Thursday, June 23, 2005


All we want is the truth.... Is the truth too much to handle?

I remember the time when Erap was the one in the limelight, I was still in Grade 4 back then but I can still picture in my mind the thousands.... possibly millions of people crowding in the revered EDSA shrine.... and the not-so-sacred Robinsons Galleria. To them, Erap was the "betrayer of trust" in the Philippines, he was a seen as a money-grabbing jerk, the Judas of our times. The fire started when Erap's allies won 11-10 on not opening the infamous 2nd envelope during the Impeachment trials. Of course, the people were mad, for this would determine if they can trust this president . The people wanted the TRUTH but were DEPRIVED of it. In the game of politics, it was a drastic move to make, checkmate.

For one whole week militant organizations, middle-class "revolutionaries" and a handful of ambitious politicians assembled there, on top of EDSA Shrine, shouting and chanting the same two words over and over again that it seemed to be the mantra, the blood that kept this revolution alive. "ERAP RESIGN! ERAP RESIGN! ERAP RESIGN! ERAP RESIGN! ERAP RESIGN! ERAP RESIGN!!! ...........and so he did.......

But now, four years later, it seemed that we never learned anything from past experiences. The same people who were involved in the last EDSA were now mobilizing again to remove the person they helped put in power before. It's not that they did not trusted her before, but they believed.. and truly believed, that she can save us from this abyss we are in. That she can revive the country, that she can regain control of the people again in this confused nation. It is clear now that she didn't handle the burden well. The people we're dissapointed, being the ones who trusted her to do all the reforms and changes she promised. We were screwed.

All dreams and aspirations the people had suddenly... dissappeared. The hopes for a good life after the political calamity that rocked the nation all seemed forgotten. The country, its people, are once again hungry, literally and figuratively. The same dillemmas we had four years ago appeared to be surfacing again, day by day. We never recovered from that political whirlpool that we got ourselves into long before. Is it our curse, as a former colony, to be still not able to take full control of ourselves? Is this a sign that we are not yet capable of governing ourselves? Maybe..... maybe not...

Today, the Congress are holding meetings to investigate legally the claims of alleged electoral fraud concerning President Arroyo. Thousands of students and militant citizens are now preparing for a mass demonstration tommorow to once again challenge the reins of power still able to cling on to their seats. They view GMA as the new "betrayer of trust" in the Philippines, she was seen as the vote-grabbing bitch. Already, the Hello Garci? has become the battlecry of the organizations trying to put her down. It was their mantra, the life of the new fight for democracy.

The people right now, the former middle-class "revolutionaries" of yesteryear and the masses, how apathetic and uninspired they are right now all want something from GMA to say. All we want is the TRUTH and hell, you know what we'll gonna do if we're DEPRIVED of it! It would be just a matter of time when the fire will start burning and the chants will begin roaring. If GMA would still have the guts to tell us the truth, then maybe.. just maybe we can compromise on something. But if she still doesn't break the silence, she'd be making the same mistake Erap made. In this game of politics, one false move will mean the end.... checkmate.

- by BJ Costales, campus activist