On its 30th Anniversary: The essence of People Power

CEBU, Philippines - Unless there’s a change in people’s habits, the real essence of the EDSA People Power Revolution will go to waste.

Former congressman Antonio Cuenco stressed this as he recounted how the historic EDSA People Power Revolution took place exactly 30 years ago today.

Cuenco, who represented Cebu City in the House of Representatives under the administration of then president Ferdinand Marcos, said his term as congressman was not carried out after both Houses of Congress were closed during the Martial Law.

Cuenco, 79, disclosed that he was against the Marcos regime.

“I was a congressman during that time. But, both the Congress and the Houses of Congress were suspended. So, we did nothing during marital laws except of holding rallies,” he said.

Cuenco said he cannot forget how Senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. was shot dead at the Manila International Airport, now the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, on August 21, 1983.

Cuenco recalled that he was in the airport when Ninoy was shot. “I was one of the few who knew that he was going home,” he said, adding that he was shattered seeing the death of the great leader.

Cuenco said he was among the people who secured the family of Ninoy when the revolution was about to happen. He said the imposition of martial law in September 1972 has changed his life and the rest of Filipinos. On September 21, 1972, Marcos signed Proclamation No. 1081 that placed the country under Martial Law.

Cuenco recalled that apart from the Congress, media outlets were closed, the Supreme Court was castrated, while the Commission on Elections was controlled by the administration of Marcos.

He said some of the “traitors” of Marcos regime were not punished by law and by the government.

He said those who have benefited the tenure of Marcos should be punished and be jailed. “Even the colonist of Marcos, who benefited the dictatorship, none of them has been jailed. They should have been jailed. What happened was that the administration was too soft on them,” he said.

Cuenco recalled that he was jailed for three times during the Martial Law. “I used to have a radio program lambasting the Marcos regime, and that’s the reason why I was jailed three times for illegal assembly,” he said.

He recalled he was released after 24 hours on the first arrest. He was able to post bail on the second arrest, but on the third time, Cuenco was not able to elude arrest after Marcos ordered not to grant bails. 

Cuenco said the best part of the Martial Law was on how it ended. However, he hopes that its purpose would be fully understood and carried out by the people. 

“I am afraid that we did not learn about the spirit of EDSA,” he said. “The revolution of EDSA was a triumph but at the same time it was not a successful as it was meant to be. The reason is because the people who were involved in it, they got corrupted. They should be taught a lesson,” he added.

 “What is needed? What was lacking in the revolution was a revolution of the heart. Unless and until we change our heart and habits, our character, then sayang kaayo ang EDSA. Daghan og nagsakrispiyo atong higayona,” he said.

Further, Cuenco calls for “a genuine revolution from the heart.” Cuenco said freedom from Martial Law was very precious and that all Filipinos, except the “traitors” have helped to regain freedom. “A dictatorship is out of the question. The people would never accept dictatorship. It is good enough; it is good that we regain our freedom,” he said. “We will fight to our best, any attempt to impose Martial Law again,” he added.

Labella

Cebu City Vice Mayor Edgado Labella, one of the prosecutors in the Sandiganbayan during the Martial law, also hopes that the younger generation would not put the efforts of the leaders who fought against the Martial Law in vain.

 “During martial law, there was curtailment of our civil liberties and because of the heroic act of not only the leaders but of the entire Filipino nation for protesting against the dictatorship and of course for engaging a bloodless and peaceful revolution, we are now able to breathe the air of freedom without any deter,” said Labella, a lawyer by profession.

Labella recalled the assassination of Ninoy and said the death of the legislator prompted Filipinos to revolt against the oppressive and authoritative Marcos administration.

Labella said he was affected of the assassination of Ninoy, in a sense that the latter was a leader when he came home, who fought for freedom and democracy.

Labella said he cannot forget how the country became united for the EDSA People Power Revolution in 1986. He said the “bloodless” revolution is now part of the country’s rich history.

The revolution ended the 20-year running dictatorship of Marcos, Labella said, adding that the EDSA has helped the country become a better one.

 “We are better off in a sense that we have the freedom now that we are breathing. But, there are so many things to do like the fight against the deeply-rooted corruption. We should continue to fight,” he said.

 “We still have battles to win, these battles are deeply rooted of corruption, cyber sex, proliferation of illegal drugs, criminality in our country so that we could give justice to those who have fought and died during Martial Law. We should conti-nue to fight against these social injustices,” Labella said.

 Labella, the chairman of the city’s Cultural and Historical Affairs Commission, said as the whole country celebrates the 30th Anniversary of the EDSA People Power Revolution today, he hopes the youth and the children, who are the future of the country, to learn from it.

“It was not easy for the Filipino people first during the fight against foreign subjugation by the Spaniards, the fight against Japanese occupation and third is the fight against dictatorship,” he said.

He said the youth and the children should read and learn from the lessons of history especially the great leaders who have fought for the freedom of this nation.

 “Never again to dictatorship, never again to martial law. We should treasure freedom, democracy, liberty, and justice,” said Labella, as his message to the youth.

For Toledo City Mayor John Henry Osmeña, despite the restoration of the country’s democracy during the EDSA revolution, he believes that the country squandered a lot of opportunities for development. 

Exactly 30 years have passed, but no significant change has been attained by the country as a result of throwing away the opportunity, Osmeña said.

He said the country missed to adopt a federal form of government, thus, resulting to undesirable consequences, which is mostly experienced nowadays.

“Now, that opportunity has gone to the dogs because of the failure of our leaders to push for federalism,” he told The FREEMAN.

He added that through federalism the countryside development could have been decentralized with other parts of the country, especially the southern part, also getting equal benefits and access to resources.

 He lamented that most of the developments are being poured in Manila while many provinces in the Visayas and Mindanao are being left out.

“Many areas in Mindanao and Visayas have not been developed,” he said.

He said graft and corruption, and peace and order remain unchanged and are even getting worse.

He is hoping that future leaders would consider the change in the system of administration for the country by embracing federalism.

Osmeña along with his brother, former Cebu governor Emilio “Lito” Osmeña are known advocates of federal government.

In 1969, he was elected to the House of Represen-tatives representing the second district of Cebu.

When the country was placed under martial law, he went into exile in the United States but returned to the country after the assassination of Ninoy to help topple down the Marcos regime.

San Remigio Mayor Mariano Martinez, who was a student activist during the Martial Law era, shared his hopes for future leaders to make sure that the democracy of the country is upheld by preventing another martial law.

During the period when the country was under Martial Law, Martinez, who was in his early 20s, said everything for him was full of uncertainties of what might happen.

He told The FREEMAN that he did not know how to control his fear that something might happen to him or his family. His fear was also compounded with worry over the condition of his father who suffered from a stroke.

He recounted that he initially favored the Martial Law declaration, thinking that it would improve the peace and order of the country but only to repress the people.

"We should avoid at all cost coming up martial law again," he said.

As the EDSA revolution is commemorated today, he also calls for public to safeguard the liberty the country attained after the Marcos dictatorship, and refrain from abusing it.

He is also hoping that the Freedom of Information Bill would also be passed to establish transparency in the government.

The FOI bill remains pending in the Lower House. The Senate passed the FOI bill on third and final reading, with 22 affirmative votes, in 2014. But the version in the House Representatives is still being deliberated.  — (FREEMAN)