The will to reclaim back the spirit of EDSA...
or the will to exceed beyond from what the revolt was
by Katleah Iskre Ulrike
Today marks the anniversary of the revolt of the people. This kind of revolt, happened in 1986 showed the people's will remains steadfast, dominant over rifles, grenade launchers, sophisticated weaponry prevailing at that time; and the will to oust a tyrant who ruled for 20 years, marked by repression, uttering the name of "Discipline" and "Progress" while enduring the condition that is, marred by poverty.
To others, that celebration is a mere holiday marked by concerts, waving of yellow ribbons, and playing of patriotic music from the EDSA shrine to the TV sets. But despite all of these, is the spirit of the revolt, like those of 1896 and earlier ones, drives us to a supposed tomorrow?
Well...
As expected, anything coming from the past continues to haunt upon us:
that we still paying our debts issued to us long ago,
that the agrarian question remained unanswered,
that poverty rates are increasing,
Everything around us remained as it is, that the events in 1986 and its succeeding years, regimes are merely change of faces, of hodge-podge of promises and paper reforms. The Right-Wingers and "Left" opportunists around us, in spite of bannering "Freedom", "Change", "Democracy", "Reform", even "National Greatness", still forced us to get contented in the conditions that is, repressive and outmoded-and since they kept on speaking, bannering, how come there is no, not even a speck of their words fulfilled? Perhaps all except of having a sportsman won in a competition doesn't pave way to a major changes in an actual manner-that our mode of production remained backward, out of mode that satisfies the landlord and the imperialist.
And since people continue to celebrate, of seeing Allan Pineda of the Black Eyed Peas singing in the stage in commemoration of the event, perhaps they are as if being "fooled" again by an order who started this thing, or rather say tolerates the widespread creation of mess that is prevailing nowadays. And to tell frankly that, the events last 1986 was not even a "Revolution" after all, but a mere "Revolt" that was pointing against a tyrant, not the entire system in general. Did the events pave way to Genuine Land Reform? National Industrialization? A Progressive Fiscal Social Policy? Emancipation of Women from the repressive conditions, so are the Bangsamoro, Cordillera and other Indigenous peoples? Well...it is the media who dubbed it as a "Revolution", but that "Revolution" doesn't created a major drastic socio-economic change after all.
Once I remember one participant said that behind the "Peaceful" setting of these spontaneous actions lie "Armed actions." Why? Aside from the mutinied rebels like Honasan, or even members of the then-popular Alex Boncayao Brigade, some rebel soldiers were taking off stockpiles of weaponry outside camps Aguinaldo and Crame, the reason-
"to be distributed to the people if violence erupted."
The words seemed to be thrilling and good as the speaker continues to explain about it. And somehow those actions are originally meant to be "Peaceful" so to speak- as the partisan actions of the Alex Boncayao Brigade were willing to destroy the system "by all means necessarily" through the use of weaponry to plans such as freeing the political prisoners and the like, creating a major breakthrough to be followed by those from the countryside. I even wonder about soldiers wanting to distribute their well-kept M16s and M14s in the boxes to the people, but the media didn't speak of it; if so then was the media didn't speak to it wholly about the spontaneous events from EDSA to other areas such as in Recto ave?
Back to the topic,
The crisis continue to prevail in a rotten system like this. That despite the festivities, the cellular phones, computers, internet, MRT and LRT, anything modern so to speak, the conditions remained outmoded and backward since all of us are still "tied to the soil", "indebted", and "dictated" by policies contrary to the will of the people such as from the United States, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and other institutions trying to stunt away National development and Social emancipation.
And if it continues to be tolerated, more and more revolts will come if the rotten system continues to prevail. Whether by the rose or by the gun, EDSA or in Cordillera, it is justifiable to be rebellious. We may not be in 1986 or in 1896, but the will to revolt will always be a clear option as the will of the people prescribes it.
