Honasan, Prominent Figure Of EDSA, Calls For End To Bickering

Former senator Gregorio Honasan II, one of the prominent figures of the 1986 EDSA People Power uprising, called for a stop to political bickering, as the country commemorates today the 38th anniversary of the event which toppled the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr.

In an interview on Saturday, Feb. 24, Honasan said the legacy of the uprising is still relevant with the current political climate today.

“It is very relevant because the call now is for unity, an end to too much partisan politics,” he said.

Honasan was an Army colonel when he and then defense minister Juan Ponce Enrile led a mutiny against the elder Marcos, the father of the country’s current leader.

Hundreds of thousands of people joined the uprising, which led to Marcos’ ouster from power and the installation of Corazon Aquino to the Philippine presidency.

In later years, Honasan would lead several coup attempts against Aquino. He was later given amnesty by former president Fidel Ramos.

For the former senator, the country’s national leaders should refrain from engaging in a word war, as partisan politics will not solve the problems that most Filipinos face such as access to basic necessities: food, clothing, shelter, education and timely information. 

“We have no time to engage in too much politics. We can understand the democratic space to debate and to discuss, but to spend so much time worrying about the next elections – that is counterproductive for us,” Honasan said.

It is for this reason that he opted to skip the activities by cause-oriented groups and opposition figures at the EDSA Shrine in Quezon City on Sunday, Feb. 25, saying that he might be perceived as taking sides.

“I was in EDSA for something, not against something,” Honasan said. “If I may be forced to take sides, I will take the side of the Filipino people.”

Instead, he will commemorate the anniversary at the Bible Baptist Church and Ministries in nearby Barangay Tatalon.

Even if the younger Marcos is the current chief executive, Honasan does not consider the uprising a failure.

He said the majority of Filipinos have chosen Marcos as the country’s president in a democratic election.

On the rumors of destabilization attempts against Marcos, Honasan said the best way the President can respond is by prioritizing the welfare of Filipinos.

“You fight it with a better idea, which is reform and good government,” he said.

Renato Reyes, president of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan), said Charter change (Cha-cha) will take center stage in their rallies, as various groups air their opposition to efforts to amend the 1987 Constitution.

Apart from the rally near the EDSA Shrine, Reyes said demonstrations will also be held in the cities of Naga, Legazpi, Iloilo, Bacolod, Cebu and Davao. Similar actions are also expected in the US, Canada, Australia and Hong Kong.

For the Bayan leader, the fact that the Marcoses are back in power and are aggressively pushing for Cha-cha is a grim reminder of the unfinished work of the revolution.

“This generation’s version of people power must definitely oppose any attempts by the Marcoses to perpetuate and entrench themselves in power through Cha-cha,” he said.

Never forget

In a Teleradyo Serbisyo interview, Sen. Nancy Binay asked the public to never forget the spirit of EDSA, as she recalled fond memories of joining protest actions as a young girl with her father, former vice president Jejomar Binay.

The elder Binay cofounded the lawyer’s group Movement of Attorneys for Brotherhood, Integrity and Nationalism (Mabini). He represented political prisoners during martial law until he himself was detained at the Ipil Rehabilitation Center.

The senator’s father was also a known “Coryista,” supporting the late former president and democracy icon who toppled the Marcos dictatorship.

“My father was a human rights lawyer that time. I grew up rallying in the streets and in Liwasang Bonifacio until the culmination of EDSA,” Binay said, referring to the acronym for Epifanio de los Santos Avenue, which is a major thoroughfare in Metro Manila and the staging area for much of the 1986 People Power uprising.

“I remember our job was to provide food for those in EDSA. My father was with the late senator Joker Arroyo guarding Malacañang after the Marcos family fled. I went to Malacañang a day after and saw the chaos there myself,” she added.

Binay urged the public not to forget the spirit of EDSA even during a second Marcos administration.

“I am bothered by the amnesia, because at that moment, the whole world admired us for that peaceful revolution. I hope we can teach the next generation the lessons from that period in our history,” she said.

“The EDSA revolution is part of being Filipino,” Binay added. – With an additional report from Marc Jayson Cayabyab