Scene from EDSA I

Published by the Visayan Daily Star Publications, Inc.

NINFA R. LEONARDIA Editor-in-Chief & President

CARLA P. GOMEZ Editor GUILLERMO TEJIDA III Desk Editor NANETTE L. GUADALQUIVER Busines Editor CEDELF P. TUPAS Sports Editor (On Leave) RENE GENOVE Bureau Chief, Dumaguete MAJA P. DELY Advertising Coordinator

CARLOS ANTONIO L. LEONARDIA Administrative Officer

What a preview for the celebration of what we all once thought was the proudest day in the history of our country! Today, we mark the 22nd anniversary of the EDSA Revolution, the most bloodless revolt the world had ever seen, and yet the most dramatic, effective and significant.

That was the day when the Filipino people, armed only with their hopes, prayer and longing for freedom, confronted the soldiers, cannons and tanks of a dictator and simply by their massed determination, stopped them and drove off the cause of the sufferings in their land.

How we all triumphed when the dictator and his cohorts finally fled, flown off to another land by foreign carriers. How we rejoiced and beat our chests in our pride and our victory over what we had been regarding as the forces of evil.

The whole world that had been watching us through the wonders of electronic media, could hardly believe what our people had done. That was the first time they acknowledged that there is such a thing as People Power, and that it does work when those who wield it are determined, and are led by those who are not seeking power for themselves.

Since then People Power has been associated with our country, and other nations have attained their own liberations by following what we had done. To them, perhaps, we were the models of what People Power can achieve.

How sad it is to note, as shown in yesterday’s media, that today we are again marking this day, with our government arming itself and gathering its forces in a manner that cannot but be perceived as a warning, even a threat to us, especially for those who are calling for reforms in this government.

The government has announced that no less than 3,000 troops have been deployed in Metro Manila alone ostensibly to deal with whatever they believe the protestors may be up to. The media also carries pictures of troops in combat gear, of armored vehicles, tanks, maybe cannons again today, all intimidating sights of government power poised against its citizens.

As we mark the anniversary of EDSA today, let us offer fervent prayers that, like the first one, the original and genuine one, we attain what we wish and hope for, without violence and bloodshed, and with the most beneficial results.*