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Why there won’t be another Edsa — for now

Published in the February 23, 2020 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer.




For 14 years, beginning in 1972, President Ferdinand Marcos ruled the Philippines like a dictator. But in just four days, from Feb. 22 to 25, 1986, his regime came tumbling down when Filipinos flocked in multitudes to Edsa to protect then-Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile, who had dug in with 200 soldiers at Camp Aguinaldo after a plan to unseat Marcos fizzled out.





Months after the uprising, the biggest gatherings such as the anniversary of the Catholic Charismatic group El Shaddai coincide with the birthday of its founder Bro. Mike Velarde in August and the Evangelical Charismatic Christian movement Jesus is Lord Church Worldwide to coincidence with the birthday of its founder Bro. Eddie Villanueva in October at the Quirino Grandstand, years before the Jan. 12 to 16, 1995 visit of Pope John Paul II for the 10th World Youth Day, the grand centennial parade for the 100th anniversary of the proclamation of independence from Spain on June 12, 1998, and State Visit and Apostolic Journey of Pope Francis final mass on Jan. 18, 2015.
























Today, Filipinos again find themselves living under a virtual dictatorship.

“How much longer can we take it?” asks a young chef, a member of a chat group, one of dozens of secret online discussion forums that sprang up as a reaction to President Duterte’s strongman rule.

The chef adds that if the current situation, which critics say is worse than the Marcos years, is not enough to stir people into action, “we are screwed.”

The opinion is no secret at all.

Every day, on Facebook and Twitter, Filipinos openly vent their ire on what seems to be a never-ending series of crooked decisions and oppressive acts by an administration whose leader — abetted by a subservient legislature and judiciary — is seen as an enemy aiming to sow fear and terror, and stifle dissent among the citizenry.

In the run-up to the 34th anniversary of EDSA 1—the people power revolt that preceded EDSA 2 or the January 2001 ousting of former president Joseph Estrada—two words sum up the flurry of social media rants of netizens: “Duterte Resign.”

Others are blunter: “Oust Duterte.”

Calls for the resignation of the President filled the air.

It resulted in the Second EDSA People Power Revolution or EDSA 2, for four days hundreds of thousands of Filipinos rallied in EDSA to call for Estrada's resignation.























On Jan. 19, police and military forces withdrew their support from Estrada. 







At around noon on Jan. 20, Davide swore Estrada’s constitutional successor Vice President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo into office.

Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is sworn in as the President of the Philippines by Chief Justice Hilario Davide, Jr.











A few hours later, Estrada and his family fled Malacanang.





Ousted president Estrada waves goodbye as he and his family leave Malacañang on January 20, 2001.





The Supreme Court on Mar. 2, 2001, upheld the constitutionality of Estrada's resignation in a unanimous 13-0 decision in Estrada vs. Desierto.

In April 2001, when Estrada was arrested his supporters protested and messed up what would be called EDSA 3 or EDSA Tres which lasted nearly four days. 


















He was under house arrest until Sept. 2007 when the Sandiganbayan found him guilty of plunder and capital offense. The anti-graft court jailed Estrada for life but allowed him to remain under house arrest pending his appeal.






















More than a month later after his guilty verdict, Arroyo grant him pardon.




















On Nov. 13, 2007, an explosion at the Philippine House of Representatives building in Quezon City kills four people, including Congressman Wahab Akbar.

On Nov. 29, 2007, the Armed Forces of the Philippines lays siege to The Peninsula Manila after soldiers led by Senator Antonio Trillanes IV staged a mutiny.

On Jan. 18, 2008, Estrada's Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino (PMP) placed a full-page advertisement in Metro Manila newspapers, blaming EDSA 2 for having "inflicted a dent on Philippine democracy". Its featured clippings questioned the constitutionality of the revolution. The published featured clippings were taken from Time, New York Times, The Straits Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Asia Times Online, The Economist, and the International Herald Tribune. Former Supreme Court justice and Estrada appointee as chairwoman of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office Cecilia Muñoz Palma opined that EDSA 2 violated the 1987 Constitution.

On May 10, 2010, The Filipino people once again went to the polling places to exercise their right to suffrage and choose their next leaders from the President to the municipal and city councilors. The 2010 national elections were the first time when the counting of the ballots was done by Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines pursuant to the Election Automation Law (Republic Act No. 9369).

The candidates for president were Benigno Simeon Aquino III, of the Liberal Party, Manuel Villar of the Nacionalista Party, Joseph Ejercito Estrada of the Partido ng Masang Pilipino, Gilberto Teodoro of Lakas – Kampi, Eduardo Villanueva of Bangon Pilipinas, Richard Gordon of Bagumbayan Party, John Carlos Delos Reyes of Ang Kapatiran Party, Nicanor Perlas, an independent candidate, and Jamby Madrigal, another independent candidate.

While the candidates for vice president were Manuel Roxas of the Liberal Party, Loren Legarda of the Nationalist Party, Jejomar Binay of the Partido ng Masang Pilipino, Eduardo Manzano of Lakas- Kampi, Perfecto Yasay of Bangon Pilipinas, Bayani Fernando of Bagumbayan Party, Dominador Chipeco of Ang Kapatiran Party and Jose Sonza of Kilusang Bagong Lipunan. After the votes have been counted, Senator Benigno Simeon Aquino III, emerged as the winner of the presidential race while Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay, emerged as the Vice President.

Their term of office will start on June 30, 2010, and will end on June 30, 2016. 

Estrada was later elected Mayor of Manila and served from 2013 to 2019.


Pope Francis has celebrated an outdoor Mass in front of unprecedented crowds in Manila.

Six million people attended the ceremony or lined the Papal route to Rizal Park, city officials estimate.

That would be a record for a papal event. About five million welcomed Pope John Paul II in Manila on January 15, 1995.

The Pope arrived at Malacañang Park aboard the Popemobile from the Apostolic Nunciature on Taft Avenue but was forced to ride the presidential helicopter along with Cardinal Sin and Papal Nuncio Gian Vincenzo Moreni to get to Quirino Grandstand amid the huge crowd on the streets.

At past 10 in the morning, the Pope began the three-and-a-half-hour Mass that marked the closing of the 10th World Youth Day. Attended by 4 million people, it was the biggest gathering so far in the Pontiff’s 16-year reign.


The Mass’ concelebrants included Sin, Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal, Vatican Secretary of State Angelo Cardinal Sodano, and Eduardo Cardinal Pironio, head of the Pontifical Council of the Laity.

“The five-year preparation and celebration ended on June 12, 1998. That day, the Philippine flag was proudly displayed in every home. The memorable raising of the first Philippine flag was re-enacted in Kawit, Cavite at seven in the morning. At that precise moment, the flag was raised in every town in the country. Simultaneously, school children sang the national anthem while church bells pealed all over the land in the expression of exultation and pride and jubilation!"

"That afternoon, about six million people gathered at the Rizal Park and Roxas Boulevard to watch the Grand Centennial Parade, where 50 floats told the story of our nationhood. Awesome fireworks that evening ended the celebrations."

The Vatican said Pope Francis had dedicated the service in part to the victims of Typhoon Haiyan, which devastated the country in 2013.

The Mass will be the Pope's final full day in the Philippines, where there are 80 million Catholics, concluding his six-day tour of Asia.

The 2016 national elections saw the victory of a city mayor into the office of the President.

Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Roa Duterte bested four other candidates for the highest office- Manuel Roxas III of the then ruling Liberal Party, Grace Liamanzares Poe, Vice President Jejomar Binay, and Senator Miriam Santiago. While Congresswoman Maria Leonor Gerona Robredo was elected Vice President but her victory was under election protest filed by one of the losing candidates for Vice President Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

On February 12, 2020, Bishop Broderick Pabillo issued a pastoral statement on behalf of the Presbyteral Council of the Archdiocese of Manila, asking Duterte to step down from the presidency as he had lost the moral authority to govern.

Two days later or on February 14, the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines joined the cry for the resignation of Duterte.

Four days later, or on February 18, former President Fidel Ramos also demanded that the President take the "supreme self-sacrifice" of resignation.

Former Presidents Joseph Estrada, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Benigno Aquino III also joined the chorus. Early on, Rolando Joselito Bautista resigned as Secretary of the Department of Social Welfare and Services and later asked for President's resignation.

However, Duterte strenuously held on to his office and refused to resign.

The heat was on. On March 1, four senior economic advisers, and members of the Council of Senior Economic Advisers, resigned. They were Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, Manuel Pangilinan and Hans Sy. On March 2, Secretary Ramon Lopez also resigned from the Department of Trade and Industry. 

On March 2, 2020, The Bureau of Customs (BOC) confirms that suspected syndicates brought in an estimated $370 million into the Philippines in December 2019, with the help of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Philippine National Police (PNP) and airport police escorts.

On March 3, 2020, Ombudsman Samuel Martires has filed graft and indirect bribery charges against former Nayong Pilipino Foundation, Inc. (NPFI) chairman of the board Patricia Ocampo-Desiongco and five other ex-NPFI officials for accepting free transportation to and accommodation in Jeju Island, South Korea from a private firm during negotiations on a lease contract involving the same firm.

On March 9, 2020, President Duterte signs Proclamation No. 922, which declared a public health emergency over the increasing number of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in the country.

On March 12, 2020, Code Red Sublevel 2 was declared in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and issuing a partial lockdown on Metro Manila to prevent a nationwide spread of the said disease.

On March 16, 2020, The Department of Agriculture (DA) has confirmed reports that bird flu or the H5N6 avian flu has been detected in Jaen, Nueva Ecija. President Duterte signs Proclamation No. 929, placing the entire Philippines under a state of calamity amid the ongoing situation of COVID-19. On September 16, President Duterte signs Proclamation No. 1021, which extends until September 12, 2021, the state of calamity in the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) has issued Memorandum Order on March 1, 2020, that all broadcast and communications companies would have the authority to stay on the air with their permits automatically renewed while the entire Luzon is placed under enhanced community quarantine due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

On March 17, 2020, Luzon is under enhanced community quarantine due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the country as announced by the President in his evening address last March 16, 2020. This expanded the community quarantine imposed in Metro Manila on March 15. Quarantine measures in other parts of the country of varying levels were imposed as well in the following months.

On March 25, 2020, President Rodrigo Duterte signs the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act of 2020 (Republic Act No. 11469), a measure that gives him additional powers to strengthen the government's response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic after Congress urgently deliberated and passed the measure within a day. On July 1, the Supreme Court (SC) has dismissed the petition filed by Jaime Ibañez, that questioning the constitutionality of the Bayanihan to Heal as One-Act.

On April 14, 2020, The government has begun its mass testing processes on persons suspected of having COVID-19.

On April 17, 2020, The Supreme Court has conducted a special en banc session, the first-ever done online in its 119-year history as the judiciary seeks to deal with urgent matters amid a Luzon-wide lockdown imposed to stop the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

On April 27, 2020, 15 senators, files a resolution that seeks to amend the Senate rules to allow the conduct of plenary sessions and committee hearings via teleconference amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) situation. President Duterte signs Executive Order No. 111, which abolished the Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office (PCDSPO), which served as his chief message-crafting body.

In a tumultuous session on May 4, House Speaker Cayetano transmitted the Articles of Impeachment signed by 120 representatives or more than 1/3 of all the members of the House of Representatives to the Senate. This caused political convulsions in both houses of Congress. Senator Sotto was replaced by Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri as Senate President. Speaker Cayetano was unseated by Representative Lord Allan Velasco, while the radio and television franchise for ABS-CBN has expired. The renewal of the franchise is uncertain due to the tense relations of the network with the current administration of President Rodrigo Duterte.

On May 5, 2020, ABS-CBN's broadcasting operations were signed off the air at 7:52 p.m. due to the cease and desist order of the NTC to stop broadcast operations of the said network because of the expiration of its franchise granted to them on March 30, 1995. On June 23, the Supreme Court en banc has dismissed Solicitor General Jose Calida's petition questioning ABS-CBN Corporation's franchise, ruling that the issue was "moot and academic". On August 25, the Supreme Court has dismissed ABS-CBN's petition challenging the National Telecommunications Commission's cease and desist order that forced it to shut down broadcast operations on May 5. On September 10, NTC recalled the frequencies assigned to ABS-CBN, which it said was warranted in the absence of a legislative franchise. President Rodrigo Duterte has directed the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) to make the payment of premiums voluntary for overseas Filipino workers in light of opposition against premium rate increases

On May 6, 2020, President Duterte signs Executive Order No. 114, which ordered the implementation of the "Balik Probinsya, Bagong Pag-asa" Program to decongest Metro Manila and promote countryside development.

On May 8, 2020, the Supreme Court (SC) dismissed the petition filed by Atty. Dino de Leon, seeking the disclosure of President Rodrigo Duterte's health records. On September 8, SC denies with finality the bid of Atty. de Leon, to compel President Duterte to disclose his health records.

On July 10, 2020, After 12 hearings which started last May 26, the House of Representatives, particularly on the Committee on Legislative Franchises, voted 70–11 to deny the franchise application of ABS-CBN.

On July 17, 2020, President Rodrigo Duterte signs Republic Act No. 11480, which allows the president to move or reschedule the start of the school year in an event of a state of emergency or a state of calamity.

On August 31, 2020, Employees of ABS-CBN Corporation were retrenched and its businesses ceased.

On September 7, 2020, the Senate formally opened the impeachment trial of President Duterte. Twenty-four senators took their oath as judges with Supreme Court Chief Justice Diosdado M. Peralta, presiding.

The political temperature rose despite the cold December. On November 16, the impeachment trial started.

The battle royale was fought by some of the marquee names in the legal profession. Standing as prosecutors were then House Minority Floor Leader Joseph Stephen Paduano and Representatives Ferdinand Hernandez, Evelina Escudero, Loren Legarda, Conrado Estrella III, Prospero Pichay Jr., Roberto Puno, Eddie Villanueva, Neptali Gonzales II, Rosemarie Arenas, Rodante Marcoleta, Henry Oaminal, Pablo John Garcia, Vilma Santos-Recto, Deogracias Victor Savellano, Mujiv Hataman, Mikee Romero, Paulino Salvador Leachon, Lito Atienza, Rufus Rodriguez, Arnolfo Teves Jr., Bienvenido Abante, Weslie Gatchalian, Eric Martinez, Juan Pablo Bondoc, Bernadette Herrera-Dy, Divina Grace Yu, Rogelio Pacquiao, Kristine Singson-Meehan, Strike Revilla, Isidro Ungab, Abraham Tolentino, Camille Villar and Marlyn Alonte-Naguiat. They were assisted by a battery of private prosecutors led by Secretary of Justice Menardo Guevara and Solicitor General Jose Calida. Serving as defense counsel were former Chief Justice Teresita de Castro, former Solicitor General and Secretary of Justice Estelito P. Mendoza, former City Fiscal of Manila Jose Flaminiano, former Deputy Speaker of the House Raul Daza, Atty. Siegfried Fortun and his brother, Atty. Raymund Fortun. The day-to-day trial was covered by live TV and during its course enjoyed the highest viewing rating. Its high and low points were the constant conversational piece of the chattering classes.

When it resumed on January 18, 2021, more bombshells were exploded by the prosecution. On January 25, Carlos Dominguez III served as Secretary of Finance. He alleged that Duterte was facing charges of insider trading.

On May 26, 2021, the senators cast their votes on whether the President is guilty or not guilty on the impeachment case. Unlimited time was given to explain their votes. Senators Pilar Juliana Cayetano, Franklin Drilon, Sherwin Gatchalian, Christopher Lawrence Go, Ana Theresia Hontiveros-Baraquel, Panfilo Lacson, Manuel Lapid, Emmanuel Pacquiao, Francis Pangilinan, Aquilino Pimentel III, Mary Grace Poe Llamanzares, Ralph Recto, Ramon Revilla, Jr., Cynthia Villar and Vicente Sotto III voted for conviction. Most of them cited non-disclosure of property as a reason for conviction. While three senators, Senators Francis Tolentino, Nancy Binay, and Ronald Dela Rosa voted for acquittal. After Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo explained his vote, he later summarized the votes as follows, "The Senate, sitting as an impeachment court, having tried President Rodrigo Duterte, upon three articles of impeachment charged against him by the House of Representatives, by a guilty vote of 20 senators, has found him guilty of the charge under Article II. Now, therefore, be it adjudged that Rodrigo Duterte, is hereby convicted of the charge against him in Article II of the Articles of impeachment, so ordered."

The ruling made at 10:00 p.m. was met by a spontaneous outburst of anger that hit the streets of the metropolis.

By midnight of May 28, thousands had assembled at the EDSA Shrine and speeches full of sulfur were delivered against the President and the twelve (12) senators.

But not to demean the glorious four days in February 1986, when Filipinos from all walks of life called for Marcos to step down, another Edsa is not on the horizon. At least for now.

It’s a general observation that stemmed from public frustration over the failure of all presidents after Marcos to curb graft and corruption.

“The military won’t stage a coup just to get rid of Duterte,” says a netizen.

After seven attempts to bring down the Cory Aquino administration and two more to force the capitulation of the presidency of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the Armed Forces of the Philippines is said to have reverted to its pre-Marcos reputation as a professional institution that follows its sworn duty, including the basic principle of following the chain of command — in this case, Mr. Duterte as Commander in Chief. “The situation has not reached a tipping point,” another netizen declares.

People feel they’re not ready to drop everything to go out in the streets again.

This, despite Mr. Duterte’s blatant disregard of human rights (more than 30,000 dead in the drug war based on police reports and deaths under investigation), unwillingness to enforce the country’s sovereignty over the West Philippine Sea, intolerance to critics (that led to the imprisonment of Sen. Leila de Lima and the impeachment of Chief Justice Lourdes Sereno) and open-door policy toward Philippine online gambling operators, among other accusations.

No critical mass

In short, the outpouring of anti-Duterte sentiments during both face-to-face gatherings and on social media has yet to translate into an Edsa-like scenario of a critical mass of warm bodies that will stop tanks and stay on the highway for days to help forge a “revolution.”

In the course of the exchange of views and opinions at meetings and in chat groups, a question pops up: “Do we real¬ly need another Edsa?”

Among the replies, this one stands out: “Edsa gave back the freedom we lost during martial law, so it’s not a question of whether we need to do another one now, but rather, what do we tell our kids when they ask about EJKs and asshole leaders: ‘Mom, Dad, what were you doing back then?’”

On a lighter note, many parents might say, “I cursed on Facebook, watched Netflix to keep my sanity and waited for the next scandal to blow up on the madman’s face.”