For four days in February 35 years ago, the Filipinos were the heroes of the world
This feature story was originally titled as One Shining Moment, published in the April 2006 issue of Tatler Philippines. It was written in celebration of the 20th anniversary of the 1986 EDSA Revolution and while Proclamation No. 1017 was issued by then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. The said proclamation declared the Philippines under a state of national emergency, thus the military is again asked to quell insurrection or rebellion and maintain law and order. Update: On March 3, 2006, by the virtue of Proclamation No. 1021, the Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo officially concluded state of emergency in the Philippines.
On the eve of the 20th anniversary of the first People Power revolution in the Philippines, history played one of its twisted ironies. The freedom gained on February 25, 1986 turned into freedom lost on February 24, 2006. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo issued Proclamation 1017 which placed the entire country in a state of emergency, giving her the power to temporarily take over public utilities, businesses and media facilities.
The justification for such an act that is seen by many as just a few steps shy of martial law was the claim by the President of the existence of a conspiracy to overthrow her administration. This conspiracy, she alleged, was hatched by an alliance of soldiers, opposition leaders and politicians, and communist rebels.
Immediately, leftist congressman Crispin Beltran and former national police chief Ramon Montano were arrested. Scout ranger Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim and marine colonel Ariel Querubin were placed under detention; and the office of the broadsheet Daily Tribune taken over by the Philippine National Police. In the days following, the commandant of the Philippine Marines Maj. Gen. Renato Miranda resigned (or was sacked, whichever side of the political fence one is on) and was replaced by Brig. Gen. Nelson Allaga; and the major players of the first People Power revolt - former presidents Corazon C Aquino and Fidel V Ramos - as well as recognisable faces of the protest movement of that time were back on the street, protesting this curtailment of the very freedom they had fought to regain 20 years ago.
As this is being written, events are still unfolding. Militant party-list congressmen Satur Ocampo, Teddy Casiño, Rafael Mariano, Lisa Maza, and Joel Virador have not left Congress as they await the arrest warrants issued against them. They are part of the Justice Department’s list of 16 leftist militants being accused by the police of rebellion. Chief of the Special Action Force Marcelino Franco had been placed under house arrest and the marine soldiers who protested the treatment by superiors of Maj. Gen. Miranda by holding a stand-off in their camp for a few tense hours had gone back to barracks, promising to follow the chain of command. Meanwhile, the media is holding endless debates on the pros and cons of Proclamation 1017.
The political crisis is, however, causing jitters in the business community. Already enjoying a rare economic respite with the strengthening of the peso and the assessment by Fitch Ratings and Standard & Poor of the country’s economic prospects as “stable”, the battered Philippine economy is again in danger of going back to its sorry, sordid state. Though the peso had bounced back to a strong P51.26 to the dollar and the stock market had risen to 16 points after the end of the crisis at the Philippine Marines camp, businessmen are still clamouring for the speedy lifting of the state of emergency. The fear, clearly, is on the possibility of foreign investments pulling out due to the unstable political situation.
There are no signs yet in Malacañan Palace as to when Proclamation 1017 will be lifted. The President is still assessing the situation, whether the reported conspiracy has already been contained. Nevertheless, the situation has created an uncanny parallel between the tension engulfing this seat of power today and two decades ago.