ENEMIES
OR FRIENDS
by
Antonio C. Antonio
August
10, 2014
Sir
Winston Churchill once said: “You have
enemies? Good! That means you’ve stood for something,
sometime in your life.” I would agree
with Sir Winston any day of the week and twice on a Sunday.
The
sudden resurgence of a Marcos scion has brought back bitter memories in the
history, life and consciousness of the Filipino. Sen. Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., through his
loyal supporters, has been making a political posture and pitch for the presidency
in 2016 in the last few months. His
mother, former First Lady Imelda Romualdez-Marcos, even admitted that she longs
to return to Malacañang Palace.
Social
media netizens and the populace in general are again divided. Battle lines are drawn between the tyrannical-dictatorial
rule former Pres. Ferdinand E. Marcos is known for and a moral crusading
leadership represented by Pres. Benigno S. Aquino, III (popularly called
“Noynoy”). Why is this happening? Perhaps the Filipino has really learned bitter
lessons from his immediate history and is now exercising his right to free
choice. Let’s briefly revisit our immediate
political past…
Sen.
Benigno S. Aquino, Jr., more popularly known as “Ninoy” (father to Pres. Noynoy
Aquino) was the brightest prospect for the presidency in the early 1970s. Under the 1935 Constitution, Pres. Marcos
could no longer seek another term. On
the guise of saving the country from a communist take-over and an assassination
attempt on the life of Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile, Marcos declared
Martial Law in September 21, 1972. I
should mention that Enrile, to his credit, debunked the assassination as merely
“staged” to justify the imposition of Martial Law. Ninoy Aquino, together with other political
and business leaders opposed to Marcos, was thrown to jail. Martial Law seems to be good at first as the
economy made an upswing. But the
economic gains, however, was only for the benefit of the social, political and
military elite… as the poor grew in number.
Marcos actually made it to the No. 2 spot in the list of the World’s
Most Corrupt Leaders. (http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0921295.html) Political persecution, abuse and plunder were
the order of the day. In 1980 Ninoy Aquino
was allowed to go to the United States for a heart by-pass operation. Amid growing dissent, Marcos lifted Martial
Law in January 1981 although the military governance structure remained. These measures by Marcos did little to ease
the fast-growing clamor for change.
While in America, Ninoy Aquino resumed his fight for the restoration of
basic freedoms in his country… and after 3 years in exile, he decided to return
to the Philippines to join the ranks of his suffering countrymen. But upon his return, on August 21, 1983, he
was assassinated at the airport by military elements. On February 25, 1986, on the 5th
day of the EDSA Revolution, Marcos fled the country. Pres. Corazon C. Aquino took over the
presidency and returned basic freedoms to the country. After 3 more presidents, Noynoy Aquino became
president and is still in a continuing battle for a governance concept called
“Daang Matuwid” (The Righteous Road).
After
almost 5 decades of democratic freedom, there is now a growing polarization
among Filipinos and the younger generation (born after the EDSA Revolution) are
confused. To them I say: Please do not readily believe what I’ve just
written but I would encourage you to surf the Internet and read your history
books to intelligently formulate your own opinions.
The
Marcoses and Aquinos fought for something, sometime in their lives. Going back to the illustrious words of Sir
Winston Churchill… it’s not just a matter of standing or fighting for
something. It is equally important to
discern what you are fighting for. This
is also the case in our fight for Mother Earth.
It has to be an informed and intelligent fight that should be
sustained. Individuals, organizations
and businesses which practice environmental abuse wish that we remain
uninformed and ignorant of their nefarious practices. It is imperative that we know and understand
what we are fighting for... and, therefore, be more committed to our
cause. At the end of the day, it is what
you stood or stand for that will bring you enemies or friends.
Just
my little thoughts…
(Please
visit, like and share Pro EARTH Crusaders and Landscape Ecology UPOU on
Facebook or follow me at http://antonantonio.blodspot.com/)
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