The Cory apology
The basic question that arose from the apology made by former Philippine president Corazon Cojuangco-Aquino (1986-1992) was “whether EDSA Dos was a mistake.”
In EDSA II, the multitude of people congregated at EDSA shrine in Ortigas corner EDSA after the Philippine Senate prevented the opening of the envelope that was a focal point during the impeachment proceedings against then Philippine president Joseph Estrada (1998-2001). The concern then was “what was the truth behind all the allegations,” i.e. his alleged involvement in instances of graft and corruption (i.e. the Singson expose on tobacco excise tax and jueteng1 issue, the alleged market manipulation resulting from his BW shares holdings, the Jose Velarde bank account, among others.
The sentiment in EDSA II was towards the extra-legal remedy (”People’s Power”) to counter an institutionalized suppression of the truth. The direct effect was the downfall of the Estrada regime, and the incidental result was that Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (GMA) was installed as President; GMA, being the Vice President at that time. Years after EDSA II, it could be argued that the suppression of the truth is apparently not being rectified under the GMA regime, considering the legal maneuvering pursued under the President’s office (such as EO 464) or through party influence (such as party control of the houses of Congress), among others.
Yes, it would appear that the goal of EDSA II has not been achieved, i.e. the search for truth, even if there was a change in the country’s leadership. Perhaps, it was not achieved because some would have been content with the short-sighted goal of forcing a leadership change rather than incessantly pursuing the goal of imperative accountability.
So, what will one be really sorry about: participating in EDSA II or harboring the myopic perception of a leadership change in favor of GMA?
Perhaps, also, the inherently folly of operating within personality-based political system?
Interestingly though, during the duration of EDSA II, leftist militants were repeatedly berated for openly cursing GMA, in explicit language, for being an utterly unacceptable alternative to Estrada, at the EDSA Shrine, which houses a religious infrastructure. Ignoring the religious sensitivity angle, is this a case of “I told you so”?
- an illegal numbers game [↩]
March 28th, 2009 at 8:04 am
well, she is not supposed to apologize for anything. History tells us that faith in democracy will work and take us to places even dead heroes would not be able to ascertain. Even goodwill can never erase what our parents and elders have fought for- our democracy.