Ranking officials of the Rebolusyonaryong Alyansang Makabansa (RAM), addressing a large crowd at the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay City on the eve of the first anniversary of EDSA II, seemed to have turned revivalists with their inspirational words and exhortations.
"Nasa tao at hindi sa gob-yerno ang pagbabago (Change lies in man, not in government)," RAM’s Col. Ray Samaco told the audience made up mostly of members of the livelihood foundation called Bigkis Pinoy. RAM and Bigkis Pinoy signed on Saturday a joint declaration of peace, unity and national renewal.
In his speech, Samaco categorically declared that RAM will not support any coup attempts or destabilization plots against the Arroyo administration.
RAM head, retired Commodore Domingo Calajate, also saw no reason for an armed power grab against Mrs. Arroyo even with accusations of corruption in her administration.
"It’s not as bad as before," he observed. "If there is corruption now, the nation can tolerate it." Had former President Estrada not been ousted, Calajate said, RAM would have staged a coup.
He defended Mrs. Arroyo’s performance, which has been summed up as dismal by several civic and militant groups, saying "The President is doing her best. I don’t think one year is enough (to turn things around). She inherited a bankrupt government."
For his part, RAM spokesman Col. Proceso Maligalig said it was unfair for certain groups to give Mrs. Arroyo a failing grade after only a year in office.
"Like what we did to Cory then," he was frank enough to say. "Di pa nakakabwelo ang ale, eto na (The lady has not even gotten started, we already put her down)." RAM staged failed coup attempts against Mrs. Aquino’s administration in 1987 and 1989.
Asked if he ever regretted joining the coup d’etat, he only shrugged his shoulders. "It’s water under the bridge," he said.
RAM had been tagged as one of the groups behind destabilization attempts against the Arroyo administration but its leaders had constantly denied the accusation.
In his speech, Maligalig also said that it was high time Filipinos gave Mrs. Arroyo a chance to be "a true transition president for true national renewal." He called for national unity for a national agenda but emphasized that such an agenda must have a "social conscience."
Quite clearly, RAM has had what Maligalig called "a radical shift in outlook."
In the audience was Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Heherson Alvarez, who said he was urged by Mrs. Arroyo to attend the event. "I’m here to show that I am one with RAM. They have become a social critic, not a revolutionary force," he said.
But even as the leaders of RAM and Bigkis Pinoy openly declared support for the Arroyo administration, many of the masa people in the audience still held the disgraced Estrada as their one and only idol.
"We’re still for Joseph Estrada. Wherever they ask us to come, as long as it is for Estrada, we will be there," a 61-year-old woman from Parola, Tondo told The STAR. She said that she never believed the plunder charges against the former president and wanted him back in Malacañang.
A laundry woman, also from Parola, shared the same sentiment. "It’s not true that Erap was a plunderer," she said, adding that life was so much better for her and her family during Erap’s term.
Ironically, Bigkis Pinoy, in its press statement, proudly stated that the group "actively participated in anti-Estrada campaign activities that ultimately led to EDSA II."
Bigkis Pinoy, founded by Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) chairman Ephraim Genuino in 1998, boasts of a membership base of 200,000. Its aim is to develop programs for the benefit of its members who mostly belong to the urban poor and marginalized sectors.
The Cuneta Astrodome was nearly filled to capacity on Saturday, with thousands of Bigkis Pinoy members coming from Pasay, Quezon City, Muntinlupa, Manila, Caloocan, Laguna, Pasig, and as far away as Masbate and Marinduque.
But some people interviewed by The STAR seemed clueless as to why they were there. "Ewan ko. Dahil kay Erap (I don’t know, maybe for Erap)," said a woman sidewalk vendor.
Rene Monterde, 19, a member of Guardians Brotherhood, an organization under the RAM, was uncertain about why he was there with his father and friends. "What we know is that this is a renewal," he stammered.
Rosie Repiano, 35, a former worker in Singapore who now works in a garments factory in Vito Cruz, Manila, stood listening a few meters from the stage where Calajate was delivering his speech. "Erap pa rin kami (We’re still for Erap)," she said, but added quickly that she didn’t mind having Mrs. Arroyo for President. "Okay lang, basta may katahimikan at walang gulo" (It’s okay as long as there’s peace and order)," she said.