Mindanaotoday.com | Yellow Revolution, victory or no victory?
By: Maricar Duncan
A REGIME of violence and corruption. An impoverish country with its people begging for help whilst its leader enjoying a lavish lifestyle with his cronies.
With the country’s economy in jeopardy, the rise of insurgencies and after the assassination of the late Senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino, Jr. in August 1983 whilst returning to the country from exile, ignited even more by the election fraud in February 7, 1986, the outraged Filipinos were fueled by their resistance to a cruel and abusive dictator.
There were rallies and demand for widespread protests and civil disobedience. The public’s demonstration called for the government to change.
They screamed out for democracy and demanded the overthrow of the deceased tyrant.
The transition was made possible by the Catholic Church’s staunch backing, the shift of military support and some of the late ruler’s trusted allies like Enrile and Ramos toward the widow Mrs. Corazon Aquino, at the same time, the voice of the people became increasingly louder.
Hundreds of thousands of Filipinos gathered in Edsa from February 22 to 25, 1986, to protest the late dictator. Massive demonstrations of support were held in the country’s major cities.
Mrs. Aquino and Ferdinand Marcos Sr. were both inaugurated as President of the Philippines on February 25, the same year.
Mrs. Aquino had hers done in Greenhills, whilst Mr. Marcos Sr. had his done in Malacañang.
The chaos was clearly evident as angry protesters stormed Malacañang. The Marcos family fled to Hawaii the following day, with the aid of the US government.
The dictator was ousted. This event gave birth to a new government and the making of the new Constitution, the 1986 Philippine Constitution.
The new Constitution is armored with precautions on potential abuses in the government through its emphasis on the Bill of Rights to safeguard the rights of the people. A massive overhaul of the government system was done.
Finally, the Filipinos are now enjoying a democratic system that gives people the right to decide and vote the country’s leaders through regular elections.
Remembering the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution aka the “Yellow Revolution,” we learnt lessons from this historical movement and had proven that A STATE CANNOT EXIST WITHOUT ITS PEOPLE, it follows that A GOVERNMENT CANNOT OPERATE WITHOUT ITS PEOPLE. Government leaders are put in power by the people.
This momentous event altered the course of our country’s history. History says to us that there is power in democracy, patriotism is always in the hearts of every Filipinos, we can achieve so much by faith, that we can always call for a change in the government with a peaceful protest and lastly, there is strength in unity.
EDSA I involved the exercise of the people power of revolution which overthrew the government. It’s extra constitutional and political.1
But after the symbolic Edsa 1, are the Filipinos really victorious? I personally don’t think so.
Edsa 1 might have ousted the late dictator and its cronies, but that was only temporary.
The return of the Marcos family, his cronies, and their elite circle is a colossal failure. The traditional ruling elites, the powerful and the privileged are back.
The oligarchs and political dynastic families are even worse these days controlling the country.
No one can dare to abolish this system that gives these political dynasties more power, wealth and influence.
Despite the sacrifice by many, the Aquino administration and the succeeding ones failed to transform the country to a just and fair nation and give equality to the people.
The economic gap between the ruling elite, the middle class and the poor is still evident.
The violence, dark side of the Marcos regime was replicated in a way during Duterte’s term, with claims of human rights abuses through his bloody drug war. Not to mention the seemingly disregard for the freedom of speech.
With the rampant, fake news, misinformation and disinformation, ironically, the country now has elected another Marcos, this time, the son of the late dictator, Ferdinand “BongBong” R. Marcos Jr., who claimed to relive the “golden era” of the new society, however there is still no sign yet of the promise being fulfilled.
(Maricar Duncan is a graduate of Bachelor of Arts in Communication at the Pilgrim Christian College in Cagayan de Oro. Now residing in Dubai, United Arab Emirates with her family, Maricar is taking up Juris Doctor at the Philippine Law School through its hybrid course program.)
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