by Mario Casayuran
Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile, a major player in the world-acclaimed 1986 EDSA People Power, said that event “did not accomplish the purpose for which we laid our lives.”
“As far as we are concerned, nothing was accomplished” in the past 30 years since that fateful year “because they don’t understand the purpose or rationale of what we did,” Enrile said. For those reasons, Enrile said he does not think about it anymore. “Zero. Para sa akin, tapos na yon.’’ (To me, it is over.)
“Ewan ko yong mga iba. Kami, buhay ang itinaya namin doon e, pero kahit sinasabi nila na kami seni-save nila, pero kapalit doon ay naging makapangyarihan sila. Wala naman silang ginawa, panay pahirap sa bayan,” he said. (I don’t know about their concerns but we risked our lives although they claimed they saved us by going to EDSA to stop Marcos’ military forces, but the flip side of this is that they have become powerful although they did not do anything. They continue to inflict pain on the citizenry.) Enrile sounded bitter as he reflected on the outcomes of the revolution.
“Bayaan mo na yong mga nakinabang. Mag-celebrate sila, tutal sinira nila yong ginawa namin noong 1986. Wala nang kabuluhan (Let those who benefited from that event celebrate. Anyway, they destroyed what we did for the country in 1986. It no longer has relevance),” he said. Enrile said he is enjoying his life now. He is out on bail on plunder charges arising from the multi-billion-peso pork barrel incident during the current tenure of President Aquino.
Meanwhile, Enrile said he respects Honasan’s view that hope is forever and not all is lost in the past 30 years. “But as far as I am concerned, we have our own programs for that effort but it is gone, it disappeared. I will not blame them if they want to dream about it. As far as I am concerned, I stopped dreaming about those things,” he said.
After reaching the age of 92 last Feb. 14, Enrile’s thoughts on the future of the country is: “We have to shuffle the whole deck and start again.” He said keeping the 1987 Constitution will continue to create trouble for the country.
Will he be frustrated if the Constitution would be amended not during his watch, Enrile said, “No. I am enjoying my life. They are the ones suffering. They can have sleepless nights,” he added.
Meanwhile, Malacañang belittled claims that the Philippines was in a much better position during the Marcos era than after the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution.
Presidential Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma, Jr. said the economy was in slumps during the time of the late former President Ferdinand Marcos because of corruption. “This was the reason why it led to the EDSA People Power Revolution following protest actions of the people for violating human rights and democracy,” he said. Coloma said it took 30 years for the country to regain its economic stance.
“The Filipino people witnessed and experienced how it was to become poor and how the country rose from the dictatorship,” Coloma said. “Since 1986 up to the present, it took three decades before the country was able to regain its former glory. We are now known as the ‘Asia’s Rising Star,’ an Investment-Grade Economy and an example of good governance.” (With a report from Madel S. Namit)http://www.mb.com.ph/nothing-accomplished-after-30-years-enrile-says-of-peoples-power/