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Defiance
by Sophia San Luis
"I would be happy if you could show them your solidarity and support," Cardinal Sin said of the rebel soldiers who had defected from then strongman Ferdinand Marcos at the onset of People Power I. "They have shown their idealism."
Less than an hour after the late Cadinal Sin called the people to support Enrile and Ramos who had gone to Camp Crame and Camp Aguinaldo with other rebel soldiers, multitudes of people had flocked to Edsa bringing with them food and whatever else they can afford to show their support for the rebel soldiers.
Fifteen years later, Filipinos once again rushed to the streets, this time of Ortigas, to protest the 11-10 vote of the Senate which thwarted the opening of an envelope that may have concluded the impeachment trial of President Estrada. Thousands of people had already gathered in front of Edsa Shrine by day light and, to Estrada's dismay, the number swelled to over a hundred thousand. A Philippine Collegian headline briefly summarized to prevailing sentiments of the students who bolstered the rally to success: "No Classes Until Erap Resigns."
Half a decade more, we find ourselves still adamantly protesting. This time around, we demonstrated our objection over proclamation 1017 which, according to Secretary Michael Defensor, allows warrantless arrests, takeover of public utilities and media outfits, and violent dispersals of peaceful assemblies.
Some would say that we Filipinos never learn. That history only repeats itself in our country and, time and again, we take to streets to oust a president whom we voted. They say that people Power has become an avenue for political scanvengers to grab power and ntohing more. That if only we learn to vote for leaders who will not corrupt their office then perhaps we wouldn't have to rally repeatedly.
I am not going to argue that the incumbent president still has to answer questions of legitimacy that have been thrown at her since the Hello Garci tapes were discovered. What I am going to argue is that the reason why we Filipinos take to streets time and again is not because we never learn. It is because while millions of us vote in good faith, the elected leaders still continue to blatantly misuse their office for their own personal benefits. We take to streets not to rally agains or behind a person but behind a principle that we, as Filipinos, collectively believe.
Despite the lack of honest leaders, we refuse to believe that we are helpless. We remain vigilant because, while those who hold power want us to remain powerless, our history has shown us that the democracy we enjoy lends us a power that no office can match-- the power of our people to drive away, in defiancy, anyone who would dare take it away from us.
posted by The Lonely Joker who stares too deeply & too much at 7:11 PM
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