Revolution and Return to Democracy PDF

Revolution and Return to Democracy Date Created @May 5, 2024 6:44 PM Sources of Discontent Ineffective Reforms Cracks started to form when people found out that development projects came from debt and the debt cannot be paid by the administration Corruption and Cronyism Human Rights Abuses The thing...

Revolution and Return to Democracy Date Created @May 5, 2024 6:44 PM Sources of Discontent Ineffective Reforms Cracks started to form when people found out that development projects came from debt and the debt cannot be paid by the administration Corruption and Cronyism Human Rights Abuses The thing so hard about unifying the opposition was that even when you had different groups hating Marcos, the question of how to do it still remains For the CPP, their only answer was armed resistance It’s also what makes Ninoy Aquino’s role crucial because of what he represented Ninoy was not a communist, he was a champion of democracy and more people related to Ninoy that they can be not communist but hate Marcos Ninoy was Marcos’ biggest political rival Marcos did not like him to come back to the PH Ninoy gave speeches in the US, while he was there during political arrest There were death threats for Ninoy when he came back Ninoy decided that the human rights abuses were too much and went back to the PH but was immediately assassinated Subversion stems from economic, social, and political causes and will not be solved by purely military solution. Revolution and Return to Democracy 1 The Assassination of Benigno Aquino, Jr (August 21, 1983) Tempo was one of the media outlets that was managed by Marcos crony and they published news regarding Ninoy so it was proof that Marcos was losing support from his cronies as well People’s response to the Ninoy’s Assassination The urban middle class and economic elites became more politically involved What did Ninoy’s death inspire in them? To the economic elites, it was a wake up call that whether it was out of denial or the believed Marcos and the real problem was communism but it was happening because Ninoy was not a radical and they have beliefs aligned with them, so to them, if you can do that to Ninoy, then we’re not insulated to the human rights abuses, we’re actually vulnerable Ninoy was a populist in a way that he gathered support from the masses, but remember that this wasn’t election time Populist in a sense that he had strong mass support The elite opposition and the social democrats reunited to challenge Marcos at the local and parliamentary levels in the 1984 elections People knew these elections were manipulated so they became disillusioned at some point and didn’t vote The CPP allowed for more “tactical coalitions” with anti-Marcos elites and social democrats, and “tactical offensives” by the NPA They don’t fully trust but they understand the support the came from this group The Catholic Church expressed their opposition to the dictatorship Marcos lost the support of his institutional allies Tension between technocrats, who actually believed in development, and cronies who started realizing that Marcos has gone to far. Aquino’s Revolution and Return to Democracy 2 assassination crossed the line, and they don’t want to be associated with Marcos Growing resentment in the AFP led to organization of the Reform AFP Movement (RAM) But, Marcos still had the support of the US President Ronald Reagan so his administration was still given financial support The opposition was still divided, they were willing to work together, but how? The CPP still had a strong stance towards armed resistance and a lot did not want this They were able to grow in number but it ends there Until, in 1986 Marcos calls for a snap elections Although anti-martial law forces had grown in membership, influence, and coordination, they still represented widely different interests. As long as the democratic opposition was unable to commit to a common strategy against Marcos, it was also unable to seize the initiative. (Abinales and Amoroso 2017, 224) February 1986 Snap Elections He needed to show that he had popular support And maybe pressure to show to the US that he is still favored by the Filipinos Corazon Aquino was convinced to run and challenge Marcos’ presidency Why Cory? She was someone who had the potential to unite the opposition Cory was a devote Catholic so she was supported by the Catholic Church Revolution and Return to Democracy 3 She was supported by moderate and elite oppositionists, the Catholic Church, huge segments of the Leftist movement, and thousands of ordinary citizens The CPP announced that it would boycott the elections But these are the most radical ones, some wanted to support Cory Even with the boycott, limited resources, cheating, etc, Aquino clearly won the elections There was so much public support in protecting the elections that they protected the ballots and they were vigilant in the counting Some populism because it was the people supporting Cory and protecting her votes People knew Cory won but Marcos declared for parliament his winning Comelec Walk-Out (February 9, 1986) People could not take the blatant fooling Evelio B. Javier (February 11, 1986) Antique He was an Atenean and Guidon’s editor and chief and was an official in Antique during Martial Law One of the politicians after Aquino’s assassination and tried to win in the 1986 elections but lost but protected the votes in the snap elections, he was killed protecting the votes, gunned down in the bathroom hugging a ballot box They were committed that this was going to end Martial Law Ferdinand Marcos and Corazon Aquino take their oaths Even the Snap elections could not win the dictatorship There was a time in PH history where we had 2 presidents RAM launched a Coup d’etat (February 22, 1986) Juan Ponce Enrile and Fidel Ramos launched a coup d’etat but this fails because the members who were loyal to the president, when they caught win Revolution and Return to Democracy 4 of the Coup d’etat, Marcos knew Military was trapped in Camp Aguinaldo and Camp Crame which explains EDSA EDSA to protect the rebels who were in Aguinaldo and Crame It wouldn’t happen if it wasn’t for the media Radyo Bandido Enrile was never the most sympathetic person, even Ramos as well, people weren’t jumping in to protect them, they needed to be pushed June Keith Lee and Paulo and Gabe Mercado They were working with Father James Reuter, a Jesuit priest and been critical of Marcos Sister Sierra Manopol and Father Reuter were working in Radyo Veritas but it was still conservative so they were trying to censor some of the reports Radyo Veritas would not allow them to talk about the snap elections and the murder of Javier Paulo and Gabe were fact checkers who take in calls and report and when they get enough of something to verify it was correct, they make Keith Lee announce it Fr. Reuter goes to DZRJ which is renamed as Radyo Bandido or Bandit Radio and they would call for the protection of the rebels in EDSA The radio station of DZRJ was located in a lighthouse and the entire structure was just a spiral staircase leading to one room They would receive death threats and those that showed up was nuns to protect Keith Lee and the two boys Military went to the lighthouse and saw the nuns and were immobilized because they couldn’t kill the nuns and the 3 people People flocked to EDSA to protect the rebels, civilians came to protect the rebels in Crame and Aguinaldo and they weren’t armed, they had flowers and food and were offering them to the military Revolution and Return to Democracy 5 Filipino citizens faced armed soldiers in EDSA with nothing but roses and prayers The military was immobilized, they feared waiting for orders This was the breaking point of Marcos’ power Air Forces threatened to air raid EDSA, this is when the US president backs out Marcos was losing support everywhere The EDSA People Power Revolution (February 25, 1986) Corazon Aquino as the 1st President of the 5th Republic Promises Justice Restoration of democracy Resignation of all officials under Marcos Administration The people expect a reorganization of government. Merit will be rewarded. As a first step to restore public confidence I expect all appointed public officials to submit their courtesy resignations beginning with the members of the Supreme Court... “I pledge to do justice to the numerous victims of human rights violations... “Consistent with the demands of the sovereign people we pledge a government dedicated Revolution and Return to Democracy 6 to uphold truth and justice, morality and decency in government, freedom and democracy. “I ask more people not to relax but to be even more vigilant in this one moment of triumph. The motherland cannot thank them enough. Yet, we all realize that more is required of each and everyone of us to redeem our promises and prove to create a truly just society for our people.” — Proclamation No. 1, by President Corazon C. Aquino, February 25, 1986 How do we remember Martial Law and the People Power Revolution? Some Final Thoughts On Martial Law and People’s Power Revolution 1. The People Power Revolution was a culmination of a decades-long battle against the dictatorship 2. The People Power Revolution was participated in by various groups from various parts of the country and with various interests. 3. Unification takes time. 4. Some groups joined for instrumentalist or pragmatic reasons. It was more about protecting their careers 5. Revolutions experience backlash; there will be periods of stagnation and reversal Revolution and Return to Democracy 7 6. Democracy takes time. Reconciling our understanding of the martial law period an the People Power Revolution is part of the process There are so many narratives, there is no one unified story, but it is all part of democracy Revolution and Return to Democracy 8