Ohohoy!

The EDSA People Power Revolution of 1986 paved the way for Corazon Aquino to emerge as the Philippines’, nay, the world’s quintessential icon of democracy. And why not. Cory and the Yellow Revolution shared the same qualities that held everyone in awe: nonviolent, prayerful, life changing.

23 years have passed and many thought that the spirit of EDSA had long been dead, only to see it reawakened by Cory’s passing last August 1. Such twins they are. If Cory’s funeral were any indication, Filipinos are not EDSA-fatigued, after all.

Or are we?

Some people would say the big crowd that gathered and marched along the funeral route included a large number of usiseros (kibitzers) and usoseros (bandwagon riders), hence it should not be equated with anything as spectacular as People Power. These same people would say that compared to the funeral procession for Cory’s husband Ninoy – a virtual march borne out of anger and that which served as the impetus for the 1986 revolt – the multitudes that paid homage to Cory were mere warm bodies marching without a cause. Perhaps. And from where Mr. A and I stood while waiting for the cortege to pass us by, those rubberneckers and fad-a-holics must have been so damn determined to do their thing that they didn’t mind standing on the road for 7 hours while soaked in the rain.

Okay, the collective mood of the crowd that day may have been too festive to stir up public opinion, but that didn’t change the fact that the Filipinos are still waiting for the fruits of EDSA to materialize. The 9-hour procession may have been too tiring in these times when everyone has his own politics, but that didn’t keep the common enemy out of focus.

If anything, Cory’s death gave us a stark contrast between the vile and the precious. It amplified fears that the same kind of government we overthrew at EDSA is actually back and has taken an even worse form – one that knows all too well how to use its power and vast resources to render people apathetic, but it also made us think in serious wonderment if Cory’s death, as in Ninoy’s, was what we needed to be jolted from this long stupor of indifference and inaction.

Personally, I think God is so good to our country that in taking Cory He gave us the perfect candidate for next year’s presidential elections. It is much clearer now why avowed presidentiables, many that they are, hardly appeal to our collective consciousness. No amount of pedicab pedaling or V-sign spin-offs or catchy nicknames or shameless plugging of achievements can apparently top the ultimate campaign platform that is Cory Aquino. Yes, it’s Flower Power once again, but without the psychedelic benefits of LSD that went with it.

And who embodies the Yellow Spirit better than the Son who chose his Parents well.

Maybe it’s much too early in the game, ah but I thought I’d ask you just the same:

Noynoy Aquino, will you be our next president?

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