February; the red month of purification
One afternoon, me and my friend were walking down Session Road when we stumbled upon a gift shop that was crowded by students. We noticed it was selling cards, chocolates, balloons, and stuffed toys all colored red. Without hesitation, we squeezed ourselves into the crowd for a better view. Looking on, we realized that it was already February and Valentine’s Day was just around the corner because of the Cupid cut outs pasted on the walls of the gift shop.
But more than the flowers and the Cupid cut outs that reminded us of the day of Saint Valentine, February brings to memory some other significant events that I believe should be brought to this generation’s consciousness, for them to have a deeper regard for this month. I consider February as “The red month” because of some historical events that took place on this month, which scarred our history – some have espoused change, while others remain merely as grim reminders of our past to at least draw lessons from. Allow me to take you on a travel back in history and revisit those events.
The Russian revolution broke in February 1917 and brought down the Tsarist autocracy and led to the creation of the Soviet Union. The Tsar was deposed and replaced by a provisional government in the first revolution of February 1917. The Russian revolution claimed thousands of lives and eventually the succeeding months the country fell to the Soviets.
Seventy one years, today, the Battle of Manila took place and was considered as one of the bloodiest chapters of World War II. The battle was fought from Feb. 3 to March 3, 1945 by combined American, Filipino, and Japanese forces, which was part of the Philippine liberation campaign. The one-month battle, which culminated in a terrible bloodbath and total devastation of the city, was the scene of the worst urban fighting in the Pacific theater, and ended the almost three years of Japanese military occupation in the Philippines (1942–1945).
Moreover, almost all historical structures of Manila, including the Intramuros, were blown to bits and over a hundred thousand Filipino citizens were massacred by the retreating Japanese forces under the command of Tomoyuki Yamashita.
On Feb. 7, 1986, Ferdinand Marcos called a snap presidential election, with more than a year left in his term. He selected Arturo Tolentino as his running mate. The opposition united behind Aquino’s widow, Corazon, and her running mate, Salvador Laurel. The final tally of the National Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel), an accredited poll watcher, showed Aquino winning by almost 800,000 votes. However, the government tally showed Marcos winning by almost 1.6 million votes which sparked up a series of demonstrations from the people.
On February 13 that year, the church issued a pastoral letter claiming that Marcos cheated due to the inconsistency of votes tallied by the Namfrel in contrast to the government tally which states that Marcos won by almost 1.6 million against Aquino. The people took their rage to the streets, and held demonstrations day and night.
Mobilizations got stronger, which led then Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile and then Chief of the Philippine Constabulary Fidel Ramos to switch sides and turn away from Marcos on February 22. Then came the historic Feb. 25 People Power, which saw Marcos flee the Philippines and Cory Aquino being proclaimed the first woman president of the country.
Ironic enough, remember the time also sometime February, when our country was bombarded by corruption issues from the controversial Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) to the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) all under the regime of Benigno Simeon Aquino III, the son of Cory Aquino who ousted the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos. SC ruled against DAP and then Pnoy blatantly lambasted the 1987 constitution when he went out on national TV expressly threatening the delegated power of the judiciary. Talk about a dictator in the making.
Just last year the nation mourn right after the bloody encounter that happened in the south between the Special Action Forces (SAF) of the PNP, and the secessionist Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters that scored 44 fallen SAF, 18 MILF and four civilians. The clash drove 1,324 families or about 6,620 individuals away from their villages. The investigation was televised in the whole month of February and was witnessed by the Filipino populace. For the whole month of February, the investigation only achieved blaming and pointing of fingers from the authorities concerned.
As the days progressed, a clear and vivid picture begins to surface as to who the REAL boss of our president is. Contrary to his inaugural speech, ‘ang boss niya ay KANO at hindi KAYO. It was the US who gave the president orders to initiate operation ‘exodus’. It was the president that offered our fallen SAFs as sacrificial lambs at the altar of the US’ war on terror. Now, the Bangsamoro Basic Law in the south which one of the gains of the late Cory Aquino to answering the 40 years of struggle in Mindanao is now threatened to be derailed by the legislative branch.
The red month indeed, is red not because of red roses, red balloons, or red stuffed toys. It is red because of the bloody history which molded us into what we are today. But there still are more questions needing answers. I has been three decades since the EDSA people power movement, are there changes yet? Whatever happened to all the promises during that historic moment which placed the Filipinos on the world map for their ability to initiate change through non-violent means?
Ironically, February came from the Latin word februare, meaning “to purify.” Do we need to purify, or do we have to paint the month red again for change to be truly realized? You should pray that the people will choose the latter.
Remember February 25th is more than just your typical holiday.
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