EDSA Dos, Tres, Kuwatro, Singko?
(Post EDSA-Dos blues)
Angela Stuart Santiago

Siyempre ilang araw akong high na high sa EDSA Dos. Nagkatotoo ang hula kong binitawan sa Himagsikan sa EDSA-Walang Himala! (published February 2000) na kaya ng Pinoy na i-take-two ang show of People Power kung magkakaisa ang oposisyon behind a common cause tulad ng naganap noong Pebrero 1986. Yun nga lang, nagkamali ako sa isyung sabi ko'y magbubuklod sa oposisyon kapag di naibsan ang hirap at gutom ng bayan, namely, economic issues. Akalain ko ba namang sisingit at lalaki ang isyung Erap. Okey lang. At least napatunayan na the original EDSA was not a freak accident na hindi mauulit nang walang tulong ng Amerika. At least napatunayan na ang People Power phenomenon ay tubong Pinoy, a unique (kakaiba, pambihira) non-violent (maayos, mapayapa, bloodless) response to patronage (palakasan) politics and inept governance, and a creative discovery na may karapatan tayong ipagmalaki and claim full credit for. Turing ko sa EDSA Dos: dry run, o dress rehearsal, an exercise in People Power, testing the waters kumbaga, bilang paghahanda for the real thing-the final revolution that will finish the one Bonifacio started in 1986(hopefully EDSA Tres, hopefully not too soon). As most rehearsals go, EDSA Dos was far from perfect. Just like in the original EDSA, the people were too quickly preempted by Cory, the Cardinal, and FVR, that is, the elite, the Catholic Church, and the military. As it was with EDSA Uno, the problem lies in the limited aspirations of the people na resulta ng kakulangan ng ating impormasyon tungkol sa ekonomiya at gobyerno. Noong 1986 tama nang masipa si Marcos, bahala na what Cory would bring, or not bring. Ngayong 2001 tama nang masipa si Erap, bahala na what Gloria would bring, or not bring. So now we are back where we started. Balik sa uno. The same old gang, the same old politics, the same old economics. Nabasa na kaya nila man lang si Renato Constantino the historian? Nagbabasa kaya sila? Nakaka-miss the impeachment trial. Palagay ko, not just because it was the greatest real-life show this side of earth but also because walang closure. Kumbaga sa sine, naputol sa gitna, the end bigla, bitin, harang! And it was just getting interesting. Nagkakainitan na noon, at pabigat nang pabigat ang information na nasisiwalat-pati ang disappearance ni Bubby Dacer ay naungkat, gayon din ang kaso ni Hubert Webb, at siyempre pa ang milyon-milyong kinita ni Senator-Judge Rene Cayetano sa BW shares. What else might we have learned had the trial resumed instead-kahit pa na-acquit tiyak ang Presidente? At the very least, the people would have been even better informed by Day 40-something than they were on Day 24. And in a post-EDSA Dos scenario, they would be in a better position to demand/insist that Erap be tried in court and punished for his crimes. Nakakaintriga tuloy ang irrevocable resignation ng prosecution panel that fatal second-envelope day. Bakit nga ba sila nagbitiw? Just because the 11 No votes presaged an Erap acquittal, hindi ibig sabihin na nawalan na ng katuturan ang impeachment trial. Could there have been other considerations? I hate to rain on their parade, pero they would have served the people's interest better kung bumalik sila sa impeachment court the next day at tinapos nang tama ang prosesong nasimulan. Eventually EDSA Dos would have happened anyway.