The long road to EDSA

The story of those four historic days in EDSA has been told and retold in many books and articles. The many events that actually led to the People Power Revolution have not received as much attention. The long road to EDSA actually began in 1978 with the election for the Interim Batasan Pambansa. The high point was the Metro Manila noise barrage on April 6, 1978 which was the eve of the elections. It was the first time that a Metro Manila-wide spontaneous demonstration was held in defiance of the authorities. Ninoy Aquino was campaigning from prison. However, none of the opposition won due to massive cheating.

Then came the 1984 Batasan Pambansa elections. There were many respected voices that advocated an election boycott, including many human rights lawyers. Two opposition parties emerged – the PDP-LABAN and UNIDO. Cory Aquino declared on Radio Veritas that she was in favor of participation. Her call was to give nonviolence and participation in the election process one more chance. This allowed the opposition to organize all over the country, especially in Metro Manila.

Of the more than 200 delegates elected, 55 opposition delegates won in spite of the use of “guns, goons and gold” by the Marcos forces.

In 1985, Marcos announced he was holding a snap election. Cory Aquino and Doy Laurel were the presidential and the vice-presidential candidates of a unified pro-democracy movement. Marcos and Arturo Tolentino ran under the banner of Kilusan ng Bagong Lipunan. The opposition campaign had no media coverage and the candidates had to speak at dozens of rallies every day.  But the rallies and motorcades brought millions to the streets, church courtyards, basketball courts, street corners and any place brave enough to host opposition rallies.

In many areas, there was widespread vote-buying, intimidation, ballot box snatching, tampered election returns and disenfranchisement of voters. However, volunteer watchers from the opposition group and the National Citizens’ Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) courageously kept watch over the ballot boxes. After the elections, it was clear Cory Aquino had won but the election count was being altered. The government Comelec count showed Marcos with a narrow lead while the Namfrel count showed Cory Aquino leading by a million votes.

On Feb. 9, 1986, two days after the election, the state-run television showed about 30 computer technicians led by Linda Kapunan suddenly walking out of the Comelec tabulation center in PICC with computer diskettes in their hands. They later announced they were protesting the manipulation of election returns to favor the Marcos-Tolentino ticket.

Cory Aquino decided it was time to call the people for another protest rally because she thought the people awaited a call for action. A group of opposition leaders from the political, cause-oriented and business sectors met at the Cojuangco Building in Makati to discuss the venue.

This was where Cory Aquino strongly insisted on Luneta as the rally venue so it could be found out through their attendance if the people were ready to fight or surrender.

On Feb. 16, 1986, the Tagumpay ng Bayan rally was held at the Luneta and the crowd was estimated at two million. The Filipino people were now preparing for more rallies, including acts of civil disobedience as a general strike. On Saturday, Feb. 22, 1986, meetings were being held in small groups to prepare everyone in the struggle for the coming weeks.

Cory Aquino left Metro Manila to go to Cebu and other provincial cities to convey the message of continuing the struggle for freedom. That night, I was attending some meetings in some of the subdivisions in Parañaque. It was then when we first heard the news through Radio Veritas of a possible coup d’etat. Our first impression was that this was a struggle of the different elements of the armed forces and therefore, not our concern.

When I got home late that night, I heard Cardinal Sin on radio asking people to go to EDSA to protect members of the armed forces led by Gen. Fidel Ramos. I decided with a few friends from Tahanan Village to go to EDSA to answer the call of Cardinal Sin. Upon arrival, we found only small groups of people that first night. I remember Jimmy Ongpin asking me and several people to call more people to come as soon as possible.

That was the start of the four-day People Power Revolution.

On the first night, the few thousands on EDSA came mostly from organized groups and veterans of previous rallies. However, the next three days, they came first by the thousands, then hundreds of thousands and then to more than a million, coming on their own or part of their own local networks and organizations.

Along with several friends and people we connected with, I had been sleeping in my car parked on a side street of EDSA. Food was available which people kept bringing and distributing. Among those I bonded with were partymates from PDP-LABAN, colleagues from the Jaime Ferrer for Assemblyman Movement in Parañaque, friends from La Salle school days and associates from the business world. I had been active in the Cory Aquino for President Movement and had therefore met many of the opposition leaders. We formed a natural network.

I remember it was our fourth day in EDSA, a Tuesday morning, and the exact date was Feb. 25, 1986. That morning, I was told that Corazon Aquino was going to take her oath as president of the Philippines. Finally, the 14-year Marcos rule was coming to an end.

I decided to walk to Club Filipino from EDSA to witness what I knew would be a historical occasion. When I got there, the room where the oath taking was going to be held and the entire premises were jampacked. I decided to wait at the street near the Greenhills Shopping Center for some companions who were fortunate to have found space inside. After the ceremony, a few of them like Nene Pimentel, Jaime Ferrer, Zaf Respicio, Lito Lorenzana and I decided to go somewhere to discuss what had just taken place.

Somehow, I was able to get a copy of the inaugural speech of President Aquino. I especially remember these lines from her speech: “It is fitting and proper that as our people lost their rights and liberties at midnight 14 years ago, the people should recover those rights and liberties in the full light of day. Ninoy believed that only the united strength of the Filipino people would suffice to overturn a tyranny so evil and so well-organized. The brutal murder of Ninoy has created that unity and strength that has come to be known as Lakas ng Bayan – People Power.”

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