Yes Mom, EDSA is a Failure

A score of years ago but not much was done. The promise reforms at EDSA (Epifanio delos Santos Avenue) Revolt remained undone. And the change of cultures and trends seemed flowing against the sworn advocacy.

 
In l986, millions have lined up at EDSA ready to lay their lives against the dictator’s soldiers and rampaging canons and tanks. I am one of them. Thinking that the reforms promised in a new democracy will improve the way of living of the new generation of Filipinos, I laid my future at risk and fought with flowers against smoking guns. I bet my little self for a new beginning where people can live in peace and prosperity, in exchange of the lost opportunities. So many precious lives were put in vain. Those who boldly went against the dictator’s will were summarily executed. I pity them, the change they long aspired were put in limbo by the succeeding dispensations.
 
Tita Cory assumed the presidency and made many reforms. Some of her most important acts were the restoration of democracy and a new constitution –the Marcos government operated under a parliamentary form but made the functions of the Prime Minister and the President rolled into one which he lavishly devoured and enjoyed until his downfall.
 
Under Cory’s new constitution, the following prominent reforms were instituted: 1) Restored the Presidential form of government from a butchered Parliamentary; 2) Gave the right to relatives to run in any elective post ensuring family dynastic power down to the lowest position in the local government –the 1987 Constitution did not clearly defines the prohibition of political dynasty and all the political dynasty bills in congress failed to pass including that of Former Senator Juan Flavier’s SB 12 which was accumulating dust in Senate shelves; and 3) Allowed the party-list representatives to represent their organization in congress thereby giving rights to communist organizations to avail benefits from the government to buy guns and bullets to shoot the government –R.A. 7941, known as the Party-List System Act, was signed into law on March 3, l995 by Pres. F. V. Ramos.
 
During her presidency, she appointed Gen. Fidel V. Ramos as her Department of Defense secretary and later supported him to run as president instead of endorsing the then Speaker of the House of Congress, Ramon Mitra, Jr. –who grew his beard in the entire Marshal Law period as a sign of protest and waiting for Cory’s endorsement- and/or Senator Aquilino “Nene” Pimentel –who languished in prison with Ninoy during martial law and was also the only Filipino invited at US President Bill Clinton inauguration, if I remember it right- and they were the long time buddies of Cory’s husband, Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino, Jr., and also her timeless assistants in the fight for democracy. As a consequence of Ramos presidency, some of the Marcos loyalists were reemployed in important government posts and the needed changes did not materialized. Even history books in the elementary and secondary levels were not revised to effect the new direction of governance. Cory’s ascension to power and even Ninoy Aquino’s name were not given prominence; EDSA revolution was not well represented but instead the works of Marcos were the ones which remained as the study points of the new generation. There were corrections made but the major points of it were only grammar and spelling mistakes. You ask the youth today, and they will say they know little of EDSA.
 
The immediate result, people behind the dictator regained power and, particularly, those behind the coup de tat were elected into office and then the same feeling of discontentment and chaos prevailed throughout the land today.
 
Yes Mom, EDSA is a failure. We are now considered as the poorest and tailing behind the prosperous nations of Asia today.