To some, the cards are favorable; to others unfavorable; the rest, neither here nor there. This is where we’re tested – to use discernment, conscience and free will to make our choices. What we do with those cards, based on our decisions, will determine the roles we play in our lives that will shape our destiny.
30 years ago, and the events that led to February 1986, were triggered by our choices as a people long before Marcos came to power. The good and bad that sprang from our collective choices as a people were consequences that presented themselves as lessons from history. It was our choice, then and now, to learn from it or not; to end the causes of our troubles or disregard it at our peril.
To me, we all had roles to play. It mattered less to me who had the good and bad parts. What mattered most to me was whether we were enlightened enough to see that traditional politics, crime and corruption that defined the Marcos era was due to our collective negligence, irresponsibility and immaturity. In that sense, FM was right to demand discipline and work for a ‘Bagong Lipunan.’
But good rhetoric does not translate to positive outcomes. It didn’t because it lacked sincerity. It was meant to deceive. It was not to difficult to determine the trajectory of authoritarian rule when deceit, oppression, dishonesty and crony capitalism reared their ugly heads. That however was more a product of our collective character weakness as a people that allowed it to happen when we should have been strong enough to prevent it, except for a few who fought back. What we were, the government was too.
And then, finally the dam broke in February 1986, and in those four days I saw a transformed Filipino, where rich and poor shared the same food and space; they were actually talking to each other and caring for the other; and people from all walks of life were daring the odds for change. Unfortunately, heart and mind fell short of the real objective – for us, the Filipino people, to change ourselves for good; not just for four days.
And so, to me, the fact that the wounds are still there tells me exactly that – ‘Tayo Mismo’ remains to be the problem. We have not changed after 3 decades. Insincerity, ego, greed, deceit, crime and corruption continue to define us, to each his own way, to hell with the common good. That’s why we still have traditional politics, social injustice, armed insurgencies, malgovernance and, above all, lawlessness in society.
The Marcoses and Aquinos are players on the Philippine stage, as is the current administration. But we, the people, we are both on stage and in the audience. It is us that controls the Fate of the Philippines. It is our choices that will determine whether we will have more of the same or change for the better for the greater good.
We are our own worst enemy, ‘Tayo Mismo,’ and the drama before us that remains openended draws us to decide to break free or stay shackled to all that’s wrong with us. Every day is an opportunity to transform ourselves; every day we waste harms the future of the nation, and every day we ignore rejects the chance for liberation.
