Happy 30th Anniversary To The EDSA Revolution!

Well Happy 30th anniversary to the EDSA Revolution. With all the debate going on about EDSA-1, I really feel like writing this article to really say happy anniversary with a tone of sarcasm. Why? Even after the fall of the late dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr., the whole Philippines still hasn't learned its lesson on why the nation is screwed up. Two factors really made the country in the slump it is right now namely the Marcos years and ignoring the mistakes of the late Corazon Cojuangco-Aquino's regime. Worse, Mar Roxas even thinks nothing is wrong with the current constitution which shows he's not fit to lead the country.

People tend to say, "History repeats itself." It's true. There are some countries in the world that just keep overthrowing their corrupt government only to be replaced with another. Some imperial dynasties were overthrown by another corrupt would-be dynasty. You have history of countries where insurrections only lead to another corrupt ruler. In the case of the Philippines, the whole EDSA Revolution might be summed up as, "After the Marcoses, it's the Aquinos." That incident has led to several problems including the problem of "Basta Aquino, iboto ko." mentality. Any decent Pinoy crowds might as well prepare for the possibility that one day Kris Aquino will be president.

The problem after EDSA is the continuation of several mistakes committed by the Marcos Years. During the 1972 Constitution, the problem of cronyism arose which protected the oligarchy by limiting foreign investments. The 1987 Constitution didn't do anything to repeal that either. Even with the Marcos administration toppled but the practices continued such as the use of the oligarchy system (which was maintained through the use of economic overprotectionism), frequent reliance on OFWs and safeguarding the ruling class. It's always wrong whether it's a Marcos or an Aquino or whoever does those misdeeds who carries the same kind of corrupt system. Instead of learning from the mistakes and the accomplishments of the Marcos era, instead there's repetition and worsening of the country under the Aquinos.

Another existing problem also is that after EDSA is that many people tend not to tell the difference between discipline and dictatorship. Worse, after EDSA, the Philippines' democracy might as well be summarized into the rule of impunity when the Commission on Human Rights was instituted on 1987. This in turn may have developed what many Filipinos consider that democracy is the rule of a dysfunctional sense of freedom. Even I think that the bigger culprit behind economic protectionism would be the majority of people who really lack knowledge in basic economics. You can observe how these people want higher salaries, more jobs but refuse to open up the economy which makes me do a million facedesks.

The whole legacy of the Aquinos ends up as a really bad joke especially with the pathetic legacy of PNoy Pride. What is often ignored is that the EDSA Revolution was motivated by the issue of necropolitics. Just think of the whole cycle of sympathy because somebody in the family died. Do we even think why the late Cory even became president and people backed her up? It was because the late Ninoy was assassinated. When the late Cory died of cancer then we have President Nobita Aquino getting the votes. Sidenote, the Liberal Party even endorses Leni the widow of the late Jessie Robredo all because she's the wife. It's always been an ugly cycle of necropolitics which makes me think that EDSA may have inadvertently opened the gateway of more necropolitics than you'd possibly imagine.

Is the Philippines really just clinging too much to EDSA instead of looking for better inspiration and solutions? Filipinos need to really get past it because sad to say, after EDSA the Philippines still remains a joke of a country. Happy 30th Anniversary indeed!