The 1986 Philippine election was but one scene of a play's last act, the curtain on which marked the end of the Marcos era. But the end of one drama may open the curtain of another; that of the future of the sovereignty of the Filipino people.
The last days of Marcos could well have formed the plot of a classical tragedy. Like Julius Caesar, Marcos's downfall was not so much the result of a loss of popularity amoung his people--he did, in fact win the election, naysayers to the contrary--but a loss of confidence on the part of Washington. And, the subsequent undercutting of his formerly loyal friends, Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile and and Lieutenant General Fidel (which means faithful) Ramos.
Even Reagan, ally and long-time supporter, joined in stabbing Marcos's back, when, upon receiving intelligence reports of a planned meeting of presidential challenger Corazon Aquino with communist representatives, Washington's official policy flip-flopped from pro-Marcos to pro-Aquino. It was a matter of arithmetic; Aquino plus communists equals Philippine instability, which outweighs sentimental alliance and friendship hands down.
So, when on Monday, February 24, both Marcos and Aquino staged dubious swearing-in ceremonies, and each declared their mandates to rule, George Shultz broke the tie with the official U.S. announcement of recognition: for Aquino.
Moscow, in one of those classic Kremlin feats of political gymnastics, sided with Marcos in his eleventh hour, accusing the U.S. (probably correctly) of having engendered the coup. However, in light of the insurgents' previous dallying with Aquino, and Moscow's stated opposition to governments with the earmarks displayed by Marcos, the support had a certain aroma of hypocrisy--a fact not unnoticed by the Kremlin's other third world paramours.
Thus, when the smoke cleared. Marcos found himself handed his hat, by his good buddy, Washington, and gently but firmly escorted out of Manila, to Clark Air Force Base, and from there, to points onward.
Some of the minor players in the drama were Cardinal Jaime Sin, who like a modern day Richelieu dabbled in some temporal matters, becoming, for the very religious Aquino, a strong political ally. Then, Senator Richard Lugar, whose timely arrival in the Philippines, and immediate pronouncement for NAMFREL, (National Citizens Movement for Free Elections) an election monitoring committee tied to Aquino, with alleged backing from U.S.-supplied funds, rather than the Marcos-backed COMELEC was an obvious signal.
Other key twists were the timely ship-jumping of Marcos stalwarts, Ramos and Enrile, who simultaneously resigned and took over the defense headquarters, calling on others to join them. Since they must have known they could not have attempted such a thing without assurances from Washington of support, and since Marcos's fatal mistake of hanging on to the controversial General Fabian Ver may have driven a wedge between them and Marcos, they probably assessed their chances with Aquino as being far better than those they would have supporting a tottering regime.
However, their heady success may prove addictive. Once they have tipped the
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