power is always a threat

“The Philippines has come a long way since 1986. We regained our freedom, our national pride and our will to get the country growing. Somewhere along the way, we became complacent. People power gained a partisan meaning which started to divide the nation once again,” this believe it or not, are the words of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo as read by her stooge during the 24th EDSA anniversary yesterday.

“We have to be jolted into mass action once again to realize that sustaining our growth and freedoms meant constant vigilance not only to defend our human rights but also to protect our right to good governance...a dysfunctional government resulted in insufficient investments in healthcare, in education, even in the basic amenities such as clean water and electricity to remote barangays.” She was referring to Erap's aborted presidency and in effect justifying her ascension to power.

After her 10 years in office we remain off track in meeting our Millennium Development Goals (MDG) despite government-controlled statistics. Complacency crept in because her transactional politics weakened institutions meant for check and balance.

People power gained a partisan meaning that divides the nation again, GMA says. A beneficiary of people power herself, she does not get what it's all about. If the leaders forget why people ousts regimes and start to do as the ousted did, people power always threatens to divide a nation again.

Sinful and shameless

At yesterday's mass, the homily touched on confession as a powerful sacrament. The priest said fewer Filipinos are going to confession. True. Filipinos seem to never ever make mistakes. Filipinos almost never admit anything, even when caught red-handed. We don't have politicians like Clinton, Sanford, or Spitzer, and sports stars like Kobe or Tiger who come out in the media confessing their sins. We don't have the Japanese politicians who commit seppuku in shame. Instead, Filipino sports stars defiantly plead for their privacy while politicians who amassed wealth though their public office try to perpetuate themselves in power.

My women's tennis album 27 - February 2010