Thursday, March 27, 2008 Editorial: Winding down of an era
THAT TV footage showing former president Fidel V. Ramos dedicating a song to former president Cory Aquino, who is fighting colon cancer, shows how far an era has receded.
While Edsa 1 of 1986 was primarily an undertaking of an entire people, it produced, as uprisings always do, personalities that became the rallying point of the struggle.
Ramos and Cory, together with then Manila archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin and Juan Ponce Enrile rode the crest of that movement that toppled the hated Marcos dictatorship.
Enrile later drifted away from Ramos and Cory and Ramos himself eventually drifted away from Cory while Sin died---but the four remained icons of that momentous event.
Which means that, with Sin no longer around, Cory sick and Ramos and Enrile virtually becoming politically irrelevant, the close of that historic era is visible in the horizon.
Contrast
What is unfortunate is that this is happening at a time when the country's political situation is again shaky and the philippines is known more for corruption than anything else.
It makes the contrast even more apparent.
Consider that in 1986, the Philippines was the toast of the world for the heroism of its people, as shown by that Edsa crowd who faced tanks armed only with prayers and flowers.
Who would have thought that the euphoria sparked by the ouster of Ferdinand Marcos and the hope that filled Cory's assumption to power would evaporate in only two decades?
The point is not lost on present political leaders, who are valiantly assuring the people, after Cory's illness was announced, that they can still mine hope in the current setup.
New leaders
Of course, every period in a country's history produces new leaders, like the ones that are being thrust into the forefront of the most recent political conflict that has erupted.
But whether or not these leaders will ever achieve the iconic status that those who rode the crest of People Power 1 in 1986 is another thing altogether.
That many people are complaining about the lack of credible alternative to the unpopular Arroyo government is something that the present crop of leaders should ponder on.
