Edsa: The unfinished revolution

ONE score and 10 years ago, Filipinos were on cloud 9 following the heady days of the Edsa Revolution. The sustained peaceful demonstrations and civil disobedience that started on February 22 and culminated on February 25, 1986 had placed the Philippines on the world map and made the Filipinos the pride of the human race. We have proven to all and sundry that peaceful protests and civil disobedience could topple a dictator who had been entrenched in power and shielded by a politicized military for over two decades. Our unique People Power has become a source of hope and inspiration to all freedom-loving people around the world. Some two decades later, massive people’s discontent fomented protests and uprising against despotic rulers in the Middle East. It spread like wildfire across the region, which saw the powerful ruler of Egypt, Hosni Mubarak, who had ruled his country with an iron fist ousted from power on February 11, 2011. Other authoritarian regimes in the region had suffered the same fate.

Our People Power predated the Arab Spring that was ignited by the public outrage over the selfimmolation of Mohamed Bouazizi, an impoverished fruit vendor in Tunisia, on December 17, 2010. It was reported that he was repeatedly harassed by the police while hawking on the streets. Bouazizi got fed up, set himself afire in front of a court building while shouting: “How do you expect me to make a living?” Four weeks later, the tyrant ruler of Tunisia, President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, had stepped down from his office. These ground shaking political events also dislodged or disrupted most of the autocratic regimes in the Arab world.

The common denominators in all of these political upheavals were: firstly, authoritarian rule marked by human rights abuses and political rights repression. Secondly, the dire poverty of the population resulting in social inequities, which fan the f lame of discontent among the population. The abuses by the ruling class, the rampant corruption of government officials, repression of human and political rights and absence of the rule of law create a revolutionary climate. Economic and political power are concentrated on a narrow few who controlled the economy and government at the expense of the majority. Many nations fail because of people’s unrest. So, unless these powers are distributed to the broad masses of people, the elites will continue to control the government and the economy. The only recourse is for the people to revolt to acquire greater political rights and gain a share in the economic wealth. No real change will occur unless the basic structure of society is overhauled. What will happen is that one corrupt and despotic ruler is deposed, only to be replaced by another corrupt and oppressive leader. After the Edsa revolt, we have seen a succession of leaders, but nothing significant has changed in our society and government. Every election, we vote into office a candidate who promises us everything only to regret later our choice. Once elected, he repudiates his pledges and betrays our trust. He feathers his own nest and consolidates his powers and resources to keep him and his party in power. He anoints and empowers his successor, who is either his kin or his lackey, to protect himself from future prosecution from crimes and venalities he committed while in office. He fills critical institutions like the military and the courts with his allies and minions to shield himself from any accountability after his term.

We, Filipinos, started it all. We did not realize then that the public discontent that erupted in the Philippines would encourage other nations some 20 years later down the road to depose their own despots. This was the aftermath of our People Power. Abusive regimes that are allergic to change and reforms fall prey to the call for democratization. Strongmen backed up by subservient military and powerful foreign allies that profit from the corrupt regime crumble against the tide of popular uprising. Their wealth, power and might were no foil against mass discontent. This is the lesson of history lifted from the Edsa People Power and the Arab Spring. For us Filipinos, the Edsa revolt is an unfinished business. It would seem that removing an unworthy leader is a never-ending story in Philippine politics. After Marcos, we had Erap. And we almost forced out Arroyo. We overthrow one tyrant after another and collapse a depraved regime with a new order. We have done it through People Power, or by way of elections. But they did not result in a restructuring of our government and society, which could bring about the changes that we desire. We started with high hopes and ended with gross disappointment. After a series of failed expectations, is it still possible to install a new leader who can effect the political transformation that we need and complete the unfinished revolution that our people have aspired for? Can the new leader be replaced by worthy successors who can continue the crusade for reforms? Can we hold clean and honest elections that will give us outstanding public servants who are dedicated to serve the best interests of our impoverished people? Are we capable of electing into office leaders who will be bold to change the basic structure of our government and lead our country to real reforms? Otherwise, our wretched people, the Bouazizis of our country, who roam our streets to eke out a living, will cry for justice and compassion every time they get harassed by the police and the anti-hawkers’ squad. Let’s not wait until someone sets himself afire. That may ignite another People Power.