CHAPTER 6

PEOPLE POWER

-high/unrealistic hopes and expectations, "people power" at EDSA would be the beginning of truly
participatory democracy in the Philippines.
- Fil would be conscientious and be more active participant of political process
- Redemption of the military, solve Muslim insurgency and economic growth foreign investors
- government found itself with a popular leader, but few other sources of tangible political support
thus it sought the support of the traditional political and economic elite
- restored its prerogatives and backing away from policies that might result in fundamental social
and political change- result was traditional elite democracy like pre martial law

* First 100 days

- First task is to complete a cabinet- weak because of multi party composition
- Aquino-laurel, renegade from Marcos govt Enrile, Ramos
- Aquino’s cabinet volatile personalities and political persuasions, executive dept moved slowly

1. First challenge- existence of Marcos political apparatus

- KBL control in Batasang Pambansa and judges still loyal to Marcos
- Total control of KBL of provincial and local officials whose term did not expire until June 198
- restored the writ of habeas corpus
- created a Presidential Commission on Human Rights (PCHR) to investigate human rights
abuses;
- established the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) -retrieve the "ill
gotten" and "hidden wealth" of the Marcos family and Gen Fabian Ver
- despite objections of Enrile, Aquino release about 500 Marcos-era political prisoners
including jose Ma. Sison, the CPP founder; Bernabe Buscayno, alias "Kumander Dante", the
NPA founder
- Aquino offered an amnesty to the communist rebels and called for the CPP-NPA to lay down
their arms and enter into peace talks with the new government
- Local Government Minister Aquilino Pimentel announced that some 14,000 local officials
would be subject to replacement by government-appointed "Officers in Charge" (OICs) until
new local elections

3 reasons
1. Concern that the sitting officials would remain loyal to Marcos- might attempt to undermine
the new government
2. Aquino government wished to have loyal followers in place at the local level before it
conducted a constitutional plebiscite or national elections
3. Patronage considerations and a sense of vengeance

*triggered a major controversy and created the first crack in the government coalition
-KBL claimed- replacement of the duly elected officials was unconstitutional and amounted to
"revolutionary terror"
 Real reason: transfer of power at the local level from the KBL to the supporters of the new
government; control of local government office is critical to the local elite to preserve or enhance
their political and economic power
- past "official" activities of outgoing KBL officials would become subject to the scrutiny of the
incoming OIC
-local offices are the building blocks of the national government and political parties. National leaders
are dependent upon local officials to deliver the vote in national elections

-Pre-martial law era, a dispute over patronage - and not policies - became the first major political
issue in the post-Marcos era.
- confusion about who was in charge, and in some there were physical stand-offs between
incumbents,

2ND CHALLENGE

Marcos-shaped 1973 Constitution and the 200-members

- continued validity of the 1973 Constitution (under which the election was held), and therefore
the continued legitimacy of the Batasan
- Presidential Proclamation No. 3, the preamble of which stated that "the new government was
installed through a direct exercise of the power of the Filipino people assisted by units of the
New Armed Forces of the Philippines"
- made it clear that the basis of the government's legitimacy was the February revolt rather
than the presidential election.
- Justice Minister Neptali Gonzales, the Aquino government was "revolutionary in origin,
democratic in essence and transitory in nature''.
- In the place of the 1973 Constitution the proclamation established an interim "Freedom
Constitution"
- abolished the Batasan, and removed security of tenure for most civil servants. FC remain in
effect until a constitutional commission could be convened and ratify new constitution

- Sporadic opposition: KBL and UNIDO members of the Batasan announced their intention to
convene a "rebel Parliament" in April. Blas Ople, a former Batasan member and labour
minister
- mid-April, Aquino moved to cleanse another Marcos-tainted institution by swearing in ten
new Supreme Court justices and beginning a review of all judicial appointments.
- 25 May, three months after coming to power, she announced the appointment of forty-four
people to a commission to draft a new constitution.
- Rhetoric calling for the institutionalization of "people power" remained just rhetoric.

- economic development plan called for "people-powered development", but there was no sign
of any action in one critical area - agrarian reform
*Coping with the Military and the Communists
-search for a modus vivendi between the civilian government and the military.
- Aquino government included a number of former political activists and human rights lawyers-
untrustworthy, undemocratic, and dangerous
-rapidly shifting allegiances within the military-added to the uncertainty and volatility of civilian-
military relations.
-The focal point of civilian-military tensions- civilian leadership's conciliatory approach to the
communist insurgency,
-AFP frowned upon Aquino's decision to release all political prisoners - concerned about the
Presidential Commission on Human Rights' investigations into military abuses, opposed to
efforts to negotiate a settlement with the communist insurgency

- Ramos & Enrile, pressed Aquino to adopt an integrated counterinsurgency plan that ignored
negotiations and emphasized defeat to give the military greater influence over local officials
-Aquino decidedtmilitary would not be directly involved in the initial peace talks.

Manila Hotel Incident

- Marcos loyalists, Arturo Tolentino, Marcos's vice-presidential running mate, went Manila
Hotel declared he would be acting president in Marcos absence
- joined by several hundred troops led by Brigadier General jaime Echeverria and Colonel
Rolando Abadilla
-troops,were quickly surrounded by troops loyal to the government- stalemate ensued.
- rebel troops were "punished" with thirty push-ups and allowed to rejoin their units.
- revealed for the first time the depth and breadth of discontent within the military
- they did so to protest the government's policies towards the communists- too lenient and
exposed the military to communist attacks.

Disturbing aspects
1. the way the incident ended - with the rebel troops being reincorporated without
punishment - fragile unity within the military.
2. the incident demonstrated that Chief of Staff Ramos had less-than-total control over his
factionalized officers and troops, soldiers "Guardian Brotherhood" fraternity within the AFP.
3. the incident illustrated the influence of Emile within the military.Rebel soldiers claimed
they had joined the coup because Emile was one of its leaders

- Aquino talk with the communist and met with MNLF chairman Nur Misuari
-the beginning of a gradual demilitarization of the conflict
- peace talks provided the left with unprecedented visibility and legitimacy.

* Cory and Her Constitution

-a 48-member Constitutional Commission, or "Con Com","an act of creative restoration''
- "reconstruct pre-Martial Law political structures and also to reform and improve them based on
the hard lessons of the Marcos years"
- Con Com was dominated by moderates who supported Aquino, small minorities on both the
right (led by Bias Ople) and the left (led by peasant leader jaime Thdeo ), prompted three of the
left-leaning commissioners to stage a walk-out in early September to protest the "tyranny of the
majority"
NEW CONSTITUTION

- reflected the moderate and tradition-oriented views of the majority of the commissioners.
- narrowly rejected a parliamentary system in favour of a presidential form of government with a
bicameral legislature similar to pre ml
- made the declaration and use of emergency powers more difficult provided greater judicial
independence.
- progressive provisions included a bill of rights, a call for land reform, the creation of a
commission on human rights, universal high school education.
- traditional elements: highly centralized government, emphasis on the family as the basis of
society, prohibitions of divorce and abortion, and the protection of private property.
- CONCOM sought to bridge a number of fundamental differences in Philippine society resulting
in a document that was often ambiguous and sometimes contradictory
- Alex Magno : somewhat jumbled, but generally centrist, nature--a conscious repudiation of the
preceding dictatorship .... flashes of surprising progressivism ..reined in by the phraseology of
conservative restraint

- clash began in constitutional plebiscite in Feb 1987

*NOV: The Enrile Challenge and the Cease Fire

Sept:
-openly express his dissatisfaction with the Aquino government- willingness to negotiate with the
communists while the NPA continued to attack government forces.
- envisioned himself as a key power broker in the Cabinet - considerable following among the
right and the military.
-joker Arroyo - had shut Enrile out of the decision-making process.
- first step in calculated attempt to seize power
Oct:
- God save the Queen
- RAM faction associated with Enrile. "RAM-boys"- elimination of "leftist" influences in the
Cabinet, the restoration of the Batasang Pambansa,
- more power and a greater role in decision-making for Enrile- would become prime minister
and Aquino remain in office as president, but as little more than a figure-head (reference to "the
Queen" ).
Nov:
- Enrile publicly challenge the legitimacy of the Aquino government - effort to provoke a
showdown. Ironically, the month started auspiciously.
- Nov 1 left major concession to the govt willingness to agree to a temporary cease-fire
-Nov 22 when Ramos received reports that at least 100 members of RAM were preparing to
take over the Batasang Pambansa to reinstate the legislature, and call for new presidential
elections
- Ramos went on national television and radio to notify all military personnel to disregard any
orders that did not come from the normal chain of command particularly any orders from
Colonel Gregorio "Gringo" Honasan, a leader of RAM, close associate of Enrile.
- NOv 23 Aquino called an emergency Cabinet meeting- the entire Cabinet would tender their
resignations. Aquino met with Enrile, & told him: "We can't work together anymore". Enrile
resigned & promptly replaced.

- Ramos faction within the military cast its lot with President Aquino
- made Aquino more dependent upon General Ramos.
- to balanced by the dismissal of Cabinet members the military viewed as "leftist and
incompetent" forced Aquino to accept the resignations of two ministers suspected of corruption,
the removal of Pimentel as local government minister and labour minister, Augusto Sanchez

* Feb 1987: Voting for Cory & her Constitution

-partisan political issue

- test of Aquino's popularity and legitimacy.
- Renato Cayetano: "opponent-less presidential campaign masquerading as a plebiscite"
- first national test since the Feb 1986 elections of the popularity and organization of the
reconstituted and realigned political parties.
- dry run to register voters and mobilize support for the May congressional elections.
- Aquino"Democracy is safe with this constitution". Cardinal Sin : "unique, perfect and
beautiful"
- . After vacillation, vp Laurel and UNIDO gave qualified support to the charter.
- Emile and the right opposition condemned partisan, socialistic, and pacifist. - grumblings about
the abolition of the death penalty, phase out the CHDF
- criticized the charter's ambivalent provisions on land reform, foreign ownership, and the U.S.
military bases.
- if you like Cory you should like her constitution
- highly personalized approach to the plebiscite- "Yes to Cory, Yes to Country, Yes to
Democracy, Yes to Constitution"
- emphasized the tangible benefits her government- better roads, schools, and irrigation.

MENDIOLA MASSACRE
- Jan 22, 1987, Philippine policemen opened fire on a large group of peasant demonstrators
who sought to march to Malacanang Palace to present their demands for land reform
- 19 demonstrators had been killed and about 100 wounded.
-violence was provoked by either the extreme right orleft destabilizing the govt before the
Constitution co
-just as brutal auld be approvednd reactionary as its predecessor.
-NDF justification for its decision to abandon the peace talks with the government.

-sobering reminder of the deep divisions within Philippine society.

ANOTHER COUP
-executed military revolt on 25-27 january led by Air Force Colonel Oscar Canlas 500 mutineers
military installations and the Channel 7 television station in Quezon City, but succeeded only
in taking the television station.
- three days of a stand-off, a face-saving compromise was reached, rebels surrendered to
General Ramos, allowed to keep their intended to be the first stage of a plan for Marcos to
return to the Philippines.
-"When it became apparent that the other attacks had failed the rebels quickly replaced the pro-
Marcos posters with anti-communist slogans and signs"

- unequivocal answer was stability; "Cory Constitution" was approved by 76 % of almost 22

million votes cast
- important confirmation of her popularity and strengthened her hand in dealing with the left.

- Alex Magno: ratification indicated the public's desire for and expectancy of stability, cautioned
against complacency, warning that "ratification per se does not imply stability

-(PCHR) to expand its investigations to include atrocities committed by the insurgents - "to take
up the sword of war" and mount a "string of honorable victories"
- AFP "honorable victories", uncovering of a massacre by the military of some eighteen
peasants near Lupao, Nueva Ecija province,
- vehemently anti-communist "vigilante groups" in Mindanao and other parts of the country
- human rights and social activists it was becoming more and more difficult to see any change in
the military under Aquino
- proclaimed a six-month amnesty programme a "full and complete" amnesty for those who
broke laws for political beliefs.
- earmarked some US$50 m to establish "national reconciliation" centres to process, train, and
find land or jobs for rebels who surrendered.
- NDF, rejected the amnesty as a "bribe", head Solita Monsod almost 8,850 rebels applied for
amnesty : "For many returnees, life after amnesty has been marked by lack of livelihood,
housing, food, and security"

*April and May 1987: Election Fever

- first genuinely free congressional elections since 1971

- 24 seats in the Senate, 200 seats in the House of Representatives, first test of electoral politics
- another test of Aquinos popularity, and the relative strength of political groupings on both the
left and the right.
- Lakas banner- mixture of traditional political figures, moderate progressives,some new faces.

-moderate right opposition formed a seven-party coalition- Grand Alliance for Democracy
(GAD). Leading senatorial Juan Ponce Enrile, Blas Ople, Arturo Tolentino, and Eva Kalaw
-extreme right opposition, die-hard Marcos loyalists such as Rafael Recto, Marcos's lawyer, and
Nicanor Yniguez, the former head of the Batasan,pledges to bring back the deposed president
- left participated in the elections for the first time since the 1946
- formed the Alliance for New Politics ( ANP)
- candidates and voters concerned more with personalities and "pork-barrel"
- Only the left made a concerted effort to focus on issues during the campaign

- 85 % of the country's 26 million registered voters went to the polls, Lakas slate won 22 of 24
Senate seats
- pro Aquino 75 per cent of all elected seats. opposition: joseph Estrada, a film star and former
mayor, fourteenth, juan Ponce Enrile, twenty-fourth, only two ANP candidates won seats in the
House

- Enrile and GAD declared the election a "failure" "We are not going to be party to this farce. We
reject the flawed results as being fabricated by the Aquino administration
- On 24 May 15,000 to 20,000 GAD and KBL supporters led by Enrile staged their own version
of people power. "EDSA II",
- "Enough is enough, Mrs President. You'd better step down or else ... " and "Look up young
soldiers, look up. The Ilocos king [Marcos] is coming back"

- july, two weeks before the Congress was scheduled to convene,-Marcos was once again
making preparations to return to the Philippines, second time in 1987 Marcos's plans to return
were thwarted by the U.S. Government
*THE NEW CONGRESS CONVENES
- end of Aquino;s law making power
-issued 302 decrees- category of government"housekeeping", family code, an investment code
and an outline for a "Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program
-the opening of Congress to·give her first State of the Nation address. In her speech to the joint
session, focused on the insurgency and the nation's external debt problem rather than setting
out a legislative agenda or emphasizing the importance of land reform.
- foreign creditors took advantage of ph internal difficulties diverting public attention from other
critical but divisive domestic issues such as land reform.

-August jaime Ferrer, the Secretary of Local Government, became the first Cabinet member in
Philippine history to be assassinated

*The 28 August Coup Attempt

- final third of 1987 Aquino government's efforts to restore its stability and reorient its policies
following a military coup attempt on 28 August.
- resulted in the removal of the remaining "controversial" members of the Cabinet, heightened
the influence of Chief of Staff Ramos and the "constitutionalists" in the AFP,
- regain support of traditional sectors of society, such as the business and local political
elites.
- coup came on the heels of a government decision to raise fuel prices by about 20 per cent.
- On 21 August, the anniversary of the murder of Benigno Aquino,leftists accuse Aquino of
"betraying the legacy" of her husband, protest increase in oil prices.
- 28 August troops RAM founder Colonel Gregorio "Gringd' Honasan entered Metro Manila
- Several hundred rebels attacked Malacanang Palace, but were repulsed by the PSG
- Another 1,000 attacked Villamor Air Base headquarters of the Philippine Air Force; Camp
Aguinaldo, the headquarters of the AFP; and television stations in Quezon City.
- cadet corps of the Philippine Military Academy was reported to have withdrawn its support for
Aquino

- Ramos had ascertained who was on his side fortified by loyal marines, government began to
reassert its control, General Headquarters building was set on fire.
- Honasan and an unknown number of his troops escaped.1,000 were captured or surrendered.
- coup caught the civilian government, General Ramos, and the U.S. Government by surprise
and came very close to succeeding

* failed for three reasons: P.N. Abinales.

1. rebels failed to capture Malacafiang Palace, which would have had a big psychological
impact on those officers and troops "sitting on the fence".
2. the rebels failed to get complete control of Villamor Air Base, a landing area for additional
support from the provinces and as a staging area for air attacks.
3. failed to capture the AFP communications centre at Camp Crame
- branded the rebels "traitors and murderers of unarmed civilians who called themselves
idealistic".
- Cardinal Sin, VP Laurel, degree of sympathy for the rebels' cause, if not the coup itself.
- Bayan "a deadly gang war between two distinct camps within the same AFP".
-Teodoro Benigno: "spontaneous combustion", the Aquino Cabinet resigned en masse
in response to the crisis of confidence- Cabinet revamp.
- Salvador Laurel's resignation as Secretary of Foreign Affairs was irrevocable,
-resignation of closest advisors: Executive Secretary Joker Arroyo, Finance Secretary
Jaime Ongpin, and presidential speech-writer and advisor Teodoro 'Teddy Boy" Locsin.
- Laurel resign as Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Laurel cited "fundamental differences of
opinion'' with Aquino
- curry favour with the military and the opposition Laurel toured fourteen military camps
- Laurel called on Aquino to grant amnesty to the coup participants, willing to head a military-
backed government,
- Arroyo, known as "the little president", was a devoted human rights lawyer

-viewed by the left as nationalist counterweights to church-influenced technocrats inside

Aquino’s government.
- right & military, however, view them critics of the military, and at worst, communist
sympathizers.
- Malaya: a political watershed: losing the last of the liberal faces that gave the first
Aquino cabinet its pro-people character.
- Arroyo's resignation did exorcise another controversial and disruptive influence from the
Cabinet, in the same way that Emile's departure did in late 1986.
- without joker Arroyo as her lightning rod, Aquino would have to take more direct
responsibility

-Secretary of Finance jaime Ongpin- was not at home in the highly politicized and publicized
world of government.
- chief architects of a controversial debt rescheduling agreement signed in early july 1987.
- Ongpin was sacrificed to placate the left. Three months later he committed suicide
- Cabinet, resulting in a Cabinet that was more unified and centrist-conservative in its political
orientation
- third Cabinet reshuffle in eighteen months

-further weakened the continuity of government policy-making and implementation.

- daily reports of "Honasan sightings" rumours of new military coup attempts.

- 19 September Leandro Alejandro, the 27-year-old Secretary General of Bayan, was
murdered.
- Rumours circulated that habeas corpus would be suspended
- republican institutions are a facade for a democracy that is faltering"

- Francisco Tatad - joined GAD - predicted the government's collapse in four to six months.
- Bias Ople, in a Marcos-like attempt to cloak a power grab in legalistic niceties- "constitutional
coup" in further weakened the continuity of government policy-making
-The NPA was also quick to take advantage of the post-coup attempt confusion in government-
put pressure on Aquino by planning a series of welgang bayan (people's strikes)
-response to inadequacy of minimum wage
- government struggled to counter belief that it was disunited and tottering on the brink of
collapse.
- enforce greater Cabinet discipline and demonstrated her accessibility and confidence by
travelling to several provinces and meeting with local civilian leaders and troops.

- take the military's grievances more seriously, prompting across-the-board pay increases and
an even stronger anti-communist stance

- Enrile-Laurel "constitutional coup", Aquino finally rebounded with a "get tough" speech to
businessmen vowed to crack down on illegal strikes and improve basic infrastructure and
services.

*JAN 1988 ELECTIONS

-The local elections were the first since january 1980, first genuinely free local elections since
1971, last step in Aquino's process of restoring democratic institutions.
- indicator of the relative strength of the political families or "dynasties" that traditionally
dominated local politics,
- important catalyst to the realignment of political parties
- Liberal Party, headed by Senator Jovita Salonga, use the local elections to
strengthen its position as a centrist alternative to the Aquino coalition.
- reject the value of the "electoral struggle" after its poor showing in the May 1987 congressional
elections
- CPP and NPA used the elections to generate revenues by charging candidates in communist
controlled areas for the assurance that they could campaign safely.
- local elections, personal connections with candidates much more important than party
affiliations - revolved around the expansion or protection of long-existing family-based "political
dynasties"

*Conclusion: Coming Full Circle

- disparate coalition of forces that coalesced around Corazon Aquino
- William Overholt:. did not have a unified executive leadership or effective institutions, such
as a reliable military, a unified national political party, or competent civil administration. It was, in
short, the beneficiary of a vacuum, not a functioning machine.
-more notable also faced with two armed insurgencies and a devastated economy.
- Aquino honoured her pledge to restore democratic institutions and processes.
- holding of local elections in january 1988 completed the process of democratic restoration
-survival and success required more than just the passive support of the Filipino
- Aquino, was unwilling or unable to transform her personal popularity into an organized base of
active support for her policies.

- fundamental instability- three major Cabinet revamps 1986

and early 1988.

- changes were in response to three key dynamics:

1. basic need for a greater degree of unity within the Cabinet
2. need to placate the military
3. desire to strengthen Aquino's uncertain base of political support in both the executive and
the legislative branches- shuffles disrupted government policy-making & implementation.

-remained the government's consolidation, not its exposure to further dangers by creating new
enemies".
- less traditional concepts of "people power" and "new politics" were jettisoned by the
government
- Aquino coalition formed alliances with many former associates of Marcos to broaden and
strengthen the government's shaky foundation of support, backed away from its strong
commitment to controversial to potentially divisive issues such as the prosecution of human
rights abuses by the military, extensive land reform
-forced to make numerous concessions to the AFP,
- overstatement to say that the military controlled the civilian government, it did establish control
over national security policy-making-- most significant changes in Philippine politics in the post-
Marcos era.