Activity # 3

PA 504

“The Promise of EDSA as an Administrative Project:

Hits and Misses”
A Commentary

The 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution brought millions of Filipinos from all walks
of life to march along EDSA to overthrow the dictatorship of President Ferdinand E. Marcos and
inaugurate a new era to be marked by true freedom and democracy. This spirit of the movement
was not limited to Manila; it appeared in non-violent protests held in many cities around the
country. It was a revolution distinguished by its non-violent methods, led by a nation united to
recapture liberty.
The slogan was “Tama na, sobra na, palitan na! during that time. The promises of EDSA
include ending the dictatorship, corruption, and regime violence, reforms in the political system,
and regaining freedom, among others. The Martial Law era was marred with allegations of graft
and corruption, as well as corruption, including electoral fraud. It was said that the powers were
held by the cronies of the President, who amassed wealth and properties by grabbing from the
unprivileged. The “little” people no longer aim to prosper for fear of losing what little they have.
With that, the economy’s balance tipped, and the wealth disparity between the rich and poor
became wider.
The EDSA People Power provided the Filipinos with an opportunity to reform the
political power structure of the government. And indeed, EDSA was able to end the dictatorship.
Moreover, the Corazon Aquino government did change the Charter, and the Philippine
Constitution of 1987 was ratified on February 2, 1987 by a majority of the votes cast in a
plebiscite held for the purpose.
However, the condition of the majority of the current-day Filipino remains miserable.
And the gap between the rich and the poor remains wide. Based on the 1985 Family Income and
Expenditure Survey (FIES) conducted by the National Census and Statistics Office, 33% of the
Filipinos were unable to make ends meet in 1985. On the current FIES 33 years after EDSA, the
Philippine Statistics Authority reported in 2018 FIES that 57% of the Filipinos have below
average income, and 11% responded that they were barely able to make ends meet. (See Tables
1 and 2)
The preamble of the 1987 Constitution reflected the desire of the Filipinos to free
ourselves from the fear of experiencing the martial law again with the added phrases “to build a
just and humane society” and “blessings of independence”. Nowadays, abuses by those in power
were diligently checked by the Commission on Human Rights, although for some reasons, there
were people also in power who resents this check and balance.
Also in the 1987 Constitution, we added the right for expressing one’s political beliefs
and aspiration which was not present during the Martial Law. In my belief, with most people
afraid of unsettling the status quo, with the free and unhindered social media, those who do
express their political beliefs were ostracized and criticized publicly, resulting to unwarranted
shaming.
The 1987 Constitution also stated the rights of workers, rights of farmers, protection of
women, and creation of human rights. We could say that nowadays, Filipinos enjoy so much
freedom and rights that they forget that those have limitations. One example is the freedom of
expression, which is often abused to the point of libel and slander, and the perpetrator often gets
away with it.
It is my belief that the 1987 Constitution is enough and there is no need to change it for
the lives of the Filipinos to improve. People say that until present, political dynasties still exists
which the Filipino people previously abhor. How many elections had come and gone, those
“trapo”/traditional politicians are still there. It is because people are still voting and rooting for
them. People are still gullible and even though faced with glaring evidences of corruption, they
still opt to turn a blind eye because once, that politician was able to provide them with what they
need at that time. I do not believe that those politicians were able to provide long-term solutions
to problems of the Filipinos, but yet, those voters still chose them because of the hope or “pag-
asa” that maybe, someday, that politician would come to their aid once again.
It is not the miss of the Constitution, nor the system that failed EDSA. As what was
proven before, the power lies in the palm of the common Filipinos. It is not the rigged election, it
is the hands that shaded the ballots and also on those who did not turn up in the precincts to cast
their ballots. If we do not improve ourselves, out mindsets, goals and aspirations, the system will
continue to spin the same way, and in the end, history will keep repeating itself. If people want
change, they should start within themselves and not point the blame to others whilst they
themselves are not doing anything.
Table 1
Average Annual Family Income and Expenditure in 1985
All ₱100,00
under ₱6,000- ₱10,000- ₱15,000- ₱20,000- ₱40,000- ₱60,000
1985 income ₱30,000- 0 and
₱6,000 9,999 14,999 19,999 29,999 59,999 -99,999
class 39,999 over
Number of 9,847,33 1,116,78 1,778,03 1,
families 9 375,849 0 9 1,539,840 1,936,341 085,634 1,043,520 652,740 345,598
Average ₱183,43
Income ₱31,052 ₱4,523 ₱8,240 ₱12,490 ₱17,385 ₱24,465 ₱34,452 ₱48,393 ₱75471 9
Average
Expenditur ₱125,78
e ₱26,865 ₱5,532 ₱8,901 ₱12,509 ₱16,782 ₱23,004 ₱30,935 ₱41,958 ₱62433 1
Note. Retrieved from https://psa.gov.ph/content/family-income-and-expenditure-survey-fies-0 on March 1, 2023

Table 2
Average Annual Family Income and Expenditure in 2018
All
₱40,000- ₱60,000- ₱100,000- ₱250000- ₱500,000
2018 Income under ₱40,000
59,000 99,999 249,000 499,999 and over
Class
Number of 24,747,00
families 0 135,000 440,000 2,084,000 11,350,000 7,058,000 3,661,000
₱8
Average Income ₱313,000 ₱33,000 ₱52,000 ₱83,000 ₱169,000 ₱349,000 65,000
Average ₱5
Expenditure ₱239,000 ₱32,000 ₱51,000 ₱78,000 ₱148,000 ₱276,000 69,000
Note. Retrieved from https://psa.gov.ph/content/family-income-and-expenditure-survey-fies-0 on March 1, 2023
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