In the series of revolutions that marked the global shift to democracy, the People Power Revolution in the Philippines was among the first. It went in favour of liberal Corazón Aquino after she challenged Ferdinand Marcos, Sr. in the 1986 snap presidential election. That revolution made gains of democracy and upholding civil rights, things that the Filipino masses enjoy up to this day, even if recent presidential elections that observed the rule of Rodrigo Duterte and Marcos' son Bongbong imply the rejection of these values.
Recognising that these concepts were promoted after the Revolution, its spirit became target of desecration by loyalists of Duterte and Marcos, although a recent survey showed 62% of Filipinos prefer to keep such spirit living. "People Power is a failure", "The Philippines became worse after Marcos", "Filipinos had too much freedom"-- these were the arguments of the Revolution's critics.
If we are then to condemn this event, must we then also denounce the succeeding events? What happened in Korea 1987? Myanmar 1988? Eastern Europe, China and Chile 1989? African Communist countries? Germany, Mongolia and Albania 1990? Soviet Union 1991? South Africa 1994? And in many more countries? Shall we also question these movements?
If we are to check, certain critics of the Revolution happen to be critical to the West. Some admire Vladimir Putin; fewer would extend their support to PR China. No wonder why they dislike what happened to the elder Marcos.
It's inconsiderate to kill the People Power spirit-- it was a struggle against nepotism and cronyism, for integrity and honesty, for the truth and a decent life, and thousands of Filipinos were arbitrarily arrested, tortured, killed and disappeared in the name of justice, dignity and progress. That's an affront and show of insolence against the Filipino nation. And it's not limited to the country.
We Filipinos became a light in the world of darkness, and we shared the flame, the burning passion for freedom, with other peoples; we helped light their candles, and the world was at relief when the Cold War ended. It was not Western victory; it was a victory of the masses around the world.
Therefore, to despise this spirit of People Power is also to despise the spirits of the revolutions that pulled the iron curtain down and proclaimed justice, just like what I believed during the 36th anniversary of the Revolution, a day after Putin invaded Ukraine*-- that the attack against the country was an attack against the revolution. Non-Filipinos do not deserve this disrespect coming from us if we are to abhor the People Power Revolution.
*I want to share my experience when I joined the commemoration last year at the People Power Monument in Quezon City-- I wanted to raise the issue of the invasion of Ukraine, so I gave it a touch of being an anti-war protest, bringing blue and yellow flowers with pink ribbon (as support for then-vice president, progressive challenger and Ukraine supporter Leni Robredo). What I failed to do is to further connect the issue with the revolution, in spite of the presence of this connection.
Article posted on 25 February 2023, 01:55 (UTC +08:00).
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