FINDING ANSWERS
For young Filipinos not yet born in 1986 and who now comprise half of our country’s population of around 115 million, let me give you a glimpse of the first-ever People Power Revolution the Philippines commemorates today.
A shining period it certainly was in our nation’s history when Filipinos of all ages and from all walks of life trooped to that vast stretch of highway between Camp Aguinaldo and Camp Crame 39 years ago to stand their ground in protecting a small group of mutineers that broke away from the regime of a dictator.
There was no MRT or bus carousel system at Epifanio de los Santos Avenue back then, and the lingering multitudes could crisscross the main thoroughfare during those four days — Feb. 22 to 25, 1986 —which gave the Philippines one of its proudest moments.
International news headlines bannered the “bloodless revolution that surprised the world” and honored the courage of common folks and religious people who served as human barricades and confronted advancing tanks and heavily armed troops with prayers, food, and flowers.
What millions of Filipinos did at EDSA had inspired, years after, other peaceful upheavals in Poland, Chile, South Korea, Germany, including “singing” revolutions in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and the Velvet Revolution in the Czech Republic that ushered the fall of communism in the heart of Europe.
Even without Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, Viber, or even just basic text messaging then, the defiant crowd quickly swelled into amazing numbers as they responded to the call of then Manila Archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin, repeatedly aired on Radio Veritas, to gather at EDSA.
As a human rights lawyer back then who actively campaigned for Cory Aquino when she sought the presidency during a snap election earlier, I played my own small part in the EDSA uprising as I helped organize and rally the people who took strategic positions to block troop movements targeting the mutineers.
For me, the EDSA revolution was a culmination of the years I devoted to the collective struggle of fighting for freedom even while I was a student activist starting at age 17 who almost got hit by bullets that killed three people beside me during violent rallies in the ’70s.
At the heart of the standoff and unfolding drama at EDSA was a potent mix of emotions — fear, defiance, and unwavering hope. The fear was palpable, lingering in the hearts of those who had lived and felt terrified under martial law. The mounting presence of heavily armed soldiers and the tanks gathered in the vicinity of EDSA fueled the fear.
But in fairness to then President Ferdinand Marcos Sr., that critical period also gave him a shining moment when he stopped the use of deadly force against fellow Filipinos. “No, no, no!” Marcos was seen on live TV, ordering then Armed Forces chief Gen. Fabian Ver and his loyal forces not to attack and massacre the people.
“This was President Marcos at his finest, in his hour of greatest peril. That his survival in power was now at stake became clear when, at noon, the mutineers’ helicopter gunships bombarded Malacañang Palace with rockets,” wrote book author Cecilio Arillo. “He knew that it would be within the law to suppress the rebellion with force. But higher than the decrees of men, higher than law, is sacred life.”
The moment of triumph for the people came on Feb. 25 when the Marcoses finally left Malacañang Palace grounds. In an instant, fear had turned into jubilance, then euphoria. The multitudes at EDSA where prayers were held and tears had flowed erupted in cheers. Strangers embraced, flags waved, and the oppressive darkness that had loomed for so long dissipated into a new dawn of bright hopes.
The world watched in awe as Filipinos showed what the collective power of a united citizenry can achieve. In an era when revolutions were often characterized by bloodshed and chaos, the Filipino people had achieved the unthinkable then — a peaceful uprising that toppled a dictatorship without a single bullet fired in hostility.
Armed only with courage and faith in dismantling one of the longest-running martial law regime in Asia, the Filipino people showed what the power of unity and an indomitable spirit can achieve. The EDSA revolution proved that courage can conquer fear, hope can outshine despair, and that a united people are the true wielders of power. That is the lesson of EDSA, which today’s young Filipinos can learn from in striving for a better Philippines.
(finding.lina@yahoo.com)