Article from The Business Mirror
SATURDAY, 18 FEBRUARY 2012 18:55 BUTCH FERNANDEZ / REPORTER
SENATE President Juan Ponce Enrile, one of the most important Edsa 1986 players—his breakaway from the Marcos regime was one of the triggers of that historic revolt—continues to enjoy an enviable place in history.
Day after day, since January 16, people have seen him live on national television steer the nation through a most important phase: the unprecedented impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona.
People hold on to his every word, praise or criticize it, but basically they want to listen because they want to be led by someone they can trust. His voice at this week’s Edsa anniversary commemorations is one of those most awaited.
In an interview with the BusinessMirror, Enrile described Edsa thus: “It was an event that was done by the people at the time of extreme social torment in the country. It was cited in the return of the right of the people to elect their leaders. Although, I must tell you that during martial law, the people who were in it from 1970 onward were elected. Although from 1974 all the way to 1977, there was no one elected. But the people who remained in office as mayors, councilors and governors were elected. Only the elections of senators and congressmen and the periodic elections of local officials have been suspended during that period. If you remember, we had the first national election for all local officials in 1980. There was a reason why that happened. It did not happen just like that. It happened as a consequence of a clash of ideas inside the administration.” Then he added cryptically, “Let historians find out.”
Asked what other lessons from Edsa could we apply today, Enrile replied: “Di ba nagkaroon tayo ng disunity and social spasms. I’m not saying these could not happen again. In the life of a nation, you cannot tell what would happen. You are peaceful today; tomorrow you may be in turmoil. In turmoil today, tomorrow may be like a typhoon that passed….[and then] you have calmness.”
Pressed to elaborate on whether he believes the key lesson is reunification, the Senate President said, “The lesson is that we should follow the laws of the land meticulously.”
But he was evasive when asked if such an upheaval was possible again if the current leaders do not follow the law of the land. Obviously, because his role in the impeachment trial has put him occasionally on near-collisions with the Executive and the Judiciary, Enrile said, “I will not answer that question.”
So, what is the relevance of Edsa to us now, 26 years after? In Enrile’s view, it is this: “We have regained our freedom, supposedly from what others considered an oppressive government, although that is debatable.”
A question of rights, still–Binay
VICE President Jejomar Binay, who was part of a small but courageous and tireless group of human-rights lawyers that took up the cudgels for persecuted political leaders, journalists, churchmen and activists of all stripes, thinks “it’s still the human-rights issues” that remain the enduring legacy of Edsa 1986.
“The lesson of Edsa is that with political will, we can accomplish what we must do as a freedom-loving people,” he told the BusinessMirror, elaborating that its continuing lesson is to learn how to make the most of democracy by improving the lives of the people.
It’s often been said in some countries that took shortcuts in democracy in order to fast-track prosperity that freedom can wait. But, said Binay, in the Philippines the people have asserted that everything starts with people enjoying their basic freedoms—to choose their leaders, to have their voices heard in an inclusive, participative form of government, and in being free from persecution for actively ventilating one’s views in that process.
Binay headed one of the most successful post-Edsa stories of progress riding on political freedom, in his more than two-decade experience governing Makati City, the prime financial center of the country. After maximizing collection and shoring up the city’s fiscal bottom line, he used the ample budget for social justice and social service. Thus, Makati has become like a blueprint for others in providing socialized, subsidized medical care for residents, free but quality education, and a comprehensive program for the elderly that is still being copied by other local government units.
Torch is passed
SEN. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, who as a young boy witnessed his father (Aquilino Jr. or “Nene”) jailed five times by the Marcos regime and then rise to become one of the key political leaders after Edsa, agrees with Binay that “the restoration of a democratic government is the evident accomplishment of Edsa 1986.”
Koko was 22 years old when Edsa happened. He thinks, “Edsa is more relevant today than ever” because, unfortunately, “with the passage of time, we tend to forget the lessons and slide back to authoritarianism.”
He considers important the matter of vigilance in ensuring that people’s rights under the Constitution are protected always. Equally important, the fight for the right to know is central, he said, to being able to nurture democracy at every turn, and ensure that people are so kept abreast of goings-on in government that they can meaningfully participate in the task of good government.
He is one of the key backers of the freedom of information (FOI) bill that has taken Congress 14 years—still pending—to deliberate on.
While Edsa brought back freedom, Pimentel III adds, “the downside is Filipinos remain divided, when what should propel us to progress is unity.”
“Reunification is the absolute key to this, but experience showed otherwise,” says Pimentel III. After the process of political cleansing—holding accountable those who abused power, putting in place and strengthening all the mechanisms for good government at every level—what should have followed should have been a relentless process of “putting our collective shoulders to the wheel,” working endlessly to complete the transformation from freedom to progress.
“As you can see, every new government that took power after Edsa encountered problems because it ‘kept looking back.”’
Filipinos as a people “can’t look forward because our leaders are busy looking back,” he said, alluding to a vicious circle of political vendetta depending on who’s in power at any given time. Thus, leaders are forced to cut deals in order to make sure they won’t be betrayed. “We can’t move forward because we keep watching our backs,” Pimentel said.
Gregorio Honasan: National interest central to us
ONE of the most memorable images of Edsa is a young colonel always at the side of then-Defense Minister Enrile, whose breakaway, together with then- Vice AFP Chief of Staff Fidel V. Ramos from the Marcos regime was one of the triggers for the revolt.
As the most trusted aide of Enrile, it fell on Honasan to supervise at all times the basic security of the core group of rebels, and help marshal as wide a support as possible from troops across the land.
According to Honasan, Edsa 1986 remains “very relevant” today.
“We aimed for reform and good government then,” Honasan said. “Nobody said it was going to be easy,” he added, conceding that what the people have seen so far are “physical and cosmetic changes.”
He acknowledged that the awaited reforms in the system that “we all truly aimed for are slow in coming.”
“What does it all mean?” he asked, then answered his own question: “We need to identify what is national interest. Ano ang mahalaga sa atin. Anong gusto natin for our future generations?”
The people and their leaders, he said, “should have common aspirations of what’s important to us.”
Honasan said that as far as the lessons of Edsa are concerned, Filipino leaders should not apply partisan political solutions to what are fundamentally economic problems that include livelihood of the people, housing, education, health care.
“All these concerns resonate in our people, and we cannot be bickering all the time and feeding them and clothing them and healing them with politics. People want solutions. They trust us, but if they realize sooner or later we are all so self-absorbed in our politics, they will tune out.”
Sadly, he says, Filipinos who gained global respect for Edsa 1986 have been united in staging people power on only two occasions: Edsa I and the papal visit in 1995, which drew over 4 million people at Rizal Park.
People power, or “true people power,” Honasan said, must be felt at every turn, must be “mainstreamed in the process of government.” People, he said, “must feel empowered not because they are rallying all the time, but because they feel satisfied in their lives—they feel economic progress, they feel social justice, they enjoy basic services and amenities.”
Equally important, he said, is to attain political unity. This doesn’t mean having a one-party system or just one powerful political coalition. It means all the political leaders have their eyes set on one common vision of “national interest, para klaro.”
By way of example, he said, even in security and energy issues in the South China Sea (some government officials now refers to it as West Philippine Sea), Filipinos need to have their own broad, united vision of what they want: being able to benefit from or enjoy their natural resources, without sacrificing friendship with one’s neighbors and special relationships with long-term allies.
(Photos by Romy Mariano)
Article from The Business Mirror
