A new People Power

By Jose Ma. Montelibano
INQ7.net
Last updated 01:51am (Mla time) 10/13/2006

FOR TWO DECADES, I believed in a conventional format of change: election or revolution. Many of those years were not a period when elections were as free and clean as they should be in a functioning democracy. That left only revolution, and many, indeed, moved in that direction.

A leftist revolution in the Marxist or Maoist mode is generally taken by the oppressed, the working or impoverished masses. A rightist revolution would erupt from the inside, from the very bowels of military organizations directly responsible for ensuring the survival and domination of a dictatorial or authoritarian government. The Ferdinand Marcos regime was threatened from both ends, but finally succumbed to a peaceful, centrist uprising that was unplanned but fatal. Pressure from the Left and the Right brought the Center into play and surprised Marcos, the military rebels and the Left.

The Joseph Estrada presidency fell when the Center moved once more, and again as a response pressured by moves from the left and the right. But the fall of the Estrada presidency was greatly accelerated by the excesses of a man who lost the respect of people, including the military. It was a parallelism to the weakness of Marcos who was debilitated by ill health and could not inspire his military to stay firm in their loyalty to him.

The problem with centrist uprisings that are more spontaneous than orchestrated is that one never knows they can ever be replicated. Classical revolutions or coup d’états are more readable. They do not always work, but they are more understandable and predictable.

The Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo presidency has not been a stable one. It has been resilient, though, and has survived so many threats and attempts to prematurely end it. Many issues plague Gloria, not the least of which are accusations of corruption involving her relatives. Many other high-profile corruption issues simply served to make an image of corruption prevalent and endemic, aggravated by consistent reports by international agencies affirming the high level of corruption afflicting government and country.

Accusations of thievery in government have been worsened by accusations of wishy-washy leadership, of decisions made and quickly unmade, of flip-flopping political will. The sum total of people's distrust due to different controversies and issues gives hope to enemies of Gloria that she, too, can fall as Marcos and Estrada did. But many thought that way with Cory Aquino, too, thinking that her lack of political experience and her being a woman would make her unable to cope with crisis after crisis, coup after coup. They were wrong, with Cory then and with Gloria now.

Of course, Gloria still has four more years left in her current term and anything can still happen. She has been very effective in getting the cooperation of strategic military and police officers as evidenced by the continuous hiring of retired officers into civilian government positions. She must believe that pleasing the military and police organizations is more important than pleasing the majority of the Filipino public who remain critical of her. She is right, or mostly so. The support of the military and the police are not guarantees, but they are powerful assurances.

The issue of whether Gloria will last or not may be central to the ambitions of a few. Politicking, after all, is a favorite pastime of many leaders in all fields of society. But the vast majority of Filipinos are less affected by political or electoral maneuvers than eking out a living in a world that seems to be harsher and less forgiving. City life is a dog-eat-dog environment, and hunger continues to stalk the poor in several provinces in the Visayas and Mindanao. Glowing reports on the gross domestic product and the exchange rate seem like mirages to millions who gain little or nothing from them.

And the face of poverty and violence that used to hug the negative limelight of global attention is growing a prominent mark called cheating. So much attention has been focused on alleged cheating in the last presidential elections. Even a former and newly deposed prime minister of Thailand felt he had the gall to accuse Filipino athletes of cheating, too, when victory after victory was gained by our bravehearts. Now, even exam takers among nursing candidates are caught in the heart of another cheating controversy which will go a long way in cementing an already bad national image.

It would be very easy to be drawn toward a desperation mode if one is blinded by frustration and anger. There are many valid reasons to be frustrated and angry. What may be difficult is for Filipinos to see the gold in them, the strengths that can lift them from moral degradation and material deprivation. I am so fortunate that I have been able to meet and know more and more people who are not swayed anymore by what keeps us a fallen people and instead are inspired by what can raise us above the quagmire that chokes our spirit.

The millions of Filipinos who have left the homeland in search of opportunity are awful testimony to a mute despair. Yet, they have become seeds of hope to a people and a government who gain strength from their remittances. Those who left way ahead of what we know as the Filipino diaspora are, in fact, a powerful source of influence and resources. Few may know that more than two million Filipino-Americans spend over $50 billion in the United States. If they are inspired to help their motherland, the Philippines will experience a rebirth.

Most exhilarating, though, is the emerging spirit of patriotism that knocks loudly now in the hearts of Filipinos here and abroad. It is palpable, almost physical. As the darkness of negativism blankets our land, more and more are finding the determination to become the light that will push the darkness away. It feels to me as though People Power is developing a spirit and form that seek to build more than to destroy. It feels to me as though People Power wants less to fight what is wrong than to do what is right.


This is one kind of article that brings me to tears, I feel the same spirit of patriotism in me. As an OFW I can relate to every statement this article has mentioned. Let there be a new People Power, one that will come from oneself, to change the way we think, let us be the light that will push the darkness of negativism away ... Seek to build more than to destroy, People Power wants LESS TO FIGHT WHAT IS WRONG, THAN TO DO WHAT IS RIGHT.

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