STATEMENT OF SENATOR MAR ROXAS ON THE 23rd ANNIVERSARY
OF EDSA PEOPLE POWER I

"On this day in 1986, the Filipino people won against dictatorship owing largely to the valiant stand of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. The young officers at the helm of the EDSA revolution were daring and selfless. We extol them today not because we believe that martial adventurism is a cure to a ruined democracy, but because we believe that even at the darkest moments when all hope seems lost for freedom, there are valiant Filipinos who are willing to lay down life and honor to preserve it.

Military adventurism was never lost since EDSA. Until this very day, there are rumors and rumblings of dissent in the uniformed ranks. This is not simply a result of a soldiery let loose by history from the cocoon of conservatism, it is the result of an activist attitude within the ranks driven by the incessant and seemingly insurmountable ailment of corruption and the misuse of power.

"Pandarambong sa kaban ng bayan, pang-aabuso sa poder at mga pagtatangka pala palawigin pa ang kanilang kapangyarihan: ito ang mga inspirasyon, ito ang pinakamalaking mitsa ng adbenturismo sa hanay ng militar."

Today, observers here and abroad have already labeled our nation as a failing democracy. The scandals are rife in the midst of an economic crisis crying out for the full and undistracted attention of government. Hunger mounts and crime is up. Peace is not at hand.

Nevertheless, I have high hopes that our democracy is secure, mainly because the Filipino people have so much faith in it, because they have proven so many times in the past that they will never sacrifice democracy in the altar of expediency and self-serving gain.

"Sa kabila ng pag-asang ito, binabalaan ko ang kasalukuyang administrasyon na may mga malinaw na hudyat ng 'systems failure' sa halos lahat ng aspeto ng pamamahala. Hindi naipapakulong ang mga mandarambong. Hindi napagsisilbihan ang mga nagugutom. Hindi nabibigyang hustisya ang mga biktima ng krimen at social injustice. Binigo ang taumbayan ng pambansang liderato. Kitang-kita ng taumbayan kung papaano ginagamit ang kapangyarihan hindi para sa kanilang kapakanan kundi para sa interes ng iilan.

"Kapag nasira ang sistema, susunod na magugunaw ang mga institusyon. Kapag nagunaw ang sistema, susunod na babagsak ang buong Republika. Wala nang dapat pang hintayin si Pangulong Arroyo. Dapat niyang pigilan ang katiwalian at itakwil ang pagpapalawig sa poder. Dapat malinaw ang kilos at salita niya laban sa mga ito. Tulad ng mga huling buwan bago naganap ang pag-aalsa noong Pebrero ng 1986, huwag na niyang akitin pa sa adbenturismo ang mga may monopolyo ng kapangyarihan sa ating lipunan."