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Edsa 101
(Philippine Daily Inquirer Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)"EDSA 101" MIGHT WELL BE THE ALTERNAtive title to "Edsa 1986: Mga Tinig ng Himagsikan," the latest video documentary produced by the Foundation for Worldwide People Power (FWWPP), produced in observance of the 20th anniversary of the People Power uprising. (Contrary to my assertion in an earlier column, the four-day Edsa event officially began Feb. 22, not Feb. 20 as I wrote.)
The documentary might well seem a rehash of old and well-known events, at least to those of us who were around and may even have been on Edsa during those four days, or at least following all these developments closely. But we are not "Edsa 1986's" primary audience. The video is meant primarily for Filipinos born shortly before or after 1986, who may know little about the first manifestation of "People Power" and what led to it, and thus may care little for the lessons to be learned from Edsa.
As the producers explain, a focus-group discussion conducted among current UP students and out-of-school youth revealed that the "post-Edsa" generation "are barely aware of what those events were and their significance in Philippine history." The young people's knowledge of these events, it turned out, was also "superficial and severely limited."
This may explain why "Edsa 1986" sometimes comes across as an educational video, with animated scenes illustrating salient points (such as the analogy of the confluence of events with a mango ripening), and using what the producers call "an MTV-type program format," including a snazzy "hip-hop" score.
APO Hiking Society member Jim Paredes, one of the few entertainment figures who squarely staked their lives and careers on the "yellow" side during the anti-Marcos protests, pairs with young TV personality Bianca Gonzalez in walking us through the events of Edsa and the personalities behind them.
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BUT even for those who lived through those days, "Edsa 1986" offers new insights and little-known details. At the press preview hosted by FWWPP chair and sparkplug Eggie Apostol, who served "Edsa food" like boiled peanuts and barbecue to her guests, Edsa veterans who already knew how the uprising ended and the many "inside stories" still followed the documentary with anticipation.
As the producers explain, another objective was to acknowledge the roles played by people they called the "real heroes" of Edsa, individuals who played their parts in anonymity, content to let the spotlight shine on the principals.
Thus the documentary features interviews with such background players as Silvestre Afable III, who was Enrile's former special assistant; Edgardo Doromal, a member of the Presidential Security Command who revealed the coup plot to his superiors after being approached by RAM members; Avelino Razon, Fidel Ramos' former security officer; and former Air Force Col. Antonio Sotelo, whose defection to the rebel side marked the "turning point" of Edsa.
The "other side" is represented by ex-Marine Col. Braulio Balbas, who led the "loyalist" forces who broke through the ranks of protesters guarding Camp Aguinaldo but who refused to fire on the rebels inside Camp Crame; Gen. Lisandro Abadia, at the time Army chief for Operations; and Salvador Escudero III, Marcos' minister of agriculture.
Also interviewed for the first time on television are Sisters Terry and Ping, the two nuns whose photo showing them kneeling and wielding rosaries in front of tanks became a symbol of the lopsided "battle" at Edsa.
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FR. CATALINO Arevalo, S.J., a theologian who took active part among the troops at Edsa, provided one of the sharpest insights into the "miraculous" events of those four days.
Was Edsa indeed a "miracle," as some breathlessly claim? It wasn't a miracle in the sense that God descended and performed a supernatural act, Father Arevalo explained. Rather, what took place was "a miracle in the heart of everyone who was there," including, we might add, the soldiers and officers who refrained from firing a shot despite orders from their superiors, and thus brought about an episode in history acknowledged as the Filipino's proudest moment.
What makes viewing "Edsa 1986" a bittersweet experience, at least for this Edsa survivor, is the realization that the high hopes that swelled in everyone's hearts during those four days have been dashed to pieces today, 20 years after.
Especially ironic were the words quoted from the statement of the Catholic bishops shortly after the fraudulent and violent elections of 1986, which points out that a president who ascends to office "through fraud and deceit" has lost the moral right to lead. Perhaps that's why the Arroyo administration would rather that people forgot the events at Edsa.
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DIRECTOR Butch Nolasco and scriptwriters Nancy and Raul Rodrigo deserve credit for organizing the events of Edsa and tracking the chronology and arranging the narrative-and the numerous interviews-into a coherent story that is both compelling and entertaining.
The post-Edsa kids might take the documentary as an exciting retelling of a tension-filled period in recent history. But their parents, while reliving the euphoria and fear of those days, would more likely feel a twinge of regret, if not depression. After all, we've run out of excuses after 20 years, as we had more than enough time-if not exactly the opportunity-to effect the reforms we championed, create the new world we envisioned.
Then again, perhaps it's no longer our mission to fulfill. It might be time to turn over the dream to the next generation, the next Edsa warriors, and pray that they never have to go through it again.
"Edsa 1986: Mga Tinig ng Himagsikan" airs on Sunday, Feb. 26 at 9 p.m. over ABS-CBN Channel 2.
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