Turmoil in the Philippines

It's been 20 years since Ferdinand Marcos was deposed, and the anniversary has put the Philippines back in the news. I was reading an excellent Washington Post story on the lack of progress made here since the 1986 People Power Revolution when I got the following text message from Shelly: "Big protests in Manila. In state of emergency."

"All quiet at home," I reported, then headed upstairs to turn on the TV. If the president of the United States declared a state of emergency, it would be all over the news.

Basketball. Soap opera. Staid political discussion show -- must have been taped in advance. Home shopping network. "Joey" rerun. Nothing about protests or presidential decrees.

"Nothing on TV," I texted her, leaving "are you sure?" hanging implicitly over my message.

"Read Yahoo! news," she wrote.

I headed back downstairs and got back online. And, sure enough, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (GMA) has declared a state of emergency.

It's been a tough year for her -- not that it's been any easier for your average Filipino. And that's a large part of why so many Filipinos are eager to kick her out of office, just as they revolted against Joseph Estrada in 2001, sweeping GMA into the presidential palace.

Now, on the 20th anniversary of the ouster of Ferdinand Marcos -- seeing a pattern here? -- the electorate is getting impatient, according to a Reuters story published this afternoon:

[G]roups from a wide spectrum of opinion believe Arroyo has lost her legitimacy and that the daughter of late president Diosdado Macapagal should have resigned last year over a series of scandals.

Rogue troops allegedly want to kill her and set up a military junta. Thousands of leftists and opposition members have used this week's 20th anniversary of a "people power" revolt that ousted dictator Ferdinand Marcos to demonstrate against her.

Allegations that Arroyo tried to influence the vote count in the 2004 presidential election and that her husband, eldest son and brother-in-law took payoffs from illegal gambling have refused to go away.

Seen as cold and aloof, the U.S.-trained economist has not managed to endear herself to many Filipinos. Repeated attempts to jazz up her image have failed.
In a visit this week to the scene of a deadly landslide in the central Philippines, Arroyo looked stiff against former First Lady Imelda Marcos, who arrived at the same time handing out hugs and kisses.

Earlier this week, speaking to a group of foreign journalists, GMA said "nothing" could make her resign. "I believe I am the best person to lead this nation through this transition," she told the forum. "I was elected to make difficult decisions and I have made them."

And, earlier today, declaring that the military had foiled an attempted coup by some military officers and their men, she placed the nation under a state of emergency. According to an Associated Press report,

[c]lashes erupted as riot police used water cannons to disperse about 5,000 protesters defying a ban on rallying at a shrine to the 1986 revolt that toppled dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

Police then used truncheons and shields to roust a stone-throwing group trying to gather for a second protest. Several people were arrested; others were left bloodied.

Amid a massive security clampdown, the military barricaded its camps to keep troops from joining the demonstrations and detained an army general allegedly involved in the takeover plot. The military has played major roles in two popular uprisings and has a recent history of restiveness.

Declaring a state of emergency stops short of declaring martial law. GMA's chief of staff said the declaration will not include a curfew but bans rallies, allows arrest without a warrant, permits the president to call in the military to intervene and lets her take over facilities — including media outlets — that may affect national security.

Police were already on alert, as rumors of a coup have circulated through the Philippines for the past week. On Wednesday, presidential staff members said that a reported explosion at the presidential palace was the result of a cigarette butt being thrown into a trash can that held chemicals, denying reports that the explosion was part of a coup attempt.

I doubt any of today's events will affect us much, but don't worry. We won't do anything stupid, and we'll stay safe. Plus, we live almost an hour away from where the protests are taking place.

Update, Friday, 9:35 p.m. Manila time: We're just back from dinner and a movie, and the only thing we saw out of the ordinary was a fire truck backed up against the entrance to our neighborhood. I've only seen this once before, last fall, when a rally and march against GMA was planned to go around the outskirts of our neighborhood. It's just a precaution, and I cannot imagine we'll be touched by anything that happens tonight.

Scoping out some of the stories compiled on Google News does reinforce that this is for real. Here's a link to a set of four BBC interviews with regular, ordinary Filipinos, and here's a CNN story with a photo of troops mobilizing in the streets of Manila.

Like the rest of the country, we're going to bed tonight not really knowing what will happen overnight, or tomorrow.

If you're at all interested in the the past 20 years, do read that Washington Post story linked to above. You'll have to register at the Post Web site, but it is free.