Discordant Notes
February 25, 2012
Four Days at EDSA (Day 4/ The Final Day)
The description of that times were like the lyrics of the Frank Sinatra’s song My Way: “ and now the end is near, and so I face the final curtain…”
And on the fourth day, the coast became clearer. Now that the major TV and radio stations are all at the hands of the military rebels, the more we cannot rely on them on factual news. It’s all hallelujah time for the rebels and for Cory Aquino.
We got a clearer picture, analysis and news with the VOA and BBC broadcasts.
The hand of US Imperialism was very clear from day one. The United States sent its big time negotiator to Manila to warn both sides of the AFP, the Marcos loyalist and the RAM rebels led by Enrile and Ramos not to slug it out for it will only benefit “ the communists.”
And the two sides complied but conducted their own initiatives The Marcos-Ver forces ordered the AFP artillery from Fort Bonifacio to fire at Camp Crame but the army refused. They ordered the air force to bomb Camp Crame and they defected en masse. They ordered the PNP to disperse the crowd but the PNP defected to General Ramos.
On the other side, it was the RAM who seized the initiative. We were surprised to see in that morning newspapers the CHDF from Cagayan and former NPA rebel returnees who terrorized the masses of Cagayan with Major Aguinaldo who attacked and seized Channel 2 and 4 stations. It was the former ABS-CBN Broadcast center. And now they are being treated as heroes in Manila.
We learned it again in 1987 and 1989 during the “ acoustic wars” between the Pro-Cory yellow forces and the combined Marcos loyalist-RAM rebels cum coup plotters with the US acting like a referee and dictating the tempo of their armed clashes and conspiracies.
One thing was clear. Everybody were claiming themselves as heroes. How they sacrificed so this will be a reality. Including the arch enemies of the people.
The same persons who were also with Marcos – deep in his inner circle when he declared martial law; Juan Ponce-Enrile, the warlord from Cagayan and General Fidel Ramos who was the vice-chief of staff and PNP Chief during the 14 years of the Marcos dictatorship.
The media even the foreign press was announcing that there will be an important announcement that afternoon. The ground was abuzz with the unconfirmed news that Marcos had fled the Philippines. People were tired of the FVR psywar that Marcos fled earlier that was not true. Now they are all waiting for confirmation of the rumor that Marcos and his family fled somewhere.
It was erie silence again when the crackle from the radio came in. It was a voice of a magistrate and a women who is being sworn in as the President of the Philippines. Corazon Cojuanco Aquino, the bereaved wife of opposition senator Benigno Aquino Jr is now the president of the Philippines.
The news anchor described the events at Club Filipino in San Juan, Rizal. Present at the swearing in was General Fide Ramos and Juan Ponce Enrile. Later the news confirmed that they were appointed by Mrs. Aquino as Defense Secretary and new Chief of Staff of the “New Armed Forces of the Philippines” or the NAFP.
As the French says it; “ the more it change, the more it remains the same.”
The revolution is over. Marcos has fled the palace and that night, the news reported that multitudes of people ransacked the presidential palace. The rest is history.
We put off the radio. And we all went to sleep after four straight days of sleeplessness. Everybody were tired. I can just smile to see them dozed off at different corners of the house we were in.
And we know that a new chapter of the people’s struggle is about to begin.
With Enrile and Ramos at the helm, with the AFP in their control, it’s like Marcos time without Marcos. Weird but true. We are all thinking of the inevitable. What will happen to the people when the rebels forces or the NAFP came back to the provinces? Will they stop the human rights abuses or will they just aggravate it?
The King is dead, long Live the Queen!
We have to sleep and rest, save our energy to wake up for another day.
Days ahead will be full of troubles.
***********
