Millions of people poured into the streets after eleven senators refused to open a second envelope that was believe to hold the key to proving Joseph Estrada’s guilt regarding his plunder charges. People were angry. Everyone felt like they were cheated and denied the right to know the truth.
As a student in a high school ran by the University of the Philippines System, there’s almost a pressure to somehow fulfill the stereotype when it came to the penchant of iskolar ng bayan(s) to be activists. It was easy to be caught up in the moment. Everyone seemed to be engulfed by hate to the point that they effortlessly spew out more-than-flowery towards the eleven senators who denied the prosecution’s request to open the second envelope. Thanks to calls from popular personalities from politics and the clergy, people came in droves to fill up EDSA just as they did fifteen years ago when a popular public uprising unseated a dictator who ruled for 20 years.
Granted, Joseph Ejercito Estrada is the dumbest Filipino ever. You could argue til Sunday that he didn’t deserve to be president due to a laundry list of reasons. But here are the facts:
- He allowed the filing of the impeachment complaint. Despite Congressman Manny Villar’s underhanded tactic of segueing to reading the complaint without allowing members of the house to raise points regarding the filing.
- Instead of resorting to political accomodation and bargaining – and maybe due to his confidence about his a) control over the Senate and/or b) his innocence — Erap allowed himself to be subjected to the legal process. He challenged his opponents to prove him guilty in the Senate.
- Everyone who hated his administration had a field day. The media was not muzzled and had the right to publish things about him – regardless whether they were positive or negative.
- The much-hyped second envelope didn’t contain any substantial evidence to prove anything. Perhaps Tessie Aquino-Oreta’s statements regarding the prosecution’s fishing expedition were really founded in fact.
- The prosecution walked out of the proceedings and refused to continue. Erap on the other hand wanted to go through the legal process to make sure closure was achieved.
- The Anti-Erap forces capitalized on the angst of people to make them revolt under dubious circumstances. Despite the Supreme Court’s ruling that states that EDSA Dos was constitutional, it’s very easy to see that such a ruling was made in the name of convenience.
I t would be very hard to tell the story of EDSA Dos to the next generation of Filipinos. Six years later, it doesn’t even seem that justified. In ten years time, most people would see it as a monumental mistake – and you don’t even need to put GMA in the equation to make people realize that.
People were manipulated.
People were duped.
And so were you.
Yes, we the hundreds of thousands who chose to go to EDSA were just mere pawns in a chess end game strategy that worked out tremendously.
It takes a lot to admit it, I know. But I’ve chosen to admit it now.
Bookmark at:StumbleUpon | Digg | Del.icio.us | Dzone | Newsvine | Spurl | Simpy | Furl | Reddit | Yahoo! MyWeb
Viewed 5450 times by 1129 viewers
EDSA 3 for me was far more legal than EDSA Dos. your points in your post were clear and people refused to see that during those times. clearly, the Philippine Constitution was humiliated to its lowest level.
Jon: Were you in EDSA II or EDSA III? It was really easy to get caught up with all the emotions that were involved.
Hehe. I've admitted to myself about 3 years ago that taking part in Edsa 2 was one of the biggest mistakes of my life. I was new in UP then, and that Edsa rally seemed like a monumental event [at that time], students, and even some professors were walking out of their classes. Parang na peer pressure ako. hehe :p Not that I wasn't aware that there were serious issues being discussed, but you're right in saying that many people just got caught up with all that's been happening then. Mob mentality.
I was in 1st year high school then. No pressure, really. Most students in QueSci were a bunch of asses anyway — the rich apathetic no-care ones who want to go to UP because it's the practical school to attend, them being "scholarly" and all. There were some militant teachers. Rare nga lang.
Haha, Erap was pwnd! I swear! All for the stupid reasons you mentioned. Nabobo talaga ako sa kanya that time.
The spirit of the People Power revolutions (EDSA [put number here]) is now lost. I admit, I have no hope and/or trust in those EDSA's now, but I'm still proud to have attended one. Why? Because the experience has taught me a lot. I wasn't just there for the purpose of ousting Erap; I was there to learn from people themselves. Yeah, the joke was on us, nye-nye-nye, but what once was just a sentence fed to you as a fact (Filipinos are poor and unsatisfied) was then proven to be true — I saw it, and I felt it. See how many people took part in that revolt? The cause might not be as successful as other people claim it to be, but still, we learn, right?
If EDSA Dos was a mistake, it's a mistake I'm glad I made.
Yeah, pinipigaan ko ng maganda yung kalokohang iyon.
Hi Benj,
Consequence of an action does not defined the morality or the rightneousness of the act.
During EDSA Dos, that's the right thing to do, there's no regret. It's the utility of democracy that is in question in your post. I think, given the context during that time, 2001, that's the right thing to do.
In the same matter that opting to be atheist at this point in time is justified and can be rationalized but never will we know if history absolved us in the end with our choices.
EDSA Dos may be a 'mistake' but it will still be a never ending struggle until the final destination has been reached and therefore, there's no point comparing the negation of negation.
Village Tickler
Hi Tickler,
Why was it the best thing to do? If it was about Erap's stranglehold of the Senate, then it wouldn't have still been right. I'm not really talking about the consequences – I barely talked about GMA — my focus was related to how well Erap remained faithful to due process.
i was technically "in" in ALL EDSA people power revolts thru national TV.
I remember what LKY said.. it was better if Erap was impeached rather than ousted through a mob crowd.
Don't you find it funny that Filipinos like "justice" but when they're the prosecution, they want things the "fastest" way even if it's not convenient and it may bring further complications in the future. When we are the prosecution, we don't want due process.. gustong santong paspasan na. We're shooting ourselves in the foot. And we are bound to do it again.