`The rabid leftists
in her government made
her deal with a hostile
military the wrong way.’
IT was Dec. 1, 1989. Upon orders of then chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Colin Powell, US F-4 Phantom jets roared in the skies of Metro Manila as the Cory Aquino government moved closer to collapse. President Aquino had called up US President George H.W. Bush for military assistance against the rebel forces that burned Camp Aguinaldo and bombed Malacañang.
The Davide Commission largely discounted the role of the Americans after it found out that fighter pilot Lt. Danny Atienza had already destroyed the rebels’ air power by 12:45 in the afternoon of December 1, making the “persuasion flights” of the Americans at 2 p.m. that day “questionable” as described in the commission’s report. Atienza’s heroism is rarely brought up when the series of failed coups are recalled.
Notorious names have been more memorable in the cause of treachery and infamy. The commission found Juan Ponce Enrile as one of the civilians behind the coup, along with Imelda Marcos. It seemed more people have lost their respect for the law after it became evident that the reported coup leaders would be regarded differently, exempting them from the full force of the law.
Imelda Marcos was allowed to return to the country. Col Gregorio Honasan became a glamorized fugitive and elected as senator for two terms while Gen. Edgardo Abenina, who was jailed for his role, was feted as a model citizen in 2015 in his native Quezon province after running as senator unsuccessfully.
The simple housewife she was, Cory never aspired to be more than she could be. She was not meant to unify the nation, thinking the euphoria of EDSA would continue to inspire her countrymen to rally behind her in tackling the nation’s problems. It didn’t work that way.
Heavily favoring the leftists and the progressives certainly stumped the rightists and the military which for almost two decades have been hardened by the ruthless Marcos regime.
Cory should have realized that her administration was not accomplishing anything substantial to stop the series of coups. The rabid leftists in her government made her deal with a hostile military the wrong way. Nelson Mandela initially earned the ire of his allies and followers when he refused to kick out the whites as his new government took over in South Africa, which otherwise would have triggered a more intense conflict leading to a civil war. (The Afrikaners controlled the economy, the military and national police.) The extraordinary man employed something extraordinary to unite his divided country – the sport rugby.
