Edsa Revolt: Unrealized hopes

Editorial

We are still a long way off that Philippine state, nation and society in which the hopes that the Edsa People Power Revolt engendered in the hearts of the Filipinos have become concrete realities.

Less than one percent of the Filipino population at the time physically participated in Juan Ponce Enrile’s military mutiny. With Cardinal Jaime Sin’s support and Ninoy Aquino’s widow, Cory, providing the image of a saintly leader, the mutiny turned into a respectable revolt against the Marcos regime.

President Benigno Aquino 3rd is absolutely correct. The People Power revolt is not yet over.

He emphasizes the fight against corrupt officials to the neglect of the fight against poverty, ignorance and the work to instill virtues of hard and disciplined work in all Filipinos. He is right to call on the people to help him win the war against corruption.

The list of enemies must include not only those associated with the former administration. Corrupt new officials, observed to be enjoying the protection of cabinet members and important bureau chiefs, who maintain their reign of greed, must also be cut down by President Aquino’s angry sword.

The theme of today’s celebration is “Ano ang iyong Taya Para sa Pilipinas Natin? What have you staked for our Philippines?”

Every Filipino of thinking age ought to ask himself this question in a patriotic and spiritual examination of conscience. Patriotism is, after all, one of the virtues that belong to the larger virtue of Charity (Love).

Are you willing to forgo some of your heart’s desire, give up your creature comforts and diversions, lose your leisure time to work harder and longer hours for the sake of our country? What have you staked (or risked) to make our own homes and offices more clean, orderly, honest, pleasant? Are you risking the disdain of the barangay capitana by pointing out that she and the tanods must become less tolerant of neighbors who mess up the streets and contribute to clogged drainage culverts?

In our two-page feature commemorating the Edsa People Power Revolt, the President honors The Times with a message. He reminds us to “take inspiration from your distinguished past as a champion of truth and advocate of freedom of speech; my father, the late Sen. Benigno S. Aquino Jr., first took these ideas to heart as a correspondent for this publication. May this be an occasion to reaffirm the highest ethical standards and an elevated level of public discourse, the very legacy of the Times.”