Friday, February 24, 2006

No classes! Should we rejoice?

Classes have been suspended today because of a suspected impending coup. Two high ranking officers were relieved of their posts as they expressed their non-support for this government.

As a teen-ager, I remember the times when I would be very happy over the suspension of classes. There were a number of reasons why classes would be suspended during those days. First was the occurence of strong typhoons. We would have no classes for days because of inclement weather and inundation. i even managed to work overnight (my first time to work ever, I was 14 or 15 yrs old then) for a nutribun factory that was contracted by the government to offer relief to those stranded in central luzon. I remember the whole of Pampanga, Bulacan and nearby provinces in a sea of water and classes were suspended for a week at least. This was probably during the first years of martial law. I remember soldiers waiting for sacks and sacks of bread to be delivered. They were slumped on the floor sleeping or inside their 6 X 6 truck.

Earlier on, classes would be suspended for rallies happening in Morayta, Quiapo, the university belt and the University of the Philippines. Again, being a young teen-ager, I dld not know that this would be known as the first quarter storm. Student activists had died during rallies but still more and more people would march on the streets. There was this Carlos Santana song that goes "Jinggoooo, go back. Go back back go back." which rallyists had adapted and changed the lyrics to "Marcooooos, talagang tuta" alluding to Marcos' beng a lapdog to Amnerican imperialism.

Well, this is well-known history so there is no use writing about it. However, to my young mind, I did not care then. I was just happy there would be no Trigonometry class. However, Doc Emer just texted about the signing of the president of Proclamation 1017 which allows a warrantless arrest of suspected individuals, among others. (I have yet to read the news) This is just like the prelude to martial law when Marcos suspended the writ of habeas corpus. While I was nonchalant about political upheavals during my youth, I am more aware now as an adult. I look at things and try to analyze whatever information I receive. Will we experience another episode of military take over? I have the strong suspicion that we won't. Marcos has planned his moves well. He has wooed every general to his side. He had the full support of the military who at the time was confined inside their barracks awaiting to be called should there be a war. Looking back, I could just imagine how Being involved directly with civilian concerns like the political arena would have been tempting for their officers. That would mean sharing the limelight with the political leaders.

However, Gloria Arroyo does not have this luxury. Not after Edsa when the people has seen the power of civil disobedience. Not after Edsa where the people saw that the military can be swayed to their favor and defy their officers. Not after several failed coup attempts. As it is, the military is no longer the unified institution that it once was. Its leaders began to think on their own after it has seen the events that has happened since Edsa. Some of these young officers have their own agenda which to my mind is can include taking over the reins of government.

If ever martial law takes in effect, it will mean tremendous bloodshed like what happened in Tiananmen Square or worse, the military split to two and civil war ensues. Hope that never happens. At any event, should Gloria or any of her detractors and other players in this recent event fail, that would mean they will only have to heal their battered egos. We, the poor citizens of the Philippines will have to suffer more. Ganda no?

14 comments:

poppycock said...

talk about being clueless, i blogged early this morning about how it is such a wonderful treat for the kids to have school unexpectedly suspended. little did i know what was happening until i spoke to my siter over the phone around noon and she told me to tune in to the news. all the while the tv was tuned in to 'animal planet'. i should have left it there....

Anonymous said...

people power really had meaning and spirit the first time around...

and maybe the second time...

pero third, fourth, fifth... nth power?

parang nagagasgas na ang pangalan ng edsa e

naiisip ko sir na parang reality TV na ang nagyayari sa gobyerno: pag ayaw na yung nakaupo, oust/rally... then tune in for the next episode...

jane said...

ako naman, still puzzled and upsat about the leyte landslide. kawawa naman tayo, bugbog na bugbog na.

rolly said...

Mayamaya I think I have this gift. For some reason or another, I watched the news instead of the Discovery Channel Friday morning. The thing is, we have all taken a bath and ready to go to school when the announcement was made.

Joseph Yes, people power the first and second time was full of meaning. MAganda yung analogy mo on reality show. Parang ganon na nga. hehe

joffin Yun pa ang isang nakakainis. While we should have focused on the calamity, sumingit na naman yang mga bwisit na politikong yan.

Anonymous said...

Hey, Sir Rolleh.

I know that during Marcos' time, it was super... well, bad(I know it's an understatement. o_o), but didn't he save the Philippines' money? Alot of it?

I don't midn Gloria, but if they kick her form Presidency, should we have someone like Marcos back? ._. Well, excluding the bad bad blood and such.

Just saying...

~Iris

rolly said...

Iris hehe, this is the first time I have been called such.

Anyway, I don't et everthing you said. You must've meant he "spent" a lot of money which should have been for our development.

I have heard of some people saying what we need is someone with iron hands like Lee Kwan Yoo of Singapore but at the rate we are going, i don't think there's someone who can be like that. Masyadong maraming tao ang bansa natin, marami ang magaling, marami ang gustong mag-leader. If my hunch is correct, we will never have a president who will really fibnish his/her term. We will always go out of the streets to oust our president. And that is because some elements in our society are not "satisfied" with how our government is being run. Sana mali ako.

Anonymous said...

Lee Kwan Yew po, tito rolly.

dalawa pa lang naman po; the first was an over-staying president who did good in his legit stint, while the other was a good for nothing president who should not have been a president in the first place. if ever the current one will be kicked-out, she deserves it, and i guess i need not give a justification 'coz everybody knows why.
occam's razor: when you have two competing theories which make exactly the same predictions, the one that is simpler is the better. for a non-lawyer who's always lost on the technicalites of the law, i'll go for the simplest explanation.

god bless po tito rolly!
|bote|

Anonymous said...

HAHAHA! IRIS! XD

*cough* anyway...

I can sympathize with the whole "I-was-already-ready-for-school-when-somebody-told-me" thing... Hayyy... Come to think of it, I wasn't really that happy about it.

ganito na lang po ata habang-buhay e... I don't think there will ever be a time where at most 4/5 of the country would be satisfied. ~_~

... at natatawa pa rin ako kay iris. XD "sir rolleh"


(bakit po parang ang hirap ata ng napuntang sa akin na word verification code?)

rolly said...

Bote Ay, oo nga pala. Ano ba yun, nabobo na ko sa spelling. hehe

An overstaying president who did good during his legit stint? You must be referring to his earlier years, no?

Eri pabagu-bago naman ang word verification e. blogger ang gumagawa nyan. Anyway, 4/5? Mahirap yata yun.

Anonymous said...

haha! kaya nga po "at most" e :3

kahit nga lang 1/3 mahirap na po, diba? Sad... :(

batjay said...

Delubyo! Delubyo!

rolly said...

eri :-)

Batjay Akala ko, demonyo, demonyo. Yan kasi yung mga nagpapahirap sa bayan natin e.

batjay said...

sana bagsakan ng delubyo ang mga demonyo. yan ang pinakamagandang mangyari.

maliit lang naman na scale ng delubyo ang hinihiling ko sa diyos. hindi naman yung katulad sa nung time ni moses na uulan ng palaka at mamamatay ang mga panganay na anak ng mga hinayupak.

ang hiling ko ay parang yung mini version ng hiling ni pilosopo tasyo sa noli nang makita niyang may paparating na unos...

sana umulan ng malakas ay kunin nang lahat ng mga taong nagpapahirap sa bayang magiliw. para pagtapos ng bagyo eh puro matitinong tao ang matira sa pilipinas.

sige na LORD! AMEN.

rolly said...

Batjay hehe, pwede rin.