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For a
fleeting moment, the rather large crowd (were there
really 75,000?) that gathered at the central business
district (CBD) of Makati on Friday seemed reminiscent of
the start of the French Revolution of 1789-95. For a
fleeting moment, I say, because the crowd that converged
at the CBD was made up mostly of students.
For, as
the historian Thomas Carlyle tells us, the early course
of the French Revolution was led by the students of
Paris.
The students whipped up mass support for the uprising
that culminated in the storming of the Bastille and
ended the dreaded Reign of Terror of Louis XVI.
Incidentally, it was the blood of martyred students that
first “watered” the meadows of France during that
troubled era.
But the
whole nation soon realized that the students who
converged in Makati were there simply because they were
herded in that direction by the authorities of their
respective schools. The bulk of those students came from
Catholic schools, while the rest of them representing
the nonsectarian schools were really representing the
Catholic-action groups of those schools. On this score
alone, the rally, by and large, should not have been
billed as an “interfaith” event. The leader of another
sect, to be sure, was on-stage, but his flock was
noticeably absent. But that’s neither here nor there.
While a
good number of those students may have participated out
of a genuine conviction that the country desperately
needs to be delivered from the clutches of a
graft-ridden government, their numbers were not that
widespread to warrant the conclusion that “revolution is
in the air.”
Also,
did anyone notice that many of those who were bused to
the area were grade-school children? The parents of many
of those grade-schoolers were horrified. What if trouble
had erupted during the rally, which was clearly an anti-GMA
political exercise?
The
following day, the Philippine Daily Inquirer summed up
the rally with a page-one, across-the-page headline,
“Crowd is the statement.” The headline was in quotes,
being a grab from a statement made by Alberto Lim,
executive director of the Makati Business Club. It was
directly under a dramatic fisheye photo occupying a
third of four-fifths of the page’s upper fold.
Musing
over that story, I said to myself that since the PDI
editors were obviously impressed by the sheer size of
the rally, they could have done a better job with, “Big
crowd says it all.” Again, of course, that is neither
here nor there, but I just couldn’t resist it.
Based on
the size of that rally (without paying heed to the
self-serving noises that followed, mostly coming from
administration critics and this Lozada character), would
it be correct to say it was reflective of the true
sentiments of millions who make up this nation?
I was
asked just that question by a former official of a
bygone administration, and my answer was, “I don’t think
so.” The overall mood and behavior of that crowd was too
staid. In fact, the whole thing struck me as largely
contrived. Most Filipinos are tired of it all—tired of
GMA, yes, but also tired of the politicians trying to
unseat her. They want change but don’t know exactly how
that change should be brought about. Above all, they’re
not clear on who could be trusted enough to take over to
make those changes. The general feeling is, pare-pareho
lang ang mga ’yan. In other words, the sentiment of
most Filipinos is one of revulsion, not an inclination
for revolution.
This
sweeping judgment that they’re all the same was
expressed quite well in a letter by a regular listener
of the Monday-Friday noontime radio program that I host
along with Marou P. Sarne (Business is our Business,
12 pm to 1 pm, dwIZ). It gives us a clearer picture of
the high expectations and deep frustrations of millions
of ordinary God-fearing and law-abiding people. These
are the ordinary folk, those who loathe to go marching
in the streets to express their outrage; or those who
only want to get on with their lives far away from the
din and the wasteful conflicts engendered by our
political system. Let me share with you the letter of
Joy Chu of Quezon City:
“My
11-year-old son was watching the news last night when a
news footage of Mrs. Corazon Aquino caught my attention.
I am not so sure who her audience was, but Mr. Lozada
was also around. I surmised that it had something to do
with the biggest telenovela ever, ‘The ZTE Series’. Mrs.
Aquino said that the battle to oust GMA will be
prolonged because there are so many [Filipinos] who
refuse to see the truth about this present
administration.
“I
totally disagree! We actually see so clearly that those
who are trying to oust the present administration will
do the same thing over and over again. I am personally
so sick and tired of all our politicians. How I wish we
could all ship them to outer space! Can we export them
somewhere, please? Somebody should find a taker for our
politicos and their families, quick! We will even pay
whoever agrees to take them. Of course, the ill-gotten
wealth has to be sequestered in favor of our country.
“I was
based overseas when Mrs. Aquino was catapulted to power.
What a beautiful time that was! Then, hope was alive.
Hope for a better and more prosperous country. No doubt,
Mrs. Aquino restored democracy, but she could have done
so much more. She could have curbed the voracious
appetites of her relatives and cronies for wealth and
power. She could have been the shining light that we
Filipinos so badly needed. She could have punished the
numerous personalities who robbed all of us blind.
Instead, everything the Marcoses did kept on happening.
Only the cast of characters changed. [By the way], some
characters were still the same, nag-change costume lang.
The script and plot remained the same. Again and again
Filipinos became the victims of politicians whose only
aim was to enrich themselves, their families and their
friends.
“Who
cares if our children get into drugs and commit such
unspeakable crimes? Who cares if teenage pregnancy is at
its highest? Who cares if the poor choose to remain poor
because the politicians want them dependent on them? Who
cares if the population of illegal settlers
exponentially increases in the metropolis? Who cares if
the NPA and ASG problems worsen? Who cares if corrupt
officials like General Garcia, Jalosjos, Bolante, the education-plan
company owners like Yuchengco, Sobrepeña and so many
more do not pay for their misdeeds and are treated with
‘kid gloves’? Who cares if our natural resources are
depleted? Who cares if our waterways get so polluted
with industrial and human waste? Who cares if our
infrastructure stays obsolete? Who cares if crime
becomes a legitimate choice for those in need? Who cares
if our educational standard sinks even lower? Who cares
if health care remains unreachable to the majority? Who
cares if farm-to-market roads still remain a dream for
the farmer? Who cares if criminals go unpunished?
“I do! I
am sure the genuine Filipinos who love our motherland
share this sentiment. We are not asking for much,
really. We want our leaders to be morally, spiritually
and mentally upright. We want our leaders to be
accountable to us. Is that asking for too much?
“Who,
then, is qualified to lead us? GMA? Noli de Castro? FVR?
Erap? Binay? Tita Cory? Loren? JDV? Sadly, for me none
of the above.
So, the
search is on for the QUALIFIED leader. I shall keep my
heart, ears and eyes open for such a Filipino. And until
I see one, I will go on paying my taxes, obeying traffic
rules, loving and teaching my children good manners and
right conduct, and storming the gates of heaven with my
prayers for a leader who will take charge in
transforming our country and our people into what God
intended us to be. That also means that I shall not take
part in the street demos mounted by the Left, Right and
Center.
Joy Chu
of Quezon City
omerta_bdc@yahoo.com |
