Tag: 1986

Filipinos should junk the 1986 People Power narrative in order to TRULY progress

August 18, 2016 benign0 77 Comments

It’s time Filipinos pause, step back, take stock, and ask: What is really going on here? If one would attempt to answer that question using the common frame of mind with which Filipinos have coocooned themselves within, the responses would be unsurprising, quite trite, and peppered with certain key words prevalent in mainstream discourse today:…

Crime, Culture, Development, Economy

Hijacking the 1986 EDSA Revolution

February 25, 2016 Celestino Manrique II 11 Comments

The country celebrates the 30th Anniversary of the 1986 EDSA “Revolution” under the deception that things have become better ever since the overthrow of the Marcos dictatorship. The celebrations have become so regular, so systematic, and so ingrained that the “EDSA Spirit” has become rather dogmatic. Leading the celebrations, as expected, is President BS Aquino…

Government, Politics

Five Inaccuracies Still Accepted as “Philippine History”

March 20, 2015 MidwayHaven 101 Comments

Some time ago I watched a local documentary that dramatized Ferdinand Magellan’s visit to Mactan Island in 1521. Most Filipinos are aware of the events here: Mactan’s chieftain Lapu-Lapu kills Magellan, and the rest of the natives drive the rest of the Spanish back to their boats. What irked me however was what the actor…

Civics, Culture, Education, Society

The 1986 EDSA people power ‘revolution’ has irreparably damaged the Philippines

February 18, 2015February 20, 2022 benign0 44 Comments

Back in the heady days leading up to the 1986 EDSA “people power” “revolution”, the top slogan of supporters of then incumbent Philippine president Ferdinand E. Marcos was, what else, “Marcos pa rin!” (roughly translated: “Still Marcos!”). Fast forward to today and, guess what, the incumbent’s slogan that “trended” in recent days (presumably to counter…

Development, Media, Politics, Religion, Society

The failure of the Philippines is now a legacy of the Aquinos and no longer of the Marcoses

July 21, 2014July 23, 2014 benign0 50 Comments

Almost 54 percent of Filipinos are under the age of 24. They were all born after 1990 and some of them became voters after 1996. By 2016 a big chunk of this group (5-10 million of them) will turn 18 and be eligible to vote as well. This is a new generation calling the political…

Development, Education, Government, Politics, Society

It’s time Filipinos start recognizing the true builders of their country

February 25, 2014March 13, 2014 benign0 26 Comments

With political airspace in the Philippines currently congested by allegations, accusations, and speculations of thievery flying back and forth between political cliques, factions, and camps, one couldn’t be blamed for losing any remaining semblance of faith in the old idealistic notion that a stint in government office grants one a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to “make a…

Development, Economy, Featured, Government, Politics

The 1986 EDSA Revolution’s legacy: Three key aspects of the 1987 Constitution that hobbles Philippine progress

February 24, 2014 benign0 21 Comments

It’s that time of the year again when we celebrate that supposedly seminal event in Philippine history when, according to the local lore, the forces of evil (porportedly the regime of former President Ferdinand E. Marcos) were vanquished by the forces of good (supposedly the Aquino-Cojuangco feudal clan). Marcos removed. Game over. The 1986 “People…

Charter Change, Civics, Development, Government, Media, Politics, Society

Aquino anti-cybercrime law curtailing freedom of speech ruins significance of EDSA people power revolution

February 20, 2014February 25, 2014 Ilda 58 Comments

The celebration for the 28th anniversary of EDSA People Power revolution will be low key according to Presidential Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma. Instead of holding it at EDSA where it was held traditionally, it will be held in Cebu province. The reason given was “because the province was the bulwark of the opposition to the…

Development, Government, Politics