Dear Ninoy

Dear Ninoy,

It is you I remember most these days.

I do not mean to disturb your peace.  You already have passed from this valley of tears to the House of the Father, but please, Ninoy, do not forget us in our present travails as a nation.  I know that you love this country so much.  You will not let us lose our hope.

Ninoy, embrace us and ask God to embrace your God-loving people.  Do not look at the blessings we have squandered and the heroism we have ridiculed.  Do not look at the biased media and the people that they have misled.  Do not look at the uncaring attitude of some people about the victims of the Mendiola massacre, the Hacienda Luisita massacre, and the SAF44 debacle.

Look at us in our fears and pray for us to God to heal our land. Give us more courage. Give us more hope.  Shake us up from political stupidity.

Thirty-one years after EDSA 1986, I hear our people ask: What shall we celebrate? What is there to celebrate?  By the corner of EDSA and Ortigas, I want to sit and weep as I remember the four glorious days of February 1986 now dimmed due to the failed promises of the past administrations after Ferdinand Marcos'.  The songs of peace now drowned by the hypocritical and self-serving people that we once trusted.

The bloodless revolt now stained by the blood of the victims under your wife and your son's leadership, and these same victims have yet to find peace and justice.

Four days of bloodless revolution!  Wow!

Now thirty-one years and the masquerading corrupt politicians still use the EDSA People Power in the name of delusional "change” that they abused for personal gain!  From Marcos' cronies, to Cory's Kamag-anak, Inc., and to PNoy's KKK - what a nightmare, Ninoy!  It is a shame.

The dictator ousted by people power is now buried among heroes, which in the first place would have never been possible IF Fidel V. Ramos did not allow his family to set foot in our country again.  This was the same man anointed by your own wife, Cory, to be her successor; the same man I voted, for the love of Cory.

The lady of 1,200-plus pairs of shoes is now a representative in Congress, and her family still lives a comfortable life.

A former actor - president ousted for plunder continues to be in power.

Another former president known for corruption is back in Congress.

Any Filipino can run for the presidency even without any substantial experience.  History books and historical memory are mocked.  Thanks to our inutile 1986 Constitution and to the traditional political alliances.  Imagine, even you wife and your son ate their shit and supposed personal convictions to join a plunderer for political convenience!  Thank God, Ninoy, you did not live to see those days.

Tears flowed. Uncertainties choked us. It was hard to choose silence and just take the blows. I thought, "How long can we endure?" It was hard to fight for the right without question or pause and be willing to march into hell for a heavenly cause. You remember that song, Ninoy? Singing it makes me smile and makes me cry.

Were you ever discouraged and did you also question yourself if what you were doing was right? Were you ever afraid or did you ever feel the urge to stay in your zone of comfort instead of fighting the unbeatable foe?

My parents were loyal supporters of your family then, and I inherited their love for them.  However, even though they were among those people who were present during People Power 1, they got disillusioned with what had transpired over the years.  Slowly, they lost their interest in watching the annual celebrations which they dubbed as "pure entertainment only".  Nevertheless, for the love of you Ninoy, we still supported Cory's preferences in every election that followed, until 2007, for when we finally realized, "Enough is enough".  It was hard to turn a blind eye.  We could not stomach your wife's political alliance with a plunderer, just to show disdain for the administration at that time and to satisfy your son's political ambition. Just because one is against a corrupt president doesn't give him moral ascendance.  Ang isinuka, pwede rin pala nilang kainin muli.  Sobra na, tama na, itigil na ang kahibangan na ito.  Hindi sila mga santo.  Mga tao rin sila na may kanya-kanyang interes.  Pare-pareho lang pala sila, Ninoy...  Pare-pareho lang sila.

Ninoy, the thirty years of fakery have taught us to break away from political loyalty.  Those people who have failed us taught us how to cope more from disenchantment. They taught us how to be more courageous. They taught us to be more humorous (oh, you should see the creative memes now). They taught us to keep our faith that ONE DAY, WE, the FILIPINO people, WOULD BE ABLE TO BEAT THEM THROUGH A COLLECTIVE EFFORT AGAIN.  They taught us to be more discerning of the self-righteous authorities: may they be in the government or in religious groups. They woke us up from political blindness to be passionate again to fight for our country.

We were looking for you but you are not here. We were waiting for your voice but we cannot hear. We wanted to see you again but you seem so far away now.  In those years, we missed you.

Thirty years after, the TRAPOs have unknowingly created their own monster.  Thirty years after, we regained hope and trust, for that monster is "someone who is willing to march into hell for a heavenly cause".  Sounds familiar, Ninoy?  The TRAPOs now fear that monster.

Can we still celebrate EDSA people power? Maybe you'd say, "Yes, because EDSA is for the people.  The true celebration of the EDSA People Power lies and depends in your hearts and not on a grand celebration wherein you will only see a gathering of POLITICAL GARBAGE.  That is not a celebration, but pure POLITICAL and SOCIAL TOXIN."

As Loida Lewis put it, "Doesn't have to be true, just needs to look like it."  Hence, DECEPTION.

For EDSA is not about a particular political color or a political clan that most saintly men and women usually adore and continuously portray to be upright, BUT about the faith and bravery of the enormous NAMELESS PEOPLE who called upon the Lord in their distress and whose cry the Lord has heard from heaven.  EDSA is our people’s cry and our God’s loving reply.

In your final years, Ninoy, you were firm to remind us that THE FILIPINO IS WORTH DYING FOR.  The EDSA spirit is pure and worth celebrating always.  It is the hypocritical and self-serving people who have RAPED it, which is even worse than the supposed uncountable extra-judicial killings of drug users and syndicates.

May we always remind ourselves that the people who prostituted the EDSA democracy are the very same people who are now afraid to face their nightmare: to be taken out of power.  Never shall we allow ourselves to be fooled again.   Enough of those wolves in sheep's clothing.  NEVER AGAIN.

Against all odds, Ninoy, we will remember. We will give thanks. We will challenge ourselves to live for God and to live for country as you did.

Rest now, Ninoy. You have left us lessons to last us many lifetimes. All we must do is to keep on remembering and to keep the fire aglow. You have passed on that torch to us and we will not fail you, not like what your wife and son did.

Promise!

In the Lord's House, please hug my mom for me, who was a staunch believer in you.

Lovingly,

Choy

Matthew 7:1-2

"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."

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DISCLAIMER:

It's been almost a year since I wrote here.  I do not own the entire entry.  It was after reading Archbishop Soc Villegas' letter to the late Cardinal Sin that I got inspired to "rewrite" his letter, but this time, addressed to Ninoy.

You may find his original letter here:  http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/874307/edsa-is-our-peoples-cry-and-gods-loving-reply#ixzz4ZYwPpwjr