This story
was taken from Bulatlat, the Philippines's alternative weekly
newsmagazine (www.bulatlat.com, www.bulatlat.net, www.bulatlat.org).
Vol. V, No. 20, June 26-July 2, 2005
Edsa Veterans on
Another Edsa
Singer-composer and university
professor Jim Paredes, National Museum curator John Silva, and poet-musician
Jess Santiago are veterans of previous Edsa uprisings. What do they think of the
possibility of another Edsa uprising? BY
ALEXANDER MARTIN REMOLLINO Singer-composer and
university professor Jim Paredes. National Museum curator John Silva.
Poet-musician Jess Santiago. They are all veterans of the popular uprisings that
have come to be known as the Edsa uprisings or the People Power uprisings. In February 1986, about a
million people trooped to Edsa – near Camp Aguinaldo, the general headquarters
of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) – to protect a small group of
soldiers who had withdrawn support from the Marcos regime following what was
said to be a fraud-ridden snap election. Marcos had ordered an attack on this
group of soldiers, led by then Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile and then
Constabulary chief Fidel V. Ramos. The 1986 Edsa uprising was
the culmination of a long anti-dictatorship struggle that began as early as
before the declaration of martial law in 1972. Marcos had displayed
authoritarian tendencies as early as 1969. In January 2001, people
again trooped to Edsa to oust another president, this time Joseph Estrada. They
chose Edsa for its historical meaning. The president had been
facing impeachment charges for corruption, bribery, betrayal of public trust,
and culpable violation of the Constitution. This time the fight was
largely against corruption, although Estrada himself had displayed authoritarian
tendencies as well as partiality to the family and cronies of the late Ferdinand
Marcos and this, too, was a major issue against his administration. Nineteen years have passed
since the first Edsa uprising, and four years since the second one. The people
continue to rail against corruption in government and violations of the most
basic democratic rights. And now several political
quarters ranging from Left to Right are on the verge of calling for another Edsa
uprising, in the wake of the surfacing of CDs containing taped conversations
said to involve President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and former Commission on
Elections (Comelec) Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano. The conversations are said
to have hints on cheating in the 2004 election. There
are calls for the ouster of another president. What do the likes of Paredes,
Silva, and Santiago think of this – they who were at Edsa? Paredes, a member of the
singing trio Apo Hiking Society together with fellow Ateneans Danny Javier and
Buboy Garovillo was involved in broad anti-dictatorship campaigns during the
Marcos years. He joined both Edsa uprisings. “I joined Edsa 1 with a
full heart and spirit because I believed it was our chance at getting back our
democratic institutions, and I think Edsa 1 was successful in that,” he said. “I
joined Edsa 2 after much thinking and with much consideration because I felt it
was important to tell our leaders that we cannot have a government like that, we
need a more decent government.” He is disappointed at where
the country is after the two Edsa uprisings. He attributes the current state of
affairs to “laziness on our part.” We wouldn’t be where we are now, he says, if
we had really followed the “revolutionary spirit” of Edsa 1. “We thought the
work was over,” he said. “That’s what went wrong.” He does not deny that he is
suffering from what some political analysts have described as “People Power
fatigue.” Does he regret joining
the two Edsas? “In both Edsas I went there with pure intentions, and I think
you can never fault pure intentions,” he replies. But
does he intend to join another Edsa uprising? “Frankly, no. I don’t think
that’s the way to go,” he said. “I think it’s either we work through it through
our processes, and if our processes cannot deliver, let us have a real
revolution – scary as it sounds, very scary, of course I don’t want that.
“But our government is a
failure. Our system of government is a failure. It has not delivered on its
promises. So for me, it’s either we strengthen the process – in other words,
strengthen the justice system, imprison whoever has to be imprisoned; and if we
cannot do that then let’s throw the government out, let’s change everything,
let’s change ourselves, let’s change the whole system.” “We shouldn’t be changing
our leaders every now and then only to get more of the same,” he added. Silva was an activist with
the Samahan ng Demokratikong Kabataan (SDK or Association of Democratic Youth)
shortly before Martial Law. He went to the U.S. during Martial Law, and returned
to the Philippines shortly after the fall of Marcos. He actively participated in
the broad anti-Estrada campaigns that started in 2000 following Ilocos Sur Gov.
Luis “Chavit” Singson’s revelation that the president then was receiving money
from jueteng, an illegal numbers game. What
does he think about the political crisis presently surrounding the Macapagal-Arroyo
presidency? “GMA (Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo)
unfortunately has been a disappointment on many fronts,” he says. “That she
would now be mum on an issue that is serious only compounds her problem.” Macapagal-Arroyo has kept
silent on the issue generated by the Malacañang tapes, in spite of urgings by
even her political allies like Senate President Franklin Drilon to speak out. Silva prefers the
constitutional manner of addressing the issue. But he has not closed his doors
to the possibility of another Edsa. “Like many others, I would rather go through
the constitutional process. If there is evidence of election fraud, then have
her resign or impeached. The vice president takes over. If the process is not
satisfactory, then we may need another uprising,” he explains. Does he
see the country as having to do several more Edsa-type uprisings? “One is somber about the
fact that Edsas may change something momentarily but may not sufficiently end
the problem in the long run,” he said. “I don’t want to see several Edsas only
because they regress a country’s economic growth. But the crooks in power seem
so well entrenched that there may have to be Edsas again. A sort of cleansing
until we are really rid of a culture of corruption and have upright civil
officials.” Santiago has a long history
of nationalist and pro-social justice activism behind him. During the
martial-law years he became one of the leaders of the Galian sa Arte at Tula
(GAT or Celebration in Art and Poetry), a progressive poets’ organization. He
started writing and composing songs during the late 1970s, and his pieces became
hits in rallies and are still favorites among activists. He continues to be a
regular figure at mass actions, aside from writing a column for the
tabloid-sized Pinoy Weekly, an alternative newspaper. The man was in both Edsa
uprisings. What does he think of the possibility of another Edsa? He politely begged off from
being interviewed at length, but enthusiastically allowed the use of his song “Pagbabago?”
(Change?) for the purposes of this article. He said he still thinks the way he
did when the song was created. Written and composed
shortly after the Edsa 2 uprising, the song is among other things a reply to the
rhetoric of some traditional politicians who claimed that real change would come
upon the ouster of Estrada. It reminds us of the harsh lessons of both Edsa
uprisings:
Maghapon-magdamag sa pabrika
Kayod-kalabaw sa bukirin
Ulani’t arawin tayo sa kalsada
Maisulong lamang ang adhikain
Hinarap na natin ang lahat ng hirap
Binalikat ang lahat ng pasanin
Ngunit ang bunga ng ating pagsisikap
Sinasarili lamang ng mga sakim
(Day and night we sweat in the factories
We toil like water buffaloes in the fields
Rain or shine we take to the streets
Just to push for our dreams
We have faced all hardships
We have shouldered all burdens
But the fruits of our labors
Are kept for themselves by the selfish)
The song ends by telling us that however many
Edsa uprisings may happen, things will not change for us unless we learn.
Kahit mag-People Power tayo ang talo
Hangga’t hindi tayo natututo
(Even with People Power we would still be losers
So long as we haven’t learned) Bulatlat © 2004 Bulatlat
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