The Gathering Storm (long read, boring)

Well it's that time again. We've been through it in 1986 and then again in 2001. Finally, there was the May 2001 that never really happened. But right after, there were already rumors of Episode 4. Or rather EDSA 4. In the past few days, you can almost feel the anxietyin the air, on TV, in the newspapers. so much is happening.

Boy, are these turbulent times.

As part of the workforce, I am concerned on how this "instability" will affect prices of common goods, the purchasing power of the peso, the security of the entire nation and my future in this country. Hesistant foreign investors. Disillusioned youth. Brain drain. Armedrebels. Goons. Already, Senator Nene Pimentel is calling for President GMA's (and also Vice President De Castro's (groan)) resignation. Nene is a conundrum, much like Atty. Rene Saguisag. Sometimes, you just don't know what side they are on. But to make it clearer Nene, is playing the opposition role and Rene is pro-constitution, pro-poor even (not necessarily pro-Erap). There is no doubt that the announcement of his resignation as then-president of the Senate in January 2001 was the proverbial "last straw", that signalled the end of the Erap presidency and the start of EDSA II. He was elected President of the Senate because his impartiality and "non-partisan" image added to the validity and fairness impeachment proceedings of President Erap. I remember they did open the 2nd envelope and Nene then saying it was proof of Erap's misdealings. Now he says they aren't. In last year's general election, as part of the opposition bloc, he allied himself with Kilusan ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino (KNP) that had Fernando Poe Jr. as the official presidential candidate, and Senator Enrile as on of the Senators. He did not speak out against FPJ's inexperience or the fact that Enrile had apologized to the Ilocanos (while campaigning) for his role in EDSA 1986, the overthrow of the Marcos (an Ilocano himself) dictatorship. Nene himself was a victim of martial law, arrested for speaking up against the Marcos regime. He tried to run for president, but lost.

In the 2004 elections, I swore not to vote for anyone affiliated with KNP, Erap or FPJ. A lot of them won anyway.

Gloria had a choice and we thought she had made it when she announced in 2003 that she will not run in the presidential elections. Those weren't the words that she used but she knew that that was what the public believed. She never bothered to correct us. We already smelled deception then when she would not categorically say, for the record, that she WILL NOT RUN period.When she announced that she will join the elections, she set in motion a chain of events that signified that we are going back to square one. The most important of which are the reactive declarations of FPJ and Bro. Eddie Villanueva to run for president.More significantly is how the FPJ and GMA camps played it like it was a two-man race, when five were running (not including one-hit wonder Eddie Gil). Therefore, the elections became a battle of who the lesser of two evils is, when, according to Philippine Daily Inquirer writer Conrado de Quiros, there is a clear alternative, Raul Roco.

Roco was the biggest loser in the 2004 elections, and I'm not talking about number of votes. Before GMA announced her candidacy, he was the consensus best and most popular choice (between him and Ping Lacson and others). He tried to run for president in 1998, but finished a strong third. People knew then that he was going to try again in 2004. He was the favorite among the youth. He had an outstanding record as lawyer and as a Senator. He had placed reforms in the Department of Education. He said the right things. He knew we had to change not only the president, but the culture and the values. He was the most qualified. After a surprise medical trip to the US right before the elections, the media waved him off. His supporters and erstwhile political allies immediately ran for cover and sought refuge in the other candidate's camps. Only 2 million voted for him. It was the end of his political career.

When the hurly-burly was done. GMA emerged as apparent winner. Using all sorts of dirty tactics that traditional politicians are known for: showbiztocracy, fake smiles, promises, nonparticipation in public debates, GMA managed to edge out FPJ in one of the most heated (and possibly dirtiest) presidential battles. As it is alleged in the news these days, it probably helped that she was the incumbent. She pulled all sorts of strings just to squeeze out a win.

And now, we are paying the price. Is that even fair?

The next few days will become critical. There will be loyalty checks. There will be underground movement. People are expressing discontent. How they will diffuse the situation, I don't know.
What I only know is that I am caught in the middle, and no one up there seems to care.

Happy Independence Day!