For the past 50 years, Sept. 21 had been etched into the Filipino consciousness as the day former president Ferdinand Marcos Sr. placed the country under martial law, one of the darkest chapters in Philippine history.
But for those who participated in the protest rallies on Sept. 21 this year, martial law anniversary was not on their minds. It was a different kind of darkness that made them join the tens of thousands of angry Filipinos in Luneta and Edsa People Power Monument.
Nicole Dagalea, a college student from Pasay City, said she was outraged over the massive stealing of flood control funds that could have otherwise eased her own situation at home and in school. “Sa Pasay, baha kami. Kaunting ulan, baha na siya agad,” she said.
When she heard that a protest against corruption was being organized in neighboring Manila, she and her mother Nelie did not think twice about joining.
Dagalea was quite familiar with the evils of corruption. Around Manila’s university belt, where she studies, many students and advocacy groups would regularly hold protests, reiterating calls for social justice. It’s only now that she joined such a mass action.
“Marami namang nagra-rally, pero kasi ngayon, sumosobra na pala. Harap-harapan na pala tayong nilalapastangan ng mga tao sa gobyerno. [Sumali kami] para naman may magawa din,” she said.
Many others like them similarly found themselves marching and carrying placards for the first time in their lives that day.
Different interests, same concerns
A number of apolitical groups were seen in the mass gathering.
A band of runners, covering the entire stretch of Roxas Boulevard leading to Luneta, chanting “outrun corruption” and “huwag patakbuhin (bar from running for office),” in reference to politicians and contractors involved in the anomalous flood control projects.
Leading the group was Nica Dumlao, a development consultant and active member of a runners’ group on Facebook. “This is our first time organizing this kind of action. We didn’t even share the details publicly kasi we can’t really manage a big group, but there were so many runners [from the Facebook group] actually very interested to join,” she narrated how they learned that people who were conscious about physical fitness also have deep social responsibility.
The big gathering at the Luneta, being a popular spot for fitness activities, attracted also those who did not plan to join the protest. Cyclist Tuken Reodique related that he was with two of his biking buddies. “Nagulat na lang kami na may rally pala na mangyayari, kaya nakisali na lang kami. Gusto na rin naming makisama dahil about na siya sa pera ng bayan, eh,” he said.
Though also a frequent runner in the area, Leemer Barbado said he really came to add his voice to the call for public accountability.
He said he had attended a few protests as a college student some years ago and felt it necessary to rise up once again. Now working in local government, he said he is lucky to be in a city managed by competent and well-meaning officials and wishes the same for the rest of the country.
“Maraming nagdadalawang-isip na government employee [sa pagprotesta], pero dapat din natin malampasan ‘yung takot, kailangan nating makiisa dahil isa rin tayo sa solusyon nito. Huwag nating hahayaan na ang mga administrasyon na hindi maayos ay ganito na lang,” he shared.
People Power veterans impressed with young rallyists
Mabel Lara, a 1986 People Power Revolution veteran, found the sight of students and young people at the Sept 21 rallies heartening.
“‘Yung perspective ko as an adult, iba na. Alam naman namin ‘yung ipinaglalaban namin [noon], but now, I’m not just fighting for myself… ‘yung generation namin has failed [the younger] generation, kaya para ito sa mga anak namin,” she said.
Her husband Louie, also present at the mass uprising that toppled the Marcos Sr. regime almost four decades ago, lamented that people should be more outraged, for any real change to happen.
“Mas konti ang tao ngayon, mas galit ang mga tao noon. ‘Yung anger noong ‘86 is five times this level, eh. Ngayon, hindi masyado… ‘yung mga tao, nagtatrabaho pa rin. Pero noon, wala pa ngang eskwela. Kailangan mas magalit pa ang mga tao,” he said.
Another EDSA veteran begged to disagree.A participant in both the 1986 People Power and the 2001 EDSA Dos that brought down former president Joseph Estrada, 75-year-old Bert Arciaga noted how quickly the crowd grew in the Sept. 21 gathering.
“Noong ‘86 kasi, bago dumami nang ganito, unti-unti lang,” Arciaga recounted.” Pero this time, parang gusto na talaga, eh, bagsak kaagad.”
Defying his children’s concerns about his safety, Arciaga made the journey from Tarlac to Metro Manila days before, wanting to “see history repeat itself” with his own eyes.
An injured leg, meanwhile, did not prevent Benito Garcia, a former jeepney driver, to join the protest action.
A member of the transport workers’ union, Manibela, he had participated in several protests until he got injured, forcing him to sell his jeepney. But the massive corruption being reported is too serious an issue for him not to show up. Underarm crutches in tow, he went to Luneta to support his former colleagues.
“Ito ang pagkakataon [para sa] bawat Filipino na ilabas ang sama ng loob na nararamdaman natin… dapat tanggalin na ang value added tax na pasakit lang,” he said.
For those returning to the protest scene, Sept. 21 was a signal of hope. A citizen photojournalist by the name of Blackstone said he “wanted to give up” on supporting social justice causes after Marcos Jr. won the presidency in 2022.
Blackstone had been photographing protest actions and civil society events since 2017, at the height of former president Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs.
“[Right now], it’s not just one group of people that’s angry and worried. It’s everyone. Everyone is darn tired of what’s happening: sa money na nananakaw, all the dirt that’s being kicked up about ‘yung other politicians. This is the first time [I’m seeing] all of the groups na magkaisa,” he said.