Why PNoy’s call for Filipinos to wear the yellow ribbon was an EPIC fail

One wonders why people are still surprised that Philippine President Benigno Simeon ‘BS’ Aquino III’s call to his people to wear a yellow ribbon in support of his personal war against the Philippine Supreme Court had fallen flat on its face.

BS Aquino continued behaving like a presidential candidate the whole time he was already President.

BS Aquino continued behaving like a presidential candidate the whole time he was already President.

It is a fact, that his and his family’s whole “Laban” (‘fight!’) thing had died a long time ago. We recall the way calls to the streets coming from his own mother, former President Cory Aquino had also been snubbed by a rally-weary people following a failed impeachment bid against then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in 2005.

SUPPORT INDEPENDENT SOCIAL COMMENTARY!
Subscribe to our Substack community GRP Insider to receive by email our in-depth free weekly newsletter. Opt into a paid subscription and you'll get premium insider briefs and insights from us.
Subscribe to our Substack newsletter, GRP Insider!
Learn more

Back then, the Opposition was supposedly faced with “no other option” but to call “the people” onto the streets after the incumbent government remained standing after an impeachment complaint against Arroyo failed to pass Congress on the 6th September 2005. The rallyists were to enjoy the support and leadership of Cory Aquino as its guiding beacon. Unfortunately for them this was, by then, one call too many after several years of street parliamentarianism since Arroyo’s ascent to power in 2001. And failed miserably it did. Bursts of little street protests sporadically erupted in Manila’s streets in the days following the House dismissal of the impeachment bid, but none even remotely approached the kind of numbers these would-be anarchists claimed they could mobilise.

Each were in fact smaller in number than the first big street rally in Ayala Avenue, Makati on the 25th July 2005 shortly after the release to the public of incriminating recordings of Arroyo speaking to a COMELEC official during vote counting back in the 2004 Presidential elections. Sunstar.com related an account of what transpired in a report published the day following the rally (excerpt below):

It looked like a huge street party with an interesting mix of characters… Street vendors were out in full force, peddling corn on the cob, boiled bananas, fish balls, deep-fried chicken gizzards on a stick and scoops of ice cream on hamburger buns…. Music and entertainment were another crucial component, keeping the crowds from drifting away. Pop stars crooned on a huge stage and the “Sex Bomb” dancers–a group of young women in tight white tops and blue capri pants–did the classic bump and grind.

Indeed, yellow-flavoured street parliamentarianism in the Philippines had already become a joke even back in 2005 when gimmicks had routinely become part of efforts mounted by organisers to “keep the crowds from drifting away.”

Amando Doronila wrote what reads like a eulogy to Pinoy-style “people power” in an Inquirer article on 09 September 2005:

One of the ‘truths’ that emerged from the dismissal of the impeachment complaints is that people power has been drained of its mystique as a magic formula to oust much-demonized leaders. The indiscriminate use of people power to overthrow unwanted leaders has drained its potency as a weapon for effecting political change. Its potency has been depleted by frequent use. The sputtering of protests after the House vote should be a rude reality check to Cory Aquino. She has been deserted by people power. And nothing could be more pathetic.

Back then, the lesson was already clear. “People power revolutions” (of the sort that happened in 1986) cannot be replicated by command. And as to those sporadic bursts of activist fervour that had erupted since 1986, it has been proven time and again that nothing of lasting consequence ever comes out of them.

This is the same conclusion University of the Philippines Law Professor Dante Gatmaytan articulated in the paper It’s All the Rage: Popular Uprisings and Philippine Democracy published in 2006 where he wrote…

Because it is temporary, people power does not claim to initiate structural reform. It is a declaration of outrage that dissipates when the immediate issue is addressed. It gives hope but cannot provide a blueprint for reform. The political processes are, therefore, left vulnerable to predation. People power may be triggered by the ideal of justice, but it cannot see beyond its own rage and—it lacks the vision of reform.Wandering aimlessly, it is easily hijacked by remnants of the state.

Indeed, President BS Aquino, in calling on Filipinos to wear a yellow ribbon to protest the Philippine Supreme Court decision to rule his Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) unconstitutional, had, in effect, sought to subtract rather than contribute to an effort to build a strong nation. He aimed to achieve nothing out of it of consequence to the Filipino other than to assuage the personal slight he felt following the SC ruling. The only thing he inadvertently achieved was further bring attention to the fact that he has, for the most part of the last four years of his term as President, remained loyal to a party affiliation built upon an obsolete mid-1980s activist notion rather than exhibit allegiance to the national colours.

42 Replies to “Why PNoy’s call for Filipinos to wear the yellow ribbon was an EPIC fail”

  1. Colors do not mean anything…it is just a political tool of the Aquinos to get what they want.

    The DAP issue is a massive Thievery issue of Public Funds. It is your Money…your taxpayers’ Money they have Stolen. Why would you go and support someone, who have stolen your money? You love to be Robbed Blind?

    Unless, you are a moron or mentally ill; you will go there and risk your life and limbs, to support the Thieves who stole your taxmoney…You will not get anything from it…they will benefit from it…

    1. Why not yellow. We wore black during the impeachment of CJ Corona. Ngayong yellow lang. Basta’t walang balimbingan.

  2. The Sovereign Filipino People are already awake. They know what the PDAF/DAP is all about. Come Monday the colors of the day would be peach, black and yellow(Guy Fawkes masks and judges protest). Rally to the flag people! Wave the red, white and blue!

    1. Yup, sounds to me like the RC church is behind this. Stepped up NPA activities too. Beware, you might crash onto something you’ve never dreamed would crash into you.

    1. Make that the Troll in denial/fake OFW/noytard.
      No matter what he posts here, he’s only making it worse for him and his besieged boss in malacañang.
      After all, “True leaders never rely on propaganda”

  3. I suddenly have this weird thoughts. What if this whole political trouble is part of PNoy’s crusade of anti-corruption, which, who knows, he himself is the only one who knew since then? I suddenly think of it this way because this anti-corruption campaign is his main slogan since running into presidential seat in 2010. If this is true then I would admire him of his sagacity.

    From the abolition of PDAF, SARO, DAP to an eventual next prospect, the JDF, which happens consecutively. This maybe orchestrated by PNoy to disclose to the public the decades-old discretionary funds that were abused and misused year after year by the government officials they surreptitiously hide even at the expense of Noynoy’s name and reputation. This perhaps he thought the sources of biggest scam in the Philippines that should be eliminated or regulated in the system of government for the sake of transparency and accountability. And mind you, these were all done in due process in due time wherein even the lawmakers and political analysts did not suspect that these whole things are part of PNoy’s hidden bright agenda, which is, to minimize corruption specially in the national government.

    Consequently, the taxpayers are now well-aware of abuses of their money, which the government handles and which caused to make the people nowadays as more vigilant than before.

    PNoy will accept whatever SC’s final decision even it upholds its earlier ruling on the DAP as unconstitutional because that would still favor or fit to the slogan of PNoy without anybody suspecting it as part of the whole circus of him. We are merely fooled by him but this he thinks as the only way not to be obviously seen himself by other public officials, particularly those who cuddle him, as a traitor to them. Because he knew he cannot just abolish easily the PDAF, SARO and DAP or even JDF without a very valid point to make that would convince them, his colleagues in the government, and the entire nation to drastically abolish these sources-of-corruption funds. In the end, he will consider himself possibly a hero. 🙂

    1. Aquino is part of the corruption. He corrupted the Senators to vote for the impeachment of SC Chief Justice Corona. He is corrupt and the worse Thief, together with Abad…they conspired to steal from the DAP Funds. His family are swindlers. It runs in his blood….

      1. You accuse him as if you have evidence in your hands to prove it. If so, then reveal it to the public now.

        To be fair, I understand you, I have the same feeling of grudge towards Gloria Arroyo but then again we have laws and we must follow the mantra of “innocent until proven otherwise.” 🙂

        1. YellowTards ask for evidence. The Senators who are jailed had spoken. Hacienda Luisita questionable ownership is there.

          Runaway inflation and the poverty of the Filipino people; inspite of money from the DAP Funds are there. Pork Barrels in huge amounts poured to non existent or substandard completed projects are there. People have eyes. You don’t have to tell them. They have brains also; unlike YellowTards, with small brains.

        2. Don’t U worry after his term,all blockbusters of abnoy will come out and those senators,congressman business as usual,balimbingan time.Just pray to your noytrad that binay win the 2016

        3. wait till the evidence submitted to Carpio’s
          See if she will become a defence lawyer of BS abnoy, If not Abnoy has another defence lawyer in the name of Loures sereno in SC

    2. If he had his way PDAF, DAP wouldn’t have been abolished. Remember, he tried to justify PDAF but after the million people march he yielded. As for DAP, he is trying to challenge SC to reverse its ruling on this. If these things are truly abolished (and not come back in any form not even in the paperless form as instructed by Malacanang to lawmakers) it’s not because of Noynoy but because more people have become more vigilant.

      1. Whew! you have to go back to the crux of info. If the government kept the secret documents of COA’s findings alleging the multi-billion pork barrel scam before the public then PDAF will not be abolished soon. To be fair, PDAF was there for decades and yet only under the administration of PNoy that SC declared it as unconstitutional. So presumably it was seen as constitutional in the first place as was the case of DAP.

        Just as I said above, maybe this is part of a big drama of PNoy to justify the abolition of the discretionary funds even if he needed to act in an obscure way so as not to be obvious about it.

    3. If PNoy is indeed capable of such scheme, did he have to insult the SC and asked people to wear yellow ribbon? A little too far-fetched for a minimum brain cells…

    4. @Jigs

      Keep on repeating the big lie nonsense about BS Aquino! Der Fuhrer would like to reward you with your big kiss in his ass. For all the nonsense and lies that you wrote… We know better. You are just a trying hard Malacanang Yellow Troll!

        1. @Jigs

          On the contrary Jigs you are too stupid to even quote “non-substantive rhetoric.” You are doing this propaganda for your yellow boss in Malacanang. Your yellow boss is not a “hero”. He is a heel. Now I am asking the administrator to make you heel like the little dog that you are. Your troll propaganda is imaginative and not truthful. Falsehoods written by you should be deleted by the administrator. Bye bye little yellow doggie!

    5. Heaven forbid Jigs from sharing the rest of his fantasies on abNoynoy as it may get too gross for any of our decent public’s taste!

      Didn’t know Jigs has a thing for the criminally stupid.

    6. He’s not that smart. In fact, he is incompetent. Case in point: Hong Kong bus case and Yolanda calamity. Pnoy is not what you the Philippines desperately tries to get for president; he is just a tool of the oligarchs.

  4. Jigs, Kung walang corrupt , walang mahirap and wear the yellow ribbon are the epitome of non substantive rhetoric. How do you think your non accomplished idol got elected???

    1. Elected by the people’s will as vested in our Constitution under the doctrine of democracy, which gives freedom to the people to select their leaders. 🙂

      The people decided to elect Noynoy as their president and we have to respect that. You just have to accept your loss and move on. 🙂

      1. Aquino was elected by the sinister machination of the HOCUS PCOS machine. He had some foreign computer hackers that made the HOCUS PCOS machine programmed in that way.

        High Tech election cheating….

      2. @Jigs
        On the contrary… BSA was not “elected by the people’s will.” It was his black propaganda of the matuwid na daan which attracted people to believe his other slogans and promises that was always Bulok na Daan! These slogans and promises were never fulfilled by BSA! You see der yellow Fuhrer subscribes to propaganda lies. Recent surveys shows how low BSA is now. There is a volcano already smoking and rumbling. You should be aware of this. It will happen again little yellow doggie. I am asking admin Benigno to delete your black lies.

      3. Unlike democratic voting systems in other countries such as the US, BS abNoy Aquino is a “minority” president. But let me guess…you don’t know what that means.

        It doesn’t change the fact that abNoynoy committed a crime, & shows no remorse over what he did. It’s just one debacle after another for that turd.

      4. You’re getting desperate, aren’t you?

        Thanks for admitting that the Philippines is a FAILED STATE. As Jose Rizal stated:

        “TAL PUEBLO, TAL GOBIERNO.”

        Epic FAIL you have there. Still, the loss is in all of us and we can never move on. Why? Because if the status quo is important for you than the cry for change, then YOU are part of the problem.

  5. Spoiler Alert:

    Isn’t DAP created during Aquino’s term? (2011).

    So why would he create something that (after serving some prupose) abolish it, “to make a point”?

    He already had PDAF, JDF and other discretionary funds to “abolish” why did he not start at those outright when he assumed office?

    Aren’t we getting way too much ahead with the conspiracy theories of PNoy’s “grand scheming of things”?

    Not that I am questioning PNoy’s CAPABILITY to devise a complex scheme as Jigs proposes or trying to insinuate that he is way to stupid to actually come up with such an intricate conspiracy plan.

    🙂

    1. The only sad things here is whatever he keep the Hacienda only temprorary as long he is in power. After that, Hacienda once more in hot issue. Taxmoney was used to temporary keep the personal interest of this panot as long he is the president
      U have to minus to his anti corruption achievement when GMA was released from captivity. Only what left is wang wang

  6. Aquino and Abad conspired to STEAL money in the National Treasury. They deviced a plan that cannot be easily detected by ordinary people.

    Unfortunately, some of his co-conspirators, turned against him. They are now in jail, after “singing” a finely tuned “song” about Aquino’s bribery ; that resulted in the exposure of the DAP Thievery…

  7. @Roly Dava:

    Aquino family sacrificed? They sacrificed to steal the lands of Tarlac called Hacienda Luisita.

    They sacrificed to connived with the NPA to protect Hacienda Luisita.

    They sacrificed to protect corrupt people, who patronize them.

    Daan matuwid? Going more “dawn” na deeper poverty of people. And straight to the “bangin”…

    Aquino and Abad sacrificed to connived together, to Steal money from the National Treasury thru the DAP.

    Aquino sacrificed to use Pork Barrel Funds, to bribe Senators, to impeach SC Chief Justice Corona.

    Lock up corrupt people? Aquino lock up political enemies. He protects corrupt friends and party mates/cahoots.

    I am glad , I don’t think like a YellowTard like you….you need more brain…you are just an as slicker of Aquino.

    1. The “Daan matuwid” became now a crooked path.

      Aquino asslickers are desperate to protect their corrupt patron.

      People have awakened…finding high prices; high cost of living; and widening gap between the rich and the poor.

      While Aquino and his Oligarch friends; together with his political cahoots are growing richer and richer….this is a very dangerous situation…

      The YellowTards cannot understand this situation….soon , we will have mass starvations…and maybe chaos..

  8. I feel sorry for the Filipino people so much. They are so trusting and hopeful for the future of the Philippines. They want things to be ideal and they project it into the president. They want Pnoy to be a hero, even if the sad reality is that the president is just a mechanism for the chinese elites of this country.

Leave a Reply to Gogs Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.