Deadma
This Feb 25th, the nation will commemorate the 31st anniversary of the EDSA People Power revolution.
Now there is an on-going discourse whether the historic 1986 event was indeed a revolution, or a rebellion or simply a rotation. A rotation of one greedy set of elitists and oligarchs to the next one.
But let's leave it to the historians and political science experts to dissect EDSA 86 and label it accordingly.
As far as I am concerned, EDSA people power is DEAD!
It has become clear to me, 30 years after, that EDSA 86 was a sham, a power grab wherein those who participated were fooled, misled and used.
I was one of those who really felt betrayed, deceived and double-crossed. And so are many of my fellow Filipinos. If I were to give a number of how many felt being two timed last 1986, it is probably close to 16M, give or take a million or two. Many may disagree here but I know you all get the point.
Therefore, there really is no reason to celebrate on the 25th.
Well, there will definitely be a gathering at EDSA. And we all know who is spearheading this, and who are going to attend the said gathering.
All the more reason for me not to attend. The plan for EDSA 2017 is not a celebration. It will be a putsch. It will be a gathering of heinous, devious and mischievous people disguised as elitists, clerics, and decent public servants. Plus their followers who were either paid or who they "volunteered..." (oxymoron mine - Mark)
It will be a last ditch effort to pull together a stuttering and faltering campaign to regain power and the subsequent greed and abuse of the country.
The gathering at EDSA on the 25th will be the culmination of the many attempts, poorly executed and played, to discredit and destabilize a very very popular and highly responsive but young and fragile administration.
Most of us have observed and seen how these insidious people have been blatantly propagandizing and manipulating the news, as well as sowing discord amongst us. The politicking and the scheming is so intense and so insistent to the point that even the international community has become a battleground.
My fellowmen, the plot is real. And so is the threat of violence, of harm and endangerment of our people.
These vultures are so determined and so powerful and they cannot be taken for granted. Worse of all, they are desperate. Which all the more should give us pause and reflect deeply.
With this, I am making a personal appeal to all those who support the Duterte Administration.
We should acknowledge the historical distortion that EDSA is a yellow narrative. Reason why it is a betrayal. So let us take the high road and allow them to gather on the 25th.
There is no compelling reason for the Filipino people to celebrate on the 25th of February. If at all, what we need on that day is to simply go about our daily routine, and play deadma (maybe even post #DeadmaSaEdsa as our protest slant).
Let us let them be. And let us all watch how EDSA 86 die a natural death. It is a more powerful message than a 100M hashtag PR campaign can conjure.
I appeal to the proactive and zealous supporters of our president, to consider calling off the Quirino Grandstand rally. Please cancel this "show of force."
We don't need it at this time. There is no doubt that we have the numbers, whether here or abroad. Pardon my use of the term -- but let us not hijack the 25th from the yellows. Let them be, and let's ignore them and their pathetic plan.
Earlier, I said that the other side are desperate. Which all the more convinces me that having our own gathering is a bad, bad idea. It will only enable them to devise dirtier strategies, which may lead to physical harm and fragment the real majority.
Having a counter rally on the same day is what idiots like Trillanes pray and live for to happen. A massive gathering at Quirino is a destabilizer's dream. They will use it either to spin for their advantage, or infiltrate it to create chaos. It will only take one determined infiltrator to ruin it.
And the consequences will be most dire. If trouble or tragedy erupt on the 25th, whether at EDSA or at Quirino, it will set back our country once again. We will be hard put to move forward.
On the other hand, if we all stay home or play deadma, then whatever happens at EDSA will just bear the imprint of the yellows. If all of us who support Duterte will agree to give in and stay out of the way, then no one can pin the blame or point to us.
Again, that is more compelling.
I know there are a lot of those who support the president who are so geared and so agitated in wanting a show of force. To you I say that this is exactly what the yellows want, and exactly why they are bombarding us with disinformation and black propaganda. They want us to be restless, and hateful and angry, and they are luring us into this showdown. They badly want this for them to carry out their devious plot.
Let me reiterate. We don't have anything to celebrate or to prove something on February 25.
Let us rein our passion and temper our emotion.
We don't need a show of force. We are the force. We are the force of change who fully support our duly elected president, and will never hesitate to show it at the most appropriate or opportune time.
Right now, the most powerful message of support is to ignore EDSA and see how it dissolves into a historical aberration.
And what better way to show it than play Deadma sa EDSA.
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