IF THERE was one thing that groups pushing for the resignation of President Noynoy Aquino proved when they held their first rally in Edsa, it is that making a mountain out of a molehill does not always work. The rallyists, using the fancy name “Edsa 2.22.15 Coalition” probably in anticipation of a massive “people power” event last Sunday (Feb. 22, 2015 or 2.22.15), could only muster a crowd of a few hundreds.
A Malaya.com.ph report on the rally posted on Feb. 23, 2015 and written by Raymond Africa carried this apt head: “Protest Rally Turns Out to be a Whimper.” Photos of the activity even showed that anti-riot policemen threatened to outnumber the rallyists.
The rally was attended by members of the National Transformation Council (NTC), including presidential uncle Jose “Peping” Cojuangco and his wife Margarita and those old bishops that only recently made the life of our very own retired archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal complicated.
(Incidentally, another report I read said that among the “signatories” of the controversial “resign Aquino” statement of the NTC were Vidal himself and Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma. Did they really sign the statement? Will the document show it?)
What amused me when I saw the Peping, Pastor “Boy” Saycon (his lieutenant in the Council of Philippine Affairs or Copa) and leaders of the Edsa 2.22.15 led by a certain Manny Lopez, was the rhetoric. They are talking, for example, about a “transition government” that would replace the incumbent administration—-big words because they couldn’t even muster more than a thousand people for their mass action.
Expect this movement to further be degraded from being a “whimper” to becoming a mere “whisper” considering that the emotions sparked by the death of 44 Special Action Force (SAF) elements, 18 Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and five civilians in the Jan. 25, 2015 clash in Mamasapano, Maguindanao are starting to cool.
The anti-Aquino forces latched on to those emotions thinking they could shake government’s ramparts with them. But as I pointed out in a previous article, once those emotions cool down, objectivity will take over. By then, the more will people realize that the Mamasapano incident is really not as bad as what spin doctors are painting it to be.
The reality is that the Aquino government, despite its failings, still enjoys the support of a big chunk of the Filipino populace.
That was shown in the result of previous surveys by Pulse Asia and Social Weather Stations (SWS). I don’t think Aquino’s support, or lack of it, would plunge to the depths his predecessor, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, reached when she was president just because of Mamasapano.
That’s what I mean when I said that the Aquino resign movement would not fly. A movement pushed by a minority, no matter how noisy, will never succeed. That’s what the “Edsa 2.22.15 Coalition” failed to reckon. They were so convinced of their own propaganda that they have lost track of reality. With the small crowds, the illusion they built will be shattered.
Which brings me to the social networking sites that are being taken over by a vociferous and harsh minority who are, like the Aquino resign movement in the real world, believing in their own hubris (synonyms, per Google: arrogance, conceit, haughtiness, egotism, pomposity). Even they are starting to lose steam, like they did when they pounced on the super typhoon Yolanda issue.
Finally, here’s this piece of advice by writer Michael Connelly: “What is important is not what you hear said, it’s what you observe.”
(khanwens@gmail.com)