I spent most of the day monitoring the different anti-corruption rallies happening across Metro Manila yesterday. Scrolling through updates, livestreams, and posts, one photo caught my attention: Ballsy Aquino-Cruz. She wasn’t on stage but was just one of the thousands who showed up at the EDSA Shrine/People Power Monument assembly.
As Ballsy blended with the crowd, her photo brought me back to a time when her mother, democracy icon and former President Cory Aquino, stood beside Manila Archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin to lead peaceful protest rallies in the 1980s, the 1990s, and even into the early 2000s. People came in droves—not because they were paid or pressured, but because they believed. The duo had credibility. They had moral ascendancy. When they spoke, the nation listened.
Back then, rallies felt different. There was usually just one. One venue. One voice. I remember the Anti-ChaCha gathering on September 21, 1997 at Rizal Park, where an estimated 500,000 to 600,000 people showed up. That single act of unity stopped the planned amendments to the 1987 Constitution that would have extended the president’s term beyond six years. It was proof that when Filipinos come together, they can change the course of history.
What we saw yesterday was a contrast. Rallies were held in different places— at the EDSA Shrine/PPM, Rizal Park, Malacanang-Mendiola, and even near Camp Aguinaldo. Each group condemned the rampant corruption in government but they won’t simply unite—for several reasons. The spirit of People Power was there, but the unity was scattered.
Based on police and organizer reports, around 30,000 gathered at the EDSA Shrine for the Trillion Peso March. Luneta saw about 45,000 to 50,000. Mendiola had 400. Other pockets of protest dotted the city, but none came close to the numbers we saw in the late 1990s or early 2000s. The scale may have changed, but I still saw the same courage from the people who showed up—just like in the rallies of years past.
I would have joined one of the assemblies myself. But I’ve been sick since Thursday, and my body simply couldn’t keep up. So, I watched from the sidelines, grateful that others showed up despite the unpredictable weather and the risks. In the era of social media, people came not just to post, but to protest. Not just to tweet, but to take a stand. It felt like scenes from the “parliament of the streets” once again.
I simply cannot ignore what I thought was missing: there is no unifying figure, no shared platform, no single rallying point. I think it’s hard to build momentum when what we have is fractured solidarity and everyone is marching in different directions.
Still, yesterday’s mass action was a start. A reminder to those in power that the fire hasn’t gone out. They better shape up, because if people find a way to come together again, the pushback will be stronger, louder, and harder to ignore. As journalist Alex Vergara bluntly put it, “Don’t you find it funny that the only buffer shielding BBM’s (Pres. Bongbong Marcos) ass from possible ouster is the prospect of a Sara Duterte presidency? People are goddamn angry, but they’re not about to jump from the frying pan into the fire.”
The anger is real. The hesitation is real. And the search for a credible, unifying alternative continues.
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