Let’s not copy the French revolution

Our recollection of European history tells us that there were three acknowledged factors that gave fuel to the French Revolution. The first was a long-term social and economic inequalities. The second was the financial crisis of the monarchy, and the spread of Enlightenment ideals was the third.

I am not certain if the economic profile of our country as reported for the year 2023 could be likened to the first factor of the French Revolution. But the fact is that the official government poverty rate for the Philippines in 2023, was 15.5%. It meant that about 17.54 million Filipinos lived below the national poverty line. In hard facts, that percentage indicated that their income was insufficient to cover basic food and non-food needs.

The emerging colossal figures are horrifying. They are unprecedented. There are for instance, trillions of pesos allegedly pocketed by corrupt officials as revealed in the ongoing senate investigation on flood control projects. How about the ?17 trillion indebtedness of our country which is the biggest debt we ever had! Could these be likened as the Philippine equivalent of the second and third factors of the French revolution?

The trillion-peso march last September 21 showed how angry our people have become. There had never been such number of demonstrators that hit the streets to show indignation. The massive crowd was historic. The people came by the hordes and the remarkable thing was that no political leaders were involved. Marchers came with the sole motivation to express anger that people’s taxes were siphoned by such supposed noble leaders as congressmen and senators.

I have no way to measure how indignant our countrymen are but thru the surge of social media. Almost every minute that my Facebook account is accessible, I receive virtual howls from unfamiliar numbers and irreconcilable names. If I lived in the times of King Louis XVI, I could probably discern that the language of the trillion matchers was not unlike the cries heard in the French Revolution. While some posts mentioned a name of a senator as their possible bet for the presidency in 2028, a greater majority of which I read talked about changing the Philippine leadership in words not unlike rebellion.

I write this article in that cloud of apprehension and fear. We seem to be re playing the days before EDSA I. The physical massing of people might have taken only last Sunday but the digital uproar has not ebbed a bit. The angry emotion is even louder as if reverberated by people who have locked arms.

The highest leadership of the country is facing a most crucial challenge. He needs solomonic wisdom to save our country from an emerging upheaval. On our part, let us not be duped into reprising the French Revolution. Our studious acknowledging the factors that led the Frenchmen to rebel in 1777-1789 is enough. We need no physical force to achieve reforms. We must continue to express our anger, but we need keep our uproar in check.