THE EDSA I
1986 PEOPLE POWER REVOLUTION
(22-25 February 1986)
Image from Philippine Daily Inquirer
21 February 1999
of EDSA has long been
although there have been few
validations of their thesis.
A democratic revolution
initiated or sustained
by self-serving elites.
can reliably initiate and
sustain an enduring democracy.
Felipe B. Miranda
* EDSA stands
for Epifanio Delos Santos Avenue, site of People Power Revolution
against the regime of President Ferdinand E. Marcos in 1986.
PERCEPTION OF PEOPLE POWER
By Jose V. Abueva
REPORTING on a national survey done in November
2001 which the author conducted for the UP Center for Leadership, Citizenship and
Democracy, this analysis deals with the people's views and opinions on the nation's three
uprisings at Edsa in Metro Manila since 1986.
In the throes of political turmoil and economic crisis and on the 16th anniversary of the
Edsa Revolution in 1986, it is in order to ask what Filipinos know and feel about
"people power" and its second and third application since then.
Filipinos know and understand "people power." The UP national survey we
conducted in November 2001 asked what the people, 18 years old and over, understand and
feel about the Edsa revolts, "people power" and democracy. To the question,
"Do you know or understand the word PEOPLE POWER?" 87.5 percent of the
respondents nationwide replied that they "know and understand"; 12.5 percent
said they do not. In the National Capital Region (NCR), 99 percent said they know and
understand. Those who said they know and understand were 93.3 percent in the rest of
Luzon, 71.5 percent in the Visayas, and 82.8 percent in Mindanao. Urban respondents who
answered positively were 95.8 percent; and rural ones were 77.4 percent.
Among social classes, 100 percent of ABC respondents, 89 percent of D, and 79 percent of E
respondents said they know and understand people power.
Clearly, the great majority of Filipino adults affirm that they know and understand people
power. To probe their response, they were asked to agree or disagree with the statement:
"True people power is strengthening the political power of the majority of
Filipinos." Nationwide, 71 percent agreed; 19 percent disagreed; 9 percent were
undecided. In the NCR, 74 percent agreed. Among the social classes, 75.4 of E respondents,
70.4 percent of D, and 67.3 percent of ABC agreed. More rural respondents agreed (77.4
percent) than urban ones (66.5 percent).
It appears that more lower social class respondents and rural ones understand people power
to mean strengthening the political power of the majority of Filipinos, including
themselves who have less power and would like to have more power compared to the upper
classes and the urban residents.
Next, the respondents were asked their opinion regarding the 1986 Edsa Revolution, the
Edsa rally in January 2001, and the Edsa rally and march to Malacaņang on May 1, 2001.
First, they were asked to agree or disagree with the statement: "True people power
refers to the collective effort of citizens, like what they did at Edsa in 1986 when they
toppled the Marcos regime."
Nationwide, 77 percent agreed and 13 percent disagreed, or a margin of plus 64 percent
(the difference between agreement and disagreement). In the NCR, 83 percent agreed, 12
percent disagreed. Urban and rural respondents agreed in nearly the same proportions,
namely, 78 percent and 76 percent. Among the social classes, agreement was 84 percent of
ABC, 77.5 percent of D and 73 percent of E. Evidently, a high proportion of Filipinos
associate people power with the collective power of citizens as shown at the Edsa
Revolution in 1986.
A clear majority agreed Edsa II was "true people power."
Compared to the respondents' strong agreement that the Edsa Revolution in 1986 that
toppled Marcos was an example of "true people power," relatively fewer agreed
and relatively more disagreed with the statement: "True people power refers to the
collective effort of citizens, like what they did in Edsa in January 2001, when the people
forced President Estrada to resign or leave Malacaņang."
Nationwide, 57 percent agreed, 28 percent disagreed, or a margin of 28 percent. In the
NCR, 61 percent agreed; in the Visayas, 73 percent, the highest agreement among the three
island regions. Significantly, the clear majority who agreed that the ouster or
resignation of Estrada was an exercise of "true people power" was double the
percentage of those who disagreed. It should also be noted that even among Estrada's
constituency, the D and E classes, 56 percent agreed with the statement, as compared to 63
percent of ABC.
More people disagreed that Edsa III was "true people power."
How did the respondents agree or disagree to the statement: "True people power refers
to the people's attack at Malacaņang on May 1, 2001 to force President Macapagal-Arroyo
to leave Malacaņang and make Joseph Estrada president again"?
Nationwide, 30 percent agreed that Edsa Tres was "true people power," while 49
percent disagreed. In the NCR where the event took place, only 27 percent agreed, while 59
percent disagreed. There was also greater disagreement in the urban areas (54 percent)
than in the rural areas (44 percent). While a majority disagreed with the statement among
the ABC class (58 percent) and the C class (51 percent), less than a majority (41.5
percent) of the D class disagreed and as many as 34 percent or one-third of them agreed
that Edsa Tres was "true people power."
On the whole then, almost 50 percent (nationwide) disagreed that Edsa III was "true
people power," as against one-third who agreed that it was. As much as 59 percent
disagreed in the NCR where the people were more aware of the nature of the Edsa rally and
the resulting siege on Malacaņang.
It may be concluded that to more Filipinos, especially in Metro Manila, and except only in
the E class, Edsa III was an organized mob, not a principled revolt. It was seen as a
cynical move by a disgraced and repudiated president and his allies and supporters to put
him back in power in a hurry after his sudden downfall, despite his betrayal of the
people's trust in the view of many more Filipinos. In desperation over their loss of
power, Estrada and his allies were fomenting a class war that pitted "the poor
against the rich." This explosive development provoked soul-searching among the
middle and upper classes and the ruling elite.
People power is now part of Filipino political culture and behavior.
Filipinos understand and approve of people power as their spontaneous collective action to
take matters into their own hands to force the resignation or ouster of a president whom
they judge to be grossly corrupt and abusive of his powers, a traitor to his high office
and his country.
"Tama na, sobra na, palitan na!" Through people power, Filipinos are
making a moral judgment and meting out a political sentence. However, they also realize
that removing a president through people power is an extraordinary act that should not be
abused or perverted. The military and the police should not feel that they are the
ultimate arbiter between the people and the regime as to the latter's moral legitimacy and
political capacity to govern. Otherwise, democracy would be fatally disabled. The normal
constitutional means of changing the president should be observed if our democracy is to
be consolidated and institutionalized.
Source: 16 February 2002 from the Philippine Daily
Inquirer Internet Edition <www.inq7.net>
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THE PEOPLE'S EDSA
THE EDSA People Power Revolt hasbeen
endlessly written about the past 13 years that there's hardly anythingleft to be said.
Except to remember and be grateful. And, except to wonder over again.
Who can say enough about the wonder that was Edsa? Diverse people and events of those four
days in February came together neatly and forcefully to cause the fall of the Marcos
The wonder of the mighty Marcos military turning against itself. The rebellion of the
Marcos defense minister and his acting chief of staff to support the civil disobedience
launched by the political opposition led by Cory Aquino. Most of all, mass upon mass of
people armed only with their faith shielding their once-hated military with their own
The wonder of an Edsa brimming with the faith of the Filipinos has not receded with time.
The wonder is a constant, undiminished even by the shattered dreams of the Filipinos.
Their dream to be free was now reality. But as they set his country free so was the
machinery of corruption set free and running as it was in the time of tyranny. The
Filipinos kicked out the looters of this nation's wealth only to realize that a new pack
of looters had taken over.
At Edsa, Filipinos held the power of the people in their hands. With that awesome power,
they rejected the leaders, who had robbed them, betrayed them, tortured and killed those
who would not be enslaved.
At Edsa, Filipinos were the masters of their fate. At last, they could believe in a
government for the people and by the people. They were sovereign. Next to the dream of
freedom, there was this other one. That their leaders elected in a free and honest
election, would harken to the people's mandate. That they
would listen. And that they would act quickly according to what the people needed. That
they would be true to their oath of office. That they would serve their masters, the
people. That was the lesson at Edsa that leaders had to learn from thereon. That was also
the dream. It has not happened. Both the learning and the dream.
Filipinos are now free to speak their mind, to air their grievances. But that is about all
they have of their four days of courage. That is all they can show for nearly being bombed
into kingdom come at Edsa.
The post-Edsa Filipinos now have a voice. But who is listening? But for the periodic
elections when politicians are suddenly and suspiciously solicitous and generous, who
The Filipinos are back exactly to where they were before Edsa: Stuck in poverty and the
corruption of their government but, unlike at Edsa, powerless to do anything about it.
To top it all, the Marcoses never left home. Which is the worst post-Edsa scenario
imaginable. Only, this is happening right now.
For all the post-Edsa desecrations of the Filipinos' courage and sacrifice, their dreams
and expectations, Edsa is not in ruins. It remains a wonder to behold 13 years later. It
has stood as a beacon to oppressed people everywhere from Burma to the former
Czechoslovakia to Rumania to South Africa. It continues to burn brightly as an eternal
flame to freedom. Edsa is a monument to the best that the Filipino can be.
As wonders go, we can say everything about Edsa and yet nothing. Because wonders can never
be fully explained. Because wonders can never be unraveled. To unravel a ball of thread is
to discover you've lost it.
Let historians then evaluate the context and perspectives of Edsa relative to the
development of our nation. Let political experts assess, dissect and perorate on why Edsa
failed. Let the ideologues lament that the revolutionary zeal for reforms has fizzled out.
That traditional vested interests are back in business as usual. That the political order
is out of order. That the national purpose is adrift. That national unity is in tatters.
That the Edsa spirit is dead.
All that may be true. But so is this truth: Edsa happened and the Filipino made it happen.
No one can diminish Edsa or take it away from the Filipino.
So, let the people rejoice that there ever was an Edsa. Let them sing and dance in the
streets in the next four days in celebration of their triumph. Because Edsa was of their
very own making. Their finest four days when they decided in Nick Joaquin's words, ''to
have a future again, a tomorrow again, and that we didn't have to resign ourselves to a
numbing prospect of one damnable Marcos after another.''
Source: 22 February 1999 from the Philippine
Daily Inquirer Internet Edition <www.inq7.net>
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13 YEARS AFTER EDSA REVOLUTION
Lost revolt waits for new spark from below
By FELIPE B. MIRANDA
FOR MORE than a decade now, many Filipinos have trekked to EDSA to commemorate the
anniversary of the February 1986 "People Power Revolution," marking the
overthrow of President Marcos' regime.
This year the customary rituals - ecumenical invocations, on-site masses, eloquent
political speeches, martial marches, colorful parades, star-studded shows and other
diversionary entertainment - will be performed as before. The celebration will probably
take a more subdued tone as the country, as well as the region, reels
from the economic slowdown and disruptive challenges to erstwhile secure political orders.
For most people who persist in joining the EDSA celebration, few are inspired to explore
its historical or spiritual connotations. It appears sufficient that this historic stretch
of the national highway is momentarily transformed into a convenient amusement park.
After all, people who live precariously from moment to moment, as more Filipinos now must,
are not inclined to burden themselves contemplating the depressing state of the nation.
Better the light entertainment of the moment than the serious
reflection which a continuing sense of national purpose and civic responsibility demands.
Yet, amidst today's celebration of the 1986 People Power Revolution, one really ought to
inquire into the meaning of this historic mass action, the original context within which
it might be more fully appreciated and the painful but now compelling
perspective for assessing the current relevance of this experience.
In 1986, a critical mass of Filipinos found Marcos and the political order he created
sufficiently revolting; and, throwing their support behind a small band of desperate
military coup plotters, forced the ailing dictator, his family and his subalterns to flee
The popular revolt succeeded in toppling Marcos' rule, but lacking a clearly revolutionary
ideology, a revolutionary program of government, a revolutionary political leadership and
indeed a revolutionary mass base, the rising could not go much beyond ridding the country
of the hated Marcos and dismantling the formal political infrastructure of his
The leaders and other supporters of the "people power revolution" could have
worked hard to give substance to this media-projected identity. Indeed the momentum of the
popular revolt could have been sustained and immediately magnified had a series of
progressive government policies been launched
and implemented with revolutionary rigor by the successor regime.
These policies included people empowerment particularly at the local level, national
unification embracing the traditionally marginalized and even the main rebel groups,
recovery of plundered public resources and relentless pursuit of those responsible for the
rape of an entire nation across several generations.
The revolutionary possibilities indicated by these early policies of the new government
however would remain illusory. Traditional vested interest groups (e.g. landed wealth,
those in business and the religious) as well as politicized new players in Philippine
politics (e.g. the military) developed more than enough political stakes in the post-Edsa
political arrangements and predictably shirked from the revolutionary thrusts of these
As had happened so often in the history of most nations, collaborationist Philippine
elites thought it best to undertake a politics of restoration where their primacy would be
guaranteed rather than to assist in the building of a new and, for the historically
privileged, a problematic, even outrightly perilous democratic regime. Most leaders of the
1986 revolt understandably settled on the reassuring shores of oligarchic history rather
than embark on the uncharted, revolutionary seas searching for the proverbial terra
incognita, a conceivably democratic national destiny.
National unification was pursued without any critical attention being paid to what
elements could legitimately be included in or excluded from national life. Thus economic
plunderers and scoundrels automatically were inserted as integral parts of post-Marcos
It did not matter much, that for more than two decades, they had abused and looted the
nation. National reconciliation was similarly uncritically pursued and perpetrators of
appalling crimes, including economic brigandage and human rights
abuses, were courted without requiring them to undertake significant restitution to the
victims of their rapacity while they retained control of government offices at various
No revolutionary possibility could survive amidst policies which glossed over the
antithetical character of the nation's traitors and its patriots, the victimizers and
their victims, the plunderers and the plundered.
A nation that is successfully misled by its leaders into adopting this convenient and
self-serving ambiguity learns to readily forgive and hence to also easily forget. Without
a clear memory, no nation can hope to sustain an irreversible revolution, the only truly
reliable path to its deserved destiny.
The historical record since 1986 reflects the implacable effects of reformist policies
which do not basically alter the substantive character of Philippine society and its core
political system. Economic and political inequities remain at high levels, with
poverty engulfing probably more than 6 years percent of the nation's families (this count
is often registered in academic surveys although the government's own estimates would
improve this profile, cutting down the estimated poverty
incidence rate to less than 40 percent by 1997).
Despite the much touted improvements in national economic performance particularly between
1992 and 1997, Philippine per capita income remains low in relation to countries like
Thailand and Malaysia and only slightly better than Indonesia within the region.
Independent surveys also indicate that gains made by
the national economy in the last 60 have been largely limited to the better-off and had
not significantly trickled down to the poorer Filipinos.
Politically, local governments have gained more autonomy, the oligarchic and dynastic
characteristics of the political system continue to be apparent and are documented in
various studies looking into electoral financing, candidate profiles and public official
Systemic graft and corruption remain at fairly high levels. Thirteen years after the EDSA
Revolution, a new president's public speeches would continue to denounce routinely
"hoodlums in robes" (those in the judiciary), "hoodlums in uniform"
(those in the military and the police) as well as all other plain hoodlums in and out of
government service. All would be warned in his inaugural address not to test his
presidential resolve to combat graft and corruption. (Almost a year into his
own presidency, it appears that some of his own close political aides have been hard of
hearing at his inauguration).
One could continue documenting the agitating features of Philippine political history
after 1986. One could explore the serious challenges of criminality to public safety (with
about 40 percent at least of the people feeling unsafe whether in their
own homes or in the streets of their own neighborhood), or of dissident groups defying
public order (the CPP-NPA-NDF communist threat and the Muslim Islamic Liberation Front) or
the politicization of purportedly neutral government institutions such as the judiciary
and the military, among others.
All these are painful images of a current reality emphatically belying any claim that a
political or socioeconomic revolution was indeed precipitated at EDSA. Yet one more image
remains and perhaps it is this one that might serve to sufficiently
outrage another critical mass and another generation of Filipinos toward a much more
authentic revolutionary awakening.
Criminals do appear to have a compulsion to return to the scene of their crimes. The
national plunderers are back in business, in all the influential sectors of Philippine
society, in government, the private sector and even in many of the
pseudo-organizations of civil society. Their dramatic presence, their predictable forays
into the nation's patrimony and their subsequent arrogant posturings could re-ignite the
public's fading memories of a previous regime's brutal political
repression and tyrannical rule. A better-organized, better-informed and more truly
revolutionary consciousness could be facilitated by the resurgence of these people who
treated the Philippines as their private looting grounds for more than two decades. Then,
like the devil in Goethe's Faust, they may yet philosophically pronounce when asked for
their identity: "I am he who while ever conspiring to do evil somehow manage to
The lessons of 1986 and other earlier possible turning points in Philippine history are
relatively unambiguous. Revolts do not necessarily make for revolutionary outcomes, at
best on for revolutionary potential. In the case of the 1986 Revolution, that potential
was aborted. Marcos was deposed as a political ruler,
but the political system which spawned him was not irreversibly destroyed and may even now
The final lesson of EDSA has long been suspected by democratic sympathizers, although
there have been few validations of their thesis. A democratic revolution cannot be
initiated or sustained by self-serving elites. Only an enlightened, self-serving citizenry
can reliably initiate and sustain an enduring democracy.
FELIPE B. MIRANDA is professor of Political Science at the
Department of Political Science, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City.
Source: 21 February 1999 Philippine Daily
Inquirer Internet Edition <www.inq7.net>
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THE TRUTH, MARCOSES ARE BACK -- FVR
By Stella O. Gonzales
Image from Philippine Daily Inquirer
23 February 1999
Sin, Corazon C. Aquino, Fidel V. Ramos, and President Joseph E. Estrada
FORMER President Fidel Ramos yesterday
urged Filipinos to ''remember the truth'' as he denounced the return to power of the very
people toppled by the historic 1986 Edsa uprising.
''Today, a number of these people--thanks to our own democratic processes--are back in
power, making the decisions that shape our lives,'' Ramos told a breakfast forum at Club
Filipino in Greenhills, San Juan.
''The interests they represented are still around. They are enjoying a new-found
respectability, and daring even to revise our understanding of what happened in those dark
days of dictatorship--to win back, in other words, what they lost to the
people in a bloodless revolution.''
The strong words were obviously in reference to cronies of the late dictator Ferdinand
Marcos, as well as two of his children, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Imee, who are now Ilocos
Norte governor and representative.
Ramos, one of the key figures in the uprising, reminded Filipinos that ''Edsa is a
continuing revolution--an unfinished confrontation with the forces of arrogance, greed,
oppression and indifference.''
He dared President Estrada and other leaders who did not take part in the uprising to now
participate in it by declaring themselves in favor of what the people did then, and
promoting what the people had fought for.
''This means taking actions that will enhance rather than restrict our democracy, curbing
corruption and cronyism in high places, carrying on with economic liberalization and
social reform, and seeing to it that justice is delivered to the long-suffering and
powerless,'' he said.
''And I mean concrete and decisive action--not just brave words or slogans that may sound
good on camera but which very quickly become undone in the real world.''
The statement--made in the wake of reports of corruption in the government--was an
apparent reference to Mr. Estrada's promise that he would go after anyone who violated the
law, without favor to his family or friends.
Still, Ramos said he was ''delighted'' that the President had ''forthrightly embraced, by
his official orders, the concept that Edsa must continue in our lives.''
Ramos chided those who were claiming to have been part of the revolt but who were actually
at the opposite side of the fence.
''Every year, fewer and fewer people come to Edsa
itself to commemorate our 'People Power Revolution.' This, I suppose, is only to be
expected. But also every year, it also seems that more and more people claim to have been
at Edsa--or were one with
us--in February 1986,'' he said.
He said he did not begrudge these people the right to defend themselves and to peddle
their own version of history. ''But it is up to us--the people in the street, the
pedestrians of the moment--to remember the truth, to recover our senses, to reject
falsehood, and to rededicate ourselves to what we fought for 13 years ago: freedom from
the rule of one man, one family, and one coterie of cronies, and the right and the
opportunity to grow into the fullness of our nationhood,'' he said.
Ramos also said it was not too late for those who stood at the opposite side to renounce
despotism. They could still start afresh, ''in union with the awakened masses,'' he said.
Nevertheless, Ramos said, there was good reason to commemorate Edsa because, he noted, the
Philippines had become Asia's most vibrant example of a restored and
''Were it not for Edsa, not many of us would be here today enjoying our liberties.''
'Only 8 months'
Militant groups also lamented the return to power of the Marcoses and their cronies.
The Kilusan para sa Pambansang Demokrasya said it took the President only eight months to
set back whatever gains the people may have achieved through the Edsa revolt.
''Mr. Estrada has successfully reinstated the Marcoses and their most rabid cronies
(Eduardo) Danding Cojuangco and Lucio Tan back in power,'' said KPD chair Sonia Soto.
She described this year's commemoration as a ''grand reunion'' of Marcos' monolithic
Kilusang Bagong Lipunan, ''to celebrate the successful comeback to the happy days before
Kilusang Mayo Uno chair Crispin Beltran said Filipinos had ''no reason to rejoice'' in the
commemoration as ''the conditions that pushed the 1986 uprising remain and have even
worsened after Marcos.'' Citing labor figures, he said the unemployment rate had gone up
to 13.3 percent and that an average of 435 workers were being retrenched daily. ''About 75
percent of the Filipinos still live below the poverty line. The plight of the Filipino
masses is worse than before,'' he said. Beltran added: ''Now, under Estrada, the Marcoses
and their cronies have been fully rehabilitated and allowed to recover their ill-gotten
In his homily during an afternoon Mass at the Edsa Shrine, Manila Archbishop Jaime
Cardinal Sin breached expectations by not delivering scathing remarks against the Estrada
administration or the return to power of the Marcoses and their
The outspoken Sin even thanked the President ''for declaring this day a national
But he observed that 13 years after the revolt, many Filipinos were still impoverished,
had no access to decent housing, and were suffering injustice precisely because of their
He said problems concerning pornography, violence, abuse and exploitation still abounded,
and that anti-life and anti-family values continued to threaten the youth.
Yet, Sin reminded Filipinos that they had a collective mission to uphold what was fought
for at Edsa, to build a society of peace, progress and justice.
At the House, party list representatives expressed regret over yet unfulfilled ''dreams.''
Akbayan Rep. Loretta Ann Rosales said that while the uprising brought about ''formal
democracy,'' this was not enough to satisfy the people's aspirations for social and
economic upliftment. Worse, she said, Edsa's libertarian ideals were not only forsaken but
were also being trampled on by measures pushed by the Estrada administration.
She said among these were the proposals to scrap the minimum wage, require all taxpayers
to disclose their assets and liabilities, relax the rules on warrantless arrest, and
suspend workers' right to strike.
Rosales particularly deplored Malacaņang's proposal to tax the underground economy while
offering amnesty to ''big tax evaders like Lucio Tan.''
Sanlakas Rep. Renato Magtubo said farmers had yet to taste whatever gains were made at
Edsa. ''To most of them, owning the land their families have tilled for
generations remains a dream. And a dream it shall remain with the Estrada administration's
endorsement of stocks distribution and corporate farming,'' Magtubo said.
Senate President Marcelo Fernan urged Filipinos to preserve the democratic institutions
restored after the revolt.
''The Philippines' post-Edsa experience has shown that economic growth and democracy go
hand in hand,'' he said in a statement
''It was during (Marcos') strongman rule that the country lagged behind its neighbors
economically.'' Fernan also said the uprising ''will forever be the Filipinos'
shining legacy of political awakening for the cause of democracy and freedom.''
But Sen. Teresa Aquino-Oreta said the restoration of democracy would not be complete if
most Filipinos remained poor. ''Democracy is meaningless to a person with a grumbling
stomach. People will value democracy if they see that it has
helped improve their lives,'' she said.
With reports from Gerald G. Lacuarta and Volt
Source: February 23, 1999 Philippine Daily Inquirer <www.inq7.net>
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WHAT EDSA? WHAT VICTIMS?
-- Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.
By Annie Ruth Sabangan and Dennis Carcamo,
FOR the past two administrations, the Marcoses were accused of unsurpassed greed, of
plunder, and of torture.
How times have changed. These days, the Marcoses are accusing their victims of being too
greedy, even of being non-existent.
Ilocos Governor Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. yesterday declared that the 1986
EDSA revolt was "no revolution," but a mere "political power grab."
The statement came just a day after the country celebrated the 13th anniversary of the
EDSA people power uprising that threw the Marcoses out of Malacaņang.
At the same time, the younger Marcos brushed off claims for compensation by the 10,000
victims of human rights violation during the Marcos administration, saying
"some" of the victims were merely motivated by "greed."
The younger Marcos even expressed doubts that there were really torture victims during his
father's 21-year reign.
"Some of these people that are claiming they are human rights victims have never been
victims of anything except their own greed," Marcos said in an interview with newsmen
in his office at the Ilocos capitol.
The statement was the strongest made by a member of the Marcos family since they were
driven out of power by the EDSA revolt. The Marcoses have taken on a higher profile since
President Estrada took office last July. Estrada is a friend of the Marcoses.
Marcos also rejected all calls for an apology from the Marcoses, saying the human rights
victims only wanted money, and not an apology.
"It boils down to money. They don't want an apology, they want money," Marcos
"And I think their true colors are showing because kung mayroong pag-asang magkapera,
mag-aaway-away na rin sila," he added. [If there is a chance to get money, they will
fight among themselves.]
He was referring to reports of a feud between Claimants 1081 and the Samahan ng Mga
Ex-Detainees Laban sa Detensyon at Para sa Amnestiya (SELDA). Both groups are composed of
victims of human rights violations during the martial law years.
"We will apologize if we have done something wrong. We have not even seen that the
so-called human rights claimants do actually exist," Marcos told newsmen.
In 1992, some 10,000 victims of human rights violation filed a class suit against the
Marcoses and went on to win in the Hawaii District Court. The victims were awarded $2.2
billion in damages, although they have not yet been paid until now.
More recently, the Marcoses and the government have agreed in principle to set aside
one-third of the $580-million Marcos bank accounts now held in escrow at the Philippine
National Bank. The amount was formerly part of the Marcos secret bank accounts in
Marcos also belittled the 13th anniversary celebrations of the EDSA revolution last
Monday, saying "there was no revolution."
Instead, he described the people power revolt that ousted his family from Malacaņang as
"a political power grab."
"There was no revolution. Revolution is a change in social order. Iyung mga cacique
(landlords), cacique pa rin. Iyung mga mahirap, mahirap pa rin.ĘI have always maintained
that EDSA is more of a political power grab than an ideological struggle," he said.
In Tacloban City, bailiwick of Imelda Marcos, city officials did not celebrate the EDSA
people power anniversary. Residents said this was the first time in 13 years that the city
did not mark the event.
Mayor Alfredo T. Romualdez, younger brother of Imelda, was unavailable for comment.
But at the provincial capitol, Leyte Gov. Remedios Loreto-Petilla held an EDSA anniversary
program "to remind the people that EDSA restored democracy in the country."
Former city mayor Uldarico E. Mate said Romualdez should have held an EDSA anniversary
celebration regardless of his affiliations.
Human rights groups angrily challenged Marcos' statements on the victims of martial rule,
saying the family was pretending to be blind to history.
Rep. Etta Rosales (Party-List, Sanlakas), a former political detainees and member of
Claimants 1081, said Marcos needed a "reality check."
"It seems he is in a fantasy world," she said.
"How do you expect the son of a dictator who is like an isolated prince to know
reality?" Rosales said.
Karapatan and SELDA executive director Marie Enriquez said, "To hear Bongbong saying
this, and Imee, it is revolting and disgusting, the nerve, parang nalimutan na nila na
pinaalis sila sa Pilipinas dahil doon sa ginawa nila."
[It was as if they had forgotten that they were kicked out of thePhilippines because of
what they did.]
"It's like a nightmare, iyung mga pinaalis nandiyan na ulit. This presidency coddled
the thieves, the plunderers and human rights violators," she added.
Rep. Heherson Alvarez, another political detainee, branded Marcos "a historic
SELDA officials added that compensation was not the only demand of the human rights
victims. The other demands include an apology, an admission of wrongdoing, and the
prosecution of the Marcoses.
Santos Lamban of the Philippine Alliance of Human Rights Advocates (PAHRA) pointed out
that the a US court had already awarded $2.2 billion to the 10,000 human rights victim. He
said this only showed that the Marcoses were really guilty of human rights abuses.
Better under Erap
Marcos added that his family was receiving better treatment under President Estrada than
under previous presidents. He even raised the possibility that the Marcos issue will be
put to rest within Estrada's term.
"The President has shown sincerity in his effort to resolve the issues surrounding
the cases, the Swiss money, including the human rights claimants. I think there is a
distinct possibility that in his term, these issues will be resolved and put to rest once
and for all, and we as a family and we as a country can put all these things behind
us," he said.
At the same time, Marcos loyalist Cherry Cobarrubias denounced the EDSA celebrations,
saying the social and economic situation in the country only deteriorated after Marcos
In a statement to news agencies, Cobarrubias expressed longing for martial rule, saying it
was one of the best things that Marcos did for the country.
"Lalong lalo na nang si Marcos ay nagdiklara ng Martial Law, iyan ang isang
kahanga-hangang gawain ng isang lider na protektahin ang naghihingalong demokrasya ng
bayan," she added. [Especially when Marcos declared Martial Law, that was the best
thing a leader could do to protect an endangered democracy.] --With a report from
Source: Manila Times Internert Edition, 23
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