Second EDSA Revolution

Introduction

In a democratic country, the people are the ones who is responsible in electing

government officials; at the same time, they are also capable of removing them from their seats.

One way of removing an official from his seat is through people power revolution. Not to

mention that the democracy was given to the Filipino citizens through people revolution too. On

2001, EDSA II or the second people power revolution occurred. It was also called a “coup de

text” because the revolution was made possible through phone texting. Text messages like “Full

mblsn tday EDSA” and “Go 2 EDSA. Wear Black” spread to Manila residents to gather at the

EDSA Shrine. The reason why the people gathered was because of the result of Joseph Estrada’s

impeachment trial, who was the president that time. During the impeachment trial, ten voted

“yes” while eleven voted “no”. This triggered the Filipino citizens and started a five-day protest

that led to the fall of Estrada and rise of Arroyo, his vice president. It clearly shows how

powerful people can be, that even someone who has the highest position can be ousted.

Body

Estrada became famous in his early 20s as he play roles of tough guys who has a big

heart for the needy and weak. Those roles made him close to the hearts of poor people in the

Philippines. He won in his presidential race in 1998 with his slogan “Erap para sa mahirap”. He

then vowed during his inaugural address that he and his family would not benefit by one cent

from his post. He also set up the Sandiganbayan, an anti-corruption court. Because of that, he

gained trust from the Filipino citizens. In fact, he gained 11 million votes, which makes 40

percent of the total votes. This shows what people can do once you got their hearts.
 But on the other hand, his impeachment also shows what people can do once you betray

them. Corruption is the reason behind the impeachment of former President Joseph Estrada. He

was accused of four tallies of debasement, including preoccupation of assets adding up to about

four billion pesos. According to Pobre & Gonzales (2017), Estrada reportedly was given 10

million pesos monthly by “jueteng lords” from November 1998 to August 2000 as protection

money. He was also indicted of getting 130 million peso kickback from the 200 million peso

budget released for tobacco farmers by former secretary Benjamin Diokno and collected 100

million pesos as “donation” which allegedly came from private organizations run by his wife.

Despite of these allegations, Estrada’s impeachment trial still got 11 no’s and that is why the

citizens started the Second EDSA Revolution on January 16, 2001. That night, people began to

multitude on the EDSA Shrine to express their thoughts. In the next days, more Filipino citizens

joined, including students, activists, and personalities in the music industry. Hundreds of

thousands of protesters gathered until January 20.

On the other hand, there are still supporters that remained on Estrada’s side. In fact,

thousands of supporters gathered along the narrow street towards Estrada’s house to block the

police. They stoned the police as they walk their way to escort Estrada on his way to Camp

Crame to take his fingerprint and mugshots. About 8,000 supporters gathered outside Camp

Crame and tore election posters of administration candidates. One interviewed supporter said

that they will not even allow him to surrender and that they are ready to die for him.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the people has power to decide on who will be their leader is and they also

have the decision to impeach a leader once he or she failed to give the public service the people

deserve. It may be easy for someone to gain people’s support but once he betrayed them, some
may stay on his side, but expect that they will pull him out of his position. Do not belittle the

power of the people to decide for the country.

Reference List

Strucke, J. (2007). Estrada Given a Life Sentence for Corruption. Retrieved from
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/sep/12/philippines
 Looking back at EDSA II: The Political Paths of Estrada and Arroyo. (2017,
January 17). Retrieved from https://rappler.com/newsbreak/look-back-edsa-ii-joseph-
estrada-gloria-arroyo

Brown, A. (2001). Estrada Arrested on Corruption. Retrieved from

https://www.globalpolicy.org/component/content/article/172/30146.html

Alfredson, K. & Vilgilar, R. (2001). The Rise and Fall of Joseph Estrada. Retrieved from
http://edition.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/southeast/04/22/estrada.profile/

Estrada Won’t Resist Arrest: Lawyer. (2001, April 23). Retrieved from
https://edition.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/southeast/04/21/philippines.estrada/index.html

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