On February of
1986, we revelled at our triumph that was EDSA. We toppled a power
that for twenty-one years had put us under his grip, breathless and
struggling. We all know his infamous deeds. We all know where he brought
our country to: perdition.
Such a leader.
I say this for no weakling can put an entire nation under his spell
for two decades. But he became Darth Vader. He turned to the dark
side. He dragged us, our economy, our wealth and most of all, our
attitude into the Dark Ages of Philippine History.
At EDSA we revolted
and won.
But did we really
win? If so, why did it not deliver us from all of our miseries? My
theory is simple. The very essence of EDSA that we are so proud of
had failed us. The People's Power Revolution was bloodless, we all
know that. We celebrated it and wallowed from its sweet redemption.
There was no bloodshed, and for this, our victory was incomplete.
There was no blood
to wash away the vices, malice and all the evils brought about by
that regime. There were no sacrificial lambs to appease the gods of
good governance. We offered our lives but nobody took it.
What about Ninoy
Aquino? His blood was the cold water splashed upon our faces to wake
us up from the deep slumber of fear and feebleness. It was the spark
that sent the drums of war banging across the whole nation, igniting
our patriotism. His blood opened a vent for our anger - boiling for
more than a score - to be unleashed. Ninoy was not the sacrificial
lamb, he was the catalyst; the tip of the sword.
The purpose of
Ninoy Aquino was to gather us all together and unite us against the
dictator. He knew he cannot go head on collision with the dictator
alone. He needed the people to back him up. He attempted and died.
And in so doing, gave the Filipino people something dearly to hold
on to and fight. We remember him as the one who mustered us to Edsa.
When the march began, the memory of Ninoy gave us the courage and
the will to stay on and face the tempest. His face was on t-shirts
and placards everywhere to remind us that he died for this. His death
was the bond that kept the Filipinos united at those crucial hours.
It held.
We do not say
that Benigno Aquino overthrew the dictator and his government; the
People's Power did.
After the vanquished
fled and the People's Power Revolution was over, there was much rejoicing.
People were dancing in the streets, singing and crying with tears
of joy. The mood was festive. The whole nation was equally stunned
and overwhelmed by the outcome. He was gone. He simply flew away.
Not a shot was fired. Victory.
What happened
to the Dictator's iron fist rule that did not mind shooting Ninoy
at the back of his head in front of a thousand people? The same rule
which nonchalantly dispersed demonstrators with tear gases, smoke
bombs, pressurized water from fire trucks, truncheons and even bullets?
Why none of these in the hour of great crisis when it is much needed?
Did the Dictator chicken out?
He did not. He
knew that his time was over. His resistance would be futile. He had
half the army and the entire nation marching against him and a handful
of his loyal cohorts. He could have made a last stand and died a noble
death in battle. Or kill some more people to instill fear among the
populace and re-install his government. Or just simply kill; order
his men to spray bullets on the mad crowd.
His track record
shows he could have done any one of these. But he hesitated. He knew
that if he killed some more, this would make the nation and the world
angrier. This would make them firmer in their resolve to change the
system. The killings would give them something to hold on to, something
to fight for and something to remember. The lesser the murders the
lesser the people to remember them and the shorter the time to forget
them.
And with the decision
not to fire and just flee, he removed the fuel that will keep the
passion to change burning with fervor. The foundation for a firm will
and determination to overhaul the national psyche was robbed from
the subconscious mind of the masses. We were stripped of the emotional
reason to pursue political and national enlightenment.
A true revolution
demands sacrifice. The best thing we did was take the risk.
After Edsa, we
still had the chance to make little sacrifices by setting aside personal
interests and sentiments and think about the common good for the Filipino
people. But the revelry was too blinding. The sweet taste of a swift
victory was too intoxicating. The opportunity was too tempting.
Lamentations should
have balanced the celebration and brought our minds back to our senses
and our feet back to the ground. Just like the vanquishers of old
offering the first toast of triumph to their fallen comrades, fortifying
their oath and loyalty to the cause in honor of their fellow men who
died in battle.
But we didn't
have those. No dead to honor and mourn. Instead, complacency crept
upon us and shrouded our reason. We thought we were invincible. We
thought we could rebuild this country and make it strong again. But
we were deceived by our false sense of conquest.
The nation was
in ruins. It had to defend the new democracy it just recently gained.
Then we installed a housewife at the helm of the new government and
hastily ratified an all-new constitution. And with all her political
immaturity and callowness, we gave her an absolute power and a term
of six years. What were we thinking!
Edsa Dos could
not have happened. We couldn't have elected an incompetent actor as
president. We could not have had the face to show to those who had
sacrificed their lives. But the casualty was zero. We gained our so-called
democracy free of charge. We did not pay it with our lives, that is
why our efforts in upholding it are not enough to preserve it. With
our actions, it is obvious that we take it insignificantly.
Unless blood is
again drenched into our land; unless we stumble on the true meaning
of sacrifice; unless we loose ourselves and our sons in a fight for
true freedom, we will never learn to preserve and savor the true meaning
of victory and liberty.
