archondigital.It bothers me that to this day, no significant political change can cure the lingering cancer in our nation. That disease is corruption, a malignant and ruptured anomaly in our system, which inflicts our people’s way of life. This disease has ruptured and grown to the point where we all have to make a stand and face the problem head on.
I am writing this post in commemoration of what happened back in 1986. When Filipinos united as one and took a stand against a dictator and his generals. This was a time when us Pinoys were suddenly proud to be called Filipino.
Most of the younger generation have different ideas on what really happened on this historic day. This includes myself as I was only pre-school during the time but people in my family let us grow up learning the facts of life and the political chaos which surrounds us from early on. Here is my take on the following events.
People Power I
In my opinion, the first of the two People Power revolutions proved itself to be a vital point in our history as it ushered a long overdue change from a corrupt dictatorship to a revolutionary government which transitioned later into a somewhat better democracy. President Aquino’s new democracy was full of promise, full of hope with an economy rising from the ashes of the previous crony-driven, corrupt economy. An economy which was forever damaged due to the multiple coup attempts and other events during that time. It is a shame that all the lives sacrificed prior to 1986 continue to seek justice to this day.
People Power II
The second one was a failure altogether. It was a failure as the people were not able to select their chosen leader to replace former President Estrada as there was no immediate presidential election right after. Up to this day facts leading to the former President’s ouster and his imprisonment, the expected conviction and eventual pardon are still being mixed up with all the speculation surrounding it. Only when the dust of what is now our chaotic political landscape settles in can there be a true factual account of the things that really happened on People Power II.
Now What?
Things are brewing up for another regime change. The present political structure with its pathetic multi-party system, the pork barrel, and the disease of corruption continues to eat up on our society’s very core.
Now I am already a head of family, a father of three and no longer that child who once witnessed a bloodless revolution. I fear for my family as this impending regime change might not be a bloodless one.
At present I don’t see no light at the end of the tunnel, at least not just yet. We are now in a very dark political episode in our history. It is a time for us to finally decide how to handle corruption not only from a political perspective but from a change in the basic way of life of every Filipino. This very basic way of life has been inflicted with corruption, hopelessness and delusions of poverty, as some are not really “poor” but merely “think poor”.
Unless we take a conscious effort to cure our mindset and our way of life, then our dark tunnel will see no end and the cancer that surrounds us would soon consume us all.
February 26th, 2008 at 12:20 pm
hey!
would it be alright if I post a link as a reaction to your post?
just delete it if you don’t
Bendz’s last blog post..EDSA People Power: Celebrating 22 Years of Deception
[Reply]
February 27th, 2008 at 1:06 pm
Your article clearly shows the true sentiment of a large number of Filipinos throughout the country which is far from the sentiments of the elite in Metro Manila.
I agree with you that EDSA in 1986 was indeed an elitist’s revolution backed by the Roman Catholic Church. For me the same is true with EDSA II which was also orchestrated by the same set of elitists. “People Power” indeed is merely the branding used to describe such bloodless power grabs.
Both power grabs failed to usher in significant change. Corruption and its effects are only getting worse by the day.
My stand is neither with the administration nor with the opposition. My point of view is based on my being a father to my children and as a proud and loyal Filipino. I see the faults of our present form of government, the political chaos brought about by the multi-party system and everything else around it.
(I took out your link since commentluv already picked it up.)
[Reply]
March 1st, 2008 at 1:08 pm
Great insights there.. From a point of view of a mom, I am greatly apprehensive about what is going on in our country.
People power does not cure the problem, it’s just convenient for some people to remove what they perceive as evil and forget about the real root of all problems. It’s the system that is so corrupt and no matter how many times we change regimes if that system is not corrected well be in the same circumstance every few years or so.
I personally want the president and cohorts to be prosecuted and convicted if guilty. That would be true justice. Removing them and then ushering in same bunch of corrupt officials as new rulers, nothing will change.
People power should not have been the end of the fight but should have been the start of reform.. Dirty politics though is so rooted.. just look at senators and congressmen after election they go after hearings instead of doing their mandated work and i believe for more media mileage and therefore advancing their future political careers. Hayy! I just keep praying na lang this country will experience real reforms and changes for the future generation.
pinaywife’s last blog post..Optical Illusion..
[Reply]
March 1st, 2008 at 9:11 pm
It makes the entire establishment look like one big PR stunt.
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March 3rd, 2008 at 11:18 pm
We must be very vigilant against people who paint and sow “hopelessness” in our nation. These are the people who once part of the government institutions, but are now saying that there’s no other alternative but to force the current Presidency to vacate the Post. These are the people who have questionable motives - mostly just for the media mileage and exposure. Shouldn’t we be scared at the thought that nobody believe in due process and in our Institutions? i wrote a post about it - in my personal blog ( I am blogging also the http://bloggista.com - hey sorry for putting some url address here).
My take is - we should all, as one nation, get rid our country of all the monkeys of our society. we cannot truly achieve progress and true change when everything that we do don’t jive with what our laws and the consitution mandates. We always wanted band-aid, quickfix, superficial and solutions based on personalities - no genuine motives at all. Perhaps, as people who love our Country, we should all rally behind due process and the rule of law - and yeah, PGMA should go! once she’s proven innocent in Courts. Now, who’s working on that? I bet these people prefer the Senate and the Streets - its a circus out there… and they get the media mileage.
bloggista’s last blog post..Quo vadis, Banana Republic?
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March 5th, 2008 at 12:15 am
People Power is one of the greatest thing that ever happened to the Philippines. I am a strong believer of the Filipino people and I still believe in the power of the people in our nation. The only thing that concerns me is that most Filipinos do not know what they are fighting for anymore. The country is faced with so many problems that it makes us divided in a way. Some wants to fight for the truth but in the same time is fighting poverty and human rights. It is so hard for a person to decide if he/she is going to fight for what he/she believes in if his family is starving to death.. so that person will fight for the politican who pays more just to survive the day. That makes people power irrevant nowadays. People Power can be bought with a little cash and a lot of promises. I say let the b1tc# stay in power and focus our efforts in educating the people of what really is important for us as a country. OMG i just commented to say what a nice post.
Guess i just got a little carried away.
Louie’s last blog post..Draw Share Rate Online Drawings with Rate My Drawings
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There are always three sides to every conflict and controversy which our nation faces…
The administration’s side…
The opposition…
and the truth
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March 6th, 2008 at 8:38 am
Funny, you could just as easily replace filipino with American and change the date, then there you go! About the current situation in the USA for the most part.
Gary R. Hess’s last blog post..The Power of Deception
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Well at least you guys have it a little easier, the system in place doesn’t get bypassed all the time and people actually abide by the law more seriously.
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March 14th, 2008 at 11:22 pm
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