I cried when they refused to open the second envelope.
I still remember how the events were captured on TV. From the senators explaining their vote, to the disappointment in Supreme Court Chief Justice Hilario Davide's face as he announced the results, to the walk out by the Prosecution Team headed by then- Congressmen Sonny Belmonte and Joker Arroyo, to the infamous celebratory dance of then Senator Tessie Aquino- Oreta while Senate President Franklin Drilon and Senator Loren Legarda, overcome with emotion, were crying at the platform.
I will never forget how I felt at the time. I was transfixed at the TV set, unable to comprehend this blatant show of disrespect for the Filipino people. I could not fathom why these elected officials chose to keep something so important from the people who put them in their posts, just to protect a President accused of receiving kickbacks from illegal gambling.
I remember sitting in front of my computer and trying to write about it then, but my emotions got the better of me and I was unable to string my thoughts together. I so wanted to go outside and join demonstrations then, but my religion disallows active participation in politics, except for voting during elections, in which we vote as a bloc. So, as a show of my displeasure at what transpired that night, I decided to wear black to school the next day, in mourning of the “death of democracy”.
I was not the only one.
Lined up along Katipunan Ave. were hundreds of Ateneans not only wearing black, but also holding up placards to show their contempt of the Senate’s decision. More demonstrations followed, with the majority converging at EDSA Shrine. Students and professionals, businessmen and office workers, people from almost all walks of life came together and resolved not to leave EDSA until President Estrada leaves office. Democracy had never been more alive when it was supposed to be “dead”.
Almost 9 years have passed since that historic moment. However, instead of celebrating the anniversary of the triumph of another “People Power Revolution”, it seems that many are now lamenting the fact that it had happened in the first place. We had traded one corrupt government for a much more mischievous administration. Erap’s jueteng payouts actually looks like a petty crime compared to the accusations being hurled at the present administration.
Election cheating and the Garci scandal. Fertilizer Fund Scam. ZTE Broadband Deal. North Rail Project. These are just a few of the controversies that PGMA and her cohorts seem to have wiggled their way out of, more because the public has already stopped caring than because the public was convinced of their innocence.
Democracy was very much alive during EDSA Dos, but we knew that it is not supposed to happen again. It had raised doubts in our maturity as a nation, and to try to remove a third President out of the last five that served the country would make our nation a butt of jokes in the international scene for years and decades to come.
The present administration has exploited this fact. It has become so complacent that it can do anything it wishes to do and the Filipino people will not even put up a fight. Our love for our country is being used as a tool against us. When we cannot afford for other countries to stop taking us seriously, it is our own “leaders” who are laughing at us, with more and more money going into their pockets.
An official trip to the US for administration Congressmen just days before a Pacquiao fight? That was coincidental. A plain ‘sorry’ for the call made to Commissioner Garcillano, supposedly to protect her votes in Lanao Province? That was really innocent. An allocation for Fertilizer Funds even for City Mayors who won’t have much need for fertilizers except for their own backyards? That was the best way to spend taxpayer’s money.
I am not unintelligent, but I have become almost indifferent. At least it has been a good thing for me. I am able to vote during elections without any question why I am voting for the person whose name I am writing on the ballot. But if there are more and more people becoming like me, then it’s not a good sign for our country.
I remember back in 2002, during a symposium of students from all over Luzon, a question was posed to then Congressman Miguel Zubiri, on what it will take for the country to rise again. He shared the same theory as I did. We need a leader, who people will listen to and who will listen to the people as well, who people will trust, who will always serve the best interests of the people. More like a Mahatma Gandhi. Or perhaps in more recent history, more like a Barack Obama.
I don’t see anyone in our political scene who is even close to that. It seems that our politicians are always either administration or opposition, no one seems to want to unite, everyone seems to want to divide. And as more and more of this goes on, the less and less the public’s interest in politics is turning out to be.
I cried when they refused to open the second envelope. I don’t think I would even turn on my TV if that was happening now. I would probably just play NBA Live.
I still remember how the events were captured on TV. From the senators explaining their vote, to the disappointment in Supreme Court Chief Justice Hilario Davide's face as he announced the results, to the walk out by the Prosecution Team headed by then- Congressmen Sonny Belmonte and Joker Arroyo, to the infamous celebratory dance of then Senator Tessie Aquino- Oreta while Senate President Franklin Drilon and Senator Loren Legarda, overcome with emotion, were crying at the platform.
I will never forget how I felt at the time. I was transfixed at the TV set, unable to comprehend this blatant show of disrespect for the Filipino people. I could not fathom why these elected officials chose to keep something so important from the people who put them in their posts, just to protect a President accused of receiving kickbacks from illegal gambling.
I remember sitting in front of my computer and trying to write about it then, but my emotions got the better of me and I was unable to string my thoughts together. I so wanted to go outside and join demonstrations then, but my religion disallows active participation in politics, except for voting during elections, in which we vote as a bloc. So, as a show of my displeasure at what transpired that night, I decided to wear black to school the next day, in mourning of the “death of democracy”.
I was not the only one.
Lined up along Katipunan Ave. were hundreds of Ateneans not only wearing black, but also holding up placards to show their contempt of the Senate’s decision. More demonstrations followed, with the majority converging at EDSA Shrine. Students and professionals, businessmen and office workers, people from almost all walks of life came together and resolved not to leave EDSA until President Estrada leaves office. Democracy had never been more alive when it was supposed to be “dead”.
Almost 9 years have passed since that historic moment. However, instead of celebrating the anniversary of the triumph of another “People Power Revolution”, it seems that many are now lamenting the fact that it had happened in the first place. We had traded one corrupt government for a much more mischievous administration. Erap’s jueteng payouts actually looks like a petty crime compared to the accusations being hurled at the present administration.
Election cheating and the Garci scandal. Fertilizer Fund Scam. ZTE Broadband Deal. North Rail Project. These are just a few of the controversies that PGMA and her cohorts seem to have wiggled their way out of, more because the public has already stopped caring than because the public was convinced of their innocence.
Democracy was very much alive during EDSA Dos, but we knew that it is not supposed to happen again. It had raised doubts in our maturity as a nation, and to try to remove a third President out of the last five that served the country would make our nation a butt of jokes in the international scene for years and decades to come.
The present administration has exploited this fact. It has become so complacent that it can do anything it wishes to do and the Filipino people will not even put up a fight. Our love for our country is being used as a tool against us. When we cannot afford for other countries to stop taking us seriously, it is our own “leaders” who are laughing at us, with more and more money going into their pockets.
An official trip to the US for administration Congressmen just days before a Pacquiao fight? That was coincidental. A plain ‘sorry’ for the call made to Commissioner Garcillano, supposedly to protect her votes in Lanao Province? That was really innocent. An allocation for Fertilizer Funds even for City Mayors who won’t have much need for fertilizers except for their own backyards? That was the best way to spend taxpayer’s money.
I am not unintelligent, but I have become almost indifferent. At least it has been a good thing for me. I am able to vote during elections without any question why I am voting for the person whose name I am writing on the ballot. But if there are more and more people becoming like me, then it’s not a good sign for our country.
I remember back in 2002, during a symposium of students from all over Luzon, a question was posed to then Congressman Miguel Zubiri, on what it will take for the country to rise again. He shared the same theory as I did. We need a leader, who people will listen to and who will listen to the people as well, who people will trust, who will always serve the best interests of the people. More like a Mahatma Gandhi. Or perhaps in more recent history, more like a Barack Obama.
I don’t see anyone in our political scene who is even close to that. It seems that our politicians are always either administration or opposition, no one seems to want to unite, everyone seems to want to divide. And as more and more of this goes on, the less and less the public’s interest in politics is turning out to be.
I cried when they refused to open the second envelope. I don’t think I would even turn on my TV if that was happening now. I would probably just play NBA Live.
