My Piece on The Current Political Turmoil

I’m just tempted to release the emotions within me. I may not be the “best” person to write such piece. Nevertheless, I’m still hoping that somehow this could affect the stance of anyone who reads this piece.
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The EDSA II experience is one of the experiences I will always treasure. I am proud (and will always be proud) that I was part of that upsurge. Somehow, it was my first active participation as an “awakened” Filipino. However, I regret one thing about my participation – I was not able to participate beyond the ouster of Estrada.

What’s wrong with EDSA II? Just like me, a lot of us were fixated of the idea of simply ousting Estrada. We thought that ousting ERAP was the end-all and be-all of the upsurge in EDSA II. We have forgotten that our role transcends the ouster. Rather, we should have continued our role through an active participation in aiding the reform of the system.

We were again given the opportunity to correct that mistake (of being contented with just a change in the face of government) through the 2004 Elections. It was supposedly a great prospect for us to at least start fixing the system by putting the right leader in the position, through a clean and honest election. Yet, we again failed to grab the opportunity as we’ve allowed the people in power to cheat us.

I believe that the aversion of people against GMA is not just rooted on the Gloria Gate Scandal. GMA Administration has caused great agony to the Filipino people. Her administration is never pro-people. The poor are now even poorer given that they cannot anymore afford the high-cost of basic services (i.e. water, power). Moreover, corruption cases are prevalent in her administration (2001-2004 i.e. Macapagal Boulevard, cases against his husband).

The cheating of GMA in the 2004 elections is not only apparent in the controversial tape. Try to look back during the election period. Do you remember her advertisements on TV like the “Tubig naging Bigas”? Don’t you remember that whenever you pass by any (as in any) road in the Metro and nearby provinces, you will see street-sweepers wearing t-shirt saying “Patrabaho ni Gloria”?

We need not solely delve on the tape just so to convince ourselves that GMA actually cheated. The so-called wiretapped conversation is simply a tool to intensify the People’s dislike of her – a tool for awakening the Filipinos that “hey, your president is fake!!!”

GMA Administration must end. She has lost the moral and legal ascendancy to lead the country. Letting her state will lead to a more deteriorated system. Hence, leads to more injustices to the people.

The hovering political turmoil in the country is actually a blessing for us. We are again given a chance to redeem the country’s future. The spirit of EDSA I & II must continue. The mistakes we’ve done in the past uprisings should make us more prepared and prudent in this present predicament.

As Filipinos, all of us should be calling for the resignation of PGMA. Many of us are afraid that Noli de Castro will assume the presidency in the event that PGMA resigns or be impeached. If we will be forever fixated with the issue of “who” will be the alternative, we can never move on. The country will be placed in vain and continue to deteriorate. What is pressing is to end the leadership of a fake president. End the leadership of a big hurdle to reform. We shouldn’t be so much engrossed of our fear of “who will replace her.”

Putting an end to GMA is just the start. The problem goes beyond her. Curing the country’s problem of a rotten system could not be done overnight. It may even take more than my lifetime (we don’t know). But, what is immediate now is to get rid of all the things that thwart us from changing the system. That immediate target is GMA. She’s a big hurdle to progress. Sounds cliché yet true, “we should take things one step at a time.” For this circumstance, the first step all of us should take is to end the leadership of GMA. We can only move on with our struggle for a true democracy if we’ve ended her rule.

Allowing the continuous leadership of GMA is parallel to contributing to the deterioration of the country’s political system. Let us not be privy to the breakdown of our country. Let instead take part in curing the country’s political system. There may be no clear alternatives yet as to ‘who’, ‘what’, will going to replace GMA. Hence, it is important that we participate in creating this alternative. We the people are the alternative.