The May 10, 2010 Philippine general election proved to be an important milestone in what had historically been a scandalous and often violent time in the nation's story. The basic right to free suffrage, the supposed centerpiece of PEOPLE POWER had been an exercise in corruption and futility in every election after the revolution, just like what it was during the time of Marcos, with only a few exceptions. With the introduction of a computer-automated system of voting instead of the antiquated scheme of paper ballots that has always been susceptible to manipulation and violence, and under the watchful eye of a more vigilant and neutral media, the 2010 election produced a result that genuinely reflected the people's will.
And the name that came out on top was a familiar one. The new president-elect of the republic was Benigno Noynoy Aquino. The son of Ninoy and Cory. The son of freedom.
In an election campaign that was eerily similar to the 1986 crusade of his mother's, Senator Aquino asserted on themes so familiar in every Philippine election cycle. Corruption. Excess. Abuse of Power. Only this time he had the credibility of a name and the democratic and heroic tradition of his parents behind him. Right down to the campaign colour. Yellow-the colour of People Power.
It also helped that Noynoy was running to replace Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the most hated and corrupt president since Marcos. On that point, the 2010 election had a rather predictable outcome, at least at the top of the electronic ballot.
The results did not disappoint. The presidential race was the biggest landslide in history. In a field of nine candidates, Aquino garnered more than 46 % of the vote, some 18 points higher than second placer, the former president Joseph Estrada. Another positive outcome of computerized voting was that the results came in very quickly. In a matter of a week, the results were clear, despite the noise from sour-graping losers. And the general consensus was that the 2010 Philippine elections were peaceful and credible.
Democracy had triumphed at last.
But the truly sad thing for a lot of Filipinos is that almost 25 years after the historic revolt at EDSA, our political leaders are still talking about the same issues. Aquino talked about political, social and economic reform. About government openness and accountability. And most importantly, he spoke of justice for all.
Those are the same issues that drove people to the streets during the last of the Marcos years. To face the truncheons, the water cannons and the live ammunition of the guns of his state police. The same issues that motivated citizens to support Corazon Aquino's quest to unseat Marcos in 1986, despite threats to their own safety. The same issues that galvanized a people to go to EDSA and risk their lives to kneel down in front of army tanks. The very issues that one man resolved to fight for when he left his family and the relative safety of a life in exile in Boston in August 1983, to face certain death at the hands of a dictator.
And now, we are still talking about the same things. We haven't progressed. We haven't moved forward.
It would be so easy for anyone to say that the spirit of EDSA is dead. It is not. Despite the lack of any real progress, there had been major gains since the EDSA revolt. Principal among them is the peaceful transition of power, as witnessed last on June 30, 2010. All post-Marcos presidents had given way peacefully and gracefully with one exemption. Estrada, the B-movie actor turned president was ousted by a bastardized version of People Power in 2001, on accusations of plunder. Laughable, since all administrations after Marcos had been guilty of plundering the National Treasury in more ways than one. Most likely, he was nudged out of power because of severe incompetence and his own disinterest in performing his functions as a chief executive of the land. (He thought being president was just like one of his truly awful movie roles).
But for me to say that the true goal of EDSA has yet to be met would be accurate. 25 years after a revolution that championed plurality, political prisoners still languish in Philippine jails. Members of the media still face harrassment and intimidation, and in some cases violence and death from security forces whenever they offer unfavourable opinions about the political class. The institutional problems of inequality and injustice continue to exist, exacerbated by rampant government corruption and irresponsibility. And the plutocracy still reigns supreme in Philippine society.
The new president promised to address these issues in his inaugural speech to the nation. He has yet to make any concrete steps in that direction.
To be sure, the Aquinos have their share of detractors. As much as they are beloved by the country, there remains a significant segment that are critical to whatever they uphold or represent. From the right-wing Marcos diehards who still refuse to believe that the former despot was anything but a hated brute, to the left who see Aquino as an extension of oligarchic rule; and of course, there are the inggiteros and inggiteras, those who hate the Aquinos or anybody else, for that matter, just for envy's sake; a well-worn Filipino trait that serves as a reflection of one's low self-worth and self-esteem.
But a few months into his term as president, the hopeful feeling of a second Aquino presidency has begun to fade. And in an ironic twist, the criticisms hurled against the new president show a remarkable similarity to the ones raised towards his mother's. Impotence. Ineffectiveness. Incompetence.
Not that he hasn't deserved any of it. Though it's still quite early to judge his performance as chief executive with less than a year under his belt, there are troubling signs that Noynoy Aquino is destined to become just like all the presidents after EDSA. An irrelevant and unremarkable six year ruler. Unable to fulfill the true meaning of his role as President of the Philippines. To bridge the gap between rich and poor. To make the country move forward into progress. To be the leader that the country thirsts for.
Despite tangible steps taken toward modernity, the Republic of the Philippines remain as an enigmatic entity. A poor and troubled third world country beset by grave problems that no one president can solve in a single six-year term. Although far from being considered a "failed state", the country faces a serious predicament that left unchecked, could put it perilously close to being one. The conditions that call for another revolution just like the 1986 EDSA revolt are still present. In fact, as the gravity of the problem gets deeper and the situation gets worse, a violent version of EDSA may be in store at some point in the future.
Unless-We the People-do something about it. NOW.
And it starts with us being a lot more aware of the choices we make as a people. From the people we elect in leadership positions to our own responsibilities as citizens of our homeland. To be cognizant of the importance in promoting the general interest instead of our own self-interest. No amount of flag-waving "fake patriotism" can match the trueness of that virtue. It is through us-that we can effect true change. After all, the president is merely a "spokesman" for our interests as a people. And the people we elect in various capacities are nothing but the "representatives " of our true will. As Alice Walker exclaimed in the title of her book-"We are the ones that we have been waiting for".
It maybe that is what Ninoy Aquino meant to say in one of his final interviews-that "the Filipinos are worth dying for". Or what Cory Aquino meant amid the national grief and support following the assassination of her husband when she said ; "Ninoy did not die in vain".
And maybe that is the true meaning of EDSA.
On August 21, 1983, our country witnessed the consequential result when one man stood up to fight for what is right. For truth, justice and freedom. A dictator's facade of invincibility began to crack.
At EDSA, in those four historic days that shook the world in February 1986, millions of Filipinos tore down that facade of lies, deception and murder. WE ARE THE ONES THAT WE HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR.
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