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"Pipol Power!" the placard proclaimed in big, bold letters. The placard proclaiming revolution was held by a giant, walking rat — who obviously does not know how to spell. The cartoon of that autistic rat holding a placard proclaiming revolution was printed on a yellow shirt. And I wore that yellow shirt with the printed cartoon of a rat holding a placard proclaiming revolution when I was a little toddler.

That’s all I remember of the EDSA revolution. Actually, it wasn’t the revolution. It was just one day a year or so after the revolt, when my parents thought "What the heck! Let’s go stroll around in Luneta!". They just happened to dress me in such a manner, and drag me to that park where they enthusiastically took a picture of me. And that picture happened to come upon my hands later on in life. And there I was, my grimy digits on that photograph of a toddler wearing that certain shirt, proudly delusion that I was part of the EDSA revolution.

But then my parents told me the truth: I was not part of the EDSA revolution. Instead, I was stuck home, still learning how to use the toilet bowl properly.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I know almost zip about the EDSA revolution. Except maybe from what I learned from the heart-warming, tear-jerking, and tired accounts of the people — who had seen the tanks, their hearts pounding, because if someone right there and then fired a gunshot, or made a loud noise, they will certainly have been squooshed to death by the tanks — and other special tributes that’s aired regularly

And maybe I’m just going to repeat what has already been said, or maybe this is just me. But I believe EDSA’s not really about kicking the Marcoses out of the presidential throne, and the ravaged country. Nor is it really about fighting back after years of injustice, of oppression, and terror.

It’s about the people. It’s about the rich and the poor, the old and the young, the geek and the jock, losing their status, interlocking their arms, standing together in that long stretch of highway, and for one moment, they we’re just Filipinos. All of them, one.

It’s about people power.

Contributed by:
Miguel Mella
Ateneo de Manila University