Memories of the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolt are vivid in the memory of 58-year-old church volunteer Leo Mabansag.
He recalls telling his girlfriend back then that he will join the mass revolt to topple authoritarian regime of then President Ferdinand Marcos.
“It’s still fresh to me, nandun sa lahat ng mga taong present yung emotions of fear at the same time yung excitement. Nasa gitna ka ng EDSA mismo, ang dami ninyo. Halos hindi ka makagalaw sa dami ng tao pero maayos,” Mabansag said to GMA News Online.
Unknown to him, his girlfriend also went to EDSA to join the protesters.
“I didn’t know that she went there also. Hindi kami nagkita dun pero nung nagkwentuhan kami a few days after the event, dun namin nalaman na pareho pala kaming nagpunta,” Mabansag said.
That same year of 1986, Mabansag, then a 28-year-old former seminarian, married his girlfriend. The couple was blessed with two children.
Twenty-nine years after, Mabansag went back to EDSA Shrine – not to call for the resignation of any government leaders but just to offer a prayer and to remember those days.
But Mabansag was quite surprised and a bit disappointed. When he arrived at EDSA Shrine to attend a Mass Wednesday morning, only a few people were there, mostly security personnel.
It was then that he found out that the Mass usually held at the EDSA Shrine stage was now inside the EDSA Shrine chapel also known as the Mary Queen of Peace church, where fewer people can be accommodated.
Mabansag and some other people who wished to attend the Mass went to the chapel, but were denied entry by the security personnel.
But unlike the others who started raising their voices and expressing disappointment for the sudden change of Mass venue, Mabansag immediately secured a good spot and contented himself in watching the ongoing Mass from the glass door of the chapel. It was nearly in the middle of the Mass when the people outside were provided with a sound system.
“Dati doon talaga sa labas (yung Mass), kasi ang daming tao na pumupunta talaga dati e,” Mabansag said, additing that it was in the early 90s since he last attended a People Power anniversary celebration.
“Ang konti na ng pumupunta,” he remarked.
On that same moment, hundreds of students and members of various militant groups were marching their way to EDSA to call for the resignation of Aquino following the bloody Mamasapano, Maguindanao encounter that led to the death of 44 police troopers who belonged to the Special Action Force (SAF).
Asked on the calls for Aquino’s resignation, Mabansag said: “For me, let him (Aquino) finish (his term). It does not necessarily follow that we can have the important changes that we expected kung mapapalitan ang presidente. Nakita na natin ‘yan, after so many presidents that we had, nandiyan pa rin yung karamihan sa mga problema,” Mabansag said.
Detained for several months in 1976 during the martial law era, Mabansag admitted that it pains him that the democracy that he and the other activists of People Power revolution have fought for is now being used by people who want to advance their political agendas.
I personally experienced yung pagkakaisa ng mga tao noon. Whatever political, ideological inclinations, nag sama-sama…ngayon yung demokrasya natin na-aabuso na, may kanya-kanyang ipinaglalaban, may kanya-kanyang political agenda,” Mabansag said.
Lilia Sario, another activist during the 1986 revolution shared the same view. A 24-year-old employee then, Sario took a leave from work to join the third day of the People Power protest.
She said one thing that makes 1986 EDSA People Power revolution different from the other protest actions was the unity of the people then to achieve a common goal – to restore democracy
“Noon mayroong malasakit sa isa’t isa ang mga tao. ‘Yun yung time na nakita mo yung tao kung pano magkaisa. Kahit na anong status sa buhay, mayaman, mahirap, businessman, middle class nandito lahat para sa pagbabago,” Sario said.
She said most people now has a wrong notion of democracy, pointing out that freedom of expression must be accompanied with a sense of responsibilty and concern for the country.
Hindi porke may demokrasya na tayo pwede mo nang kalabanin ang lahat ng nakaupo sa gobyerno.Kung ikaw against ka sa ginagawa ng gobyerno, dapat meron kang plataporma kung ano yung gusto mong pagbabago na pwede mong i-share sa gobyerno para naman makatulong ka,” Sario said.
Accompanied by her 21-year-old son, Sario likewise opted to attend the Mass outside the EDSA Shrine chapel instead of joining a protest march.
“Sinama ko nga ang anak ko para din ma-experience niya (yung People Power anniversary celebration)…Yung experience ko ng martial law naikwekwento ko sa kanila (her two sons). Saka sinasabi ko sa kanila, kung gusto mo ng pagbabago simulan mo sa sarili mo,” Sario said. — ELR, GMA News
