According to P-Noy, Edsa People Power 1 is still an unfinished revolution, but for whom? What have Edsa 1 and Edsa 2 done for the Filipinos? What has changed since the overthrow of the dictatorship? What lessons can be learned from the Edsa uprisings?
Nothing has changed since the Filipinos had overthrown the dictator. Prices of commodities have continued to move up. Basic necessities are still hard to achieve or acquire. Majority of the people still lives in poverty. One positive lesson one can learn from the edsa uprisings was that the Filipinos can, in numbers and in unity, mount a revolution to change the political landscape of the country. But the People Power uprisings were exercises in futility, because the fruits are stolen by the elite: the leaders of the opposing party, the military leaders, and the church elite. What Edsa 1 and 2 installed afterwards are elite democracy, and not true democracy for the people. What we want are changes in the economic and political policies and laws. Curbing corruption is just part of the total change we need to happen in the government. More important than curbing corruption is to replace the laws that are not for the benefit of the masses. The oil deregulation law (law which removed government regulation on pricing of oil) must be scrapped. Epira law (law which opens the power industry to investors and manipulate the pricing based on its supply and demand) must be scrapped. The Herrera law (law which mandates that companies can hire contractuals if they deemed it necessary, based on their profits) must be replaced with one that will ensure workers' security of tenure, and not just the 5 months-5 months per company, without the benefits of a regular employee. And other laws on the security on housing, food, and clothing. Read the PDI article and tremble with indignation !!!
Aquino: Edsa is still unfinished revolution
No comments:
Post a Comment