Bad fall of a dictator

MANILA, Philippines - The EDSA Revolution of 1986 may be waning in the minds of some Filipinos who are engrossed with the problems of the present, but it deserves to be enshrined as one of the high points in Philippine history when our people were most united in struggling for freedom. It showed that there is nothing a people cannot achieve if only they are united and willing to risk their lives for a principle.

I was addressing a group of medical doctors from the Far Eastern University at the Hotel Intercontinental in Makati in the evening of Feb. 22, 1986, when I learned that a faction of the military headed by then Defense Secretary Juan Ponce Enrile and then Armed Forces vice chief of staff Fidel Ramos had renounced loyalty to the dictatorial government of President Ferdinant Marcos and demanded that he step down.

I quickly sensed that the Marcos dictatorship, which had held our country in a tight grip of oppression for 14 excruciating years, was near its end. I was then a member of the Batasang Pambansa or parliament, elected in 1984 as a representative of Manila. I had labored with the political opposition headed by Sen. Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino, Jr. amidst dangers and great odds to topple the dictatorship that was established by Marcos following his proclamation of martial law on Sept. 22, 1972. “This is it!” I told myself.

Rushing to Camp Aguinaldo, I saw Secretary Enrile at his office. His aides, fully armed, surrounded him. He looked prepared to die for his venture that would lead to the restoration of democracy. I then went to the office of General Ramos, who was in a fighting mood, grimly chomping on his famous cigar, looking defiant with soldierly calm.

On the way to Aguinaldo, I had listened on the radio to the call of Jaime Cardinal Sin, archbishop of Manila, to go EDSA to protect the mutineers against an expected attack from Marcos loyalists. Butz Aquino, brother of Ninoy, was also on the radio, appealing to the anti-Marcos opposition to support the military rebels.

As the national treasurer of UNIDO (United Nationalist Democracy Organization), I was instructed by Salvador Laurel to rally our followers and station ourselves at the corner of Boni Ave. and EDSA.

On Feb. 23, equipped with a loudspeaker, a battery of trained speakers harangued the crowds on the abuses of the Marcos regime and encouraged the people to support the mutineers, while calling on the loyalist soldiers to join the rebels.

A group continually supplied food to the anti-Marcos demonstrators and rebel supporters, ably supervised by my brother, the late Congressman Jaime Lopez, Dr. Valencia and Ray Alajar.

People from all walks of life were massing at EDSA, ready to block the tanks and armored trucks of the loyalist soldiers with their bodies. It was awesome and truly inspiring.

The atmosphere along EDSA was festive in the unique Filipino way as millions clogged the thoroughfare, making it impossible for loyalist troops and tanks to maneuver toward the rebel camps as the civilians blocked their way and women and girls offered flowers to the loyalists.

On Feb. 24, the public nearly panicked as a swarm of seven helicopter gunships from the 15th Air Force Strike Wing under Col. Artemio Sotelo approached over Camp Crame, but the civilians promptly broke into cheers when the helicopters landed at the camp grounds, and the airmen and marines came out to join the rebels.

Early in the afternoon, rebel soldiers led by Col. Mariano Santiago staged a siege of the government television station Channel 4, then located where the ABS-CBN complex now stands, in Quezon City.

There were long tense moments as rebel and loyalist troops confronted each other with drawn guns. But the latter subsequently withdrew, avoiding bloodshed.

The first speaker, informing listeners that the people now controlled the station, was Col. Santiago. I came next, followed by Radio Veritas station manager Orly Punzalan, TV host Maan Hontiveros, Radio Veritas anchorman Fr. Efren Dato and anchorwoman June Kiethley, the “Voice of People Power.”

In the midst of the siege, I got a pleasant surprise and a good scare when I saw my daughter Rossana barging into the station with her group of U.P. Mass Communications students in support of the rebel troops.

On Feb. 25, it happened that both President Aquino and President Marcos took their oaths of office, Aquino at 11 am in Club Filipino and Marcos at noon in Malacañang.

Thus, for about eight to nine hours, the country had two presidents. At 9 pm, we received word that Marcos, his family and some of his closest associates had fled the country on board four helicopters provided by the United States embassy.

I was tasked by Vice President Laurel and former Senator Lorenzo Tañada to proceed to the Palace immediately to help secure government documents and national treasures. With me were Tarlac Governor Apeng Yap, Jejomar Binay, Jaime Lopez, and Francis Garchitorena.

At the gate of Malacañang, there was a large crowd of people, banging at the iron railings, wanting to get in. Some of them were tearing apart a portrait of Marcos and Imelda. I pleaded with them not to damage the property of the Palace, as they were owned by the people as a whole. Almost all of them obeyed, showing that Filipinos are generally honest, responsible, and civic-spirited.

We proceeded to the living quarters of Ferdinand and Imelda. The 7 by 15-meter bedroom was sparse. There were two dialysis machines and medicine cabinets. The room stank of blood and urine, probably because of frequent dialysis to treat his lupus erythematous, an autoimmune connective tissue disease.

It weakened him so that during the campaign he was often carried to the stage by his aides.

But, despite his ailment, he continued to work in an inhuman effort to keep his power. On the floor were thick mattresses on which doctors and nurses must have slept.

Expensive perfume wafted out of Imelda’s bedroom, reputed to be as fabulous as that of Cleopatra. On the floor below were strewn various kinds of firearms and ammunition.

Such was the ignominious fall of a dictator. In vain were all the honors and riches he acquired over 20 years, only to end up being booted out, hated and reviled by his people.

His unlamented fate, typical of almost all dictators in history, is a recurring lesson that corruption and greed for power will inevitably end in disgrace and personal tragedy.

The miracle of EDSA cannot be merely confined to the events of Feb. 23-25, 1986. It began in the early 1970’s when a multitude of our countrymen struggled, fought, suffered, some offering their lives for the freedom and democracy we are all beginning to enjoy today.

All Filipinos of today and tomorrow must ensure that we grow and nurture the gift of freedom and democracy achieved at the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution.

Ninoy Aquino and all of us in the true opposition during the darkest days of martial law dreamed of a day when we would be free from the clutches of the Marcos dictatorship.

Cory Aquino took over with the help of the people and planted and nurtured the seeds from which true freedom and democracy could grow, ours forever.

Now, the son of Cory and Ninoy is trying his best to bring the fruits of these seeds to fruition for our people. While a few remain who seem bent on simply maintaining the status quo, we must do our part once again, now for the son, as we did for his heroic father and his sainted mother.

As P-Noy strives to continue building upon the democratic legacy of EDSA, we can do our part in honoring this legacy by helping build a great country for the Filipino people.

It was after all P-Noy’s father who said “the Filipino is worth dying for.” He did just that on an airport tarmac that set the stage for the heady days of EDSA.

Now it is up to us to set the stage for building the just, prosperous, and peaceful country that was the ultimate goal of EDSA 26 years ago.