Edsa 2 leaders split over Erap fate in plunder case

The impeachment trial had failed. On the early morning of January 20, 2001, hundreds of University of the Philippines students joined a huge crowd that marched from the EDSA Shrine to the Chino Roces (Mendiola) Bridge in Manila to "arrest" then President Joseph Estrada. The angry scholars of the people comprised one of the biggest and noisiest groups. They were shouting anti-Estrada chants, cursing the President and his allies in the Senate. At the helm was the 21-year-old Raymond Palatino, a convenor of Erap Resign Youth Movement and chair of the UP Student Council. Gari Lazaro, also 21 at that time, led a group of students under the Student Council Alliance of the Philippines. On their way to Mendiola, his group was chanting “Bantayan si Gloria," who by noon, would take oath as the new president. Back in EDSA, Michelle Licudine was very tired from days of organizing members of Sanlakas-Youth. Their battlecry then was “Resign All." Palatino, Lazaro, and Licudine were among the youth leaders belonging to activist organizations then pushing for Estrada’s ouster. More than six years later, the nation awaits the verdict in the plunder trial of the deposed president. Gone are the anti- Estrada rallies that these youth leaders used to organize. On the contrary, some of those who called for Estrada ouster—like former Vice President Teofisto Guingona, who delivered the “I Accuse" speech—want the jailed ex-president freed. Guingona says freedom for Estrada would ease the tension and disunity in the nation caused by the former president’s case. He says Estrada is a changed man. "He's been down for more than five years. He found a new life in his own private life. Let freedom be … give justice to Erap," Guingona says in a published news article in gmanews.tv. Even the leaders of PlunderWatch, a group formed by activists after Estrada’s ouster, now feel that the Arroyo administration is just using the trial for its own political ends. PlunderWatch stopped following the Estrada plunder case and is now focused on what it views as graver sins of Arroyo. In a statement, Carol Araullo, Plunderwatch convenor and Bayan Chairperson said: “Most of the individuals and groups that composed it, including Bayan, found themselves having to address the more pressing issues spawned by the Arroyo regime – the worsening cases of corruption and plunder, the systematic and nationwide slaughter of activists and the almost total subservience to US and foreign monopoly capital dictates." But the youth leaders of the People Power 2 revolt remain firm in their position that justice must be served. Palatino may share the disenchantment with the plunder trial, but it does not mean that he lost interest in getting Estrada convicted. “Same pa rin ang [aking] conviction na dapat makulong si Erap at yung plunder charges dapat ituloy," he says. He understands Guingona’s position, he says, but he wouldn’t be issuing the same call anytime soon. “Sa tingin ko di naman hahantong na kaming mga militante ay mananawagan ng ganoong message," he says. Lazaro also thinks the plunder trial was tainted with political negotiations, and he predicts Estrada will not be convicted. “We already saw this coming. It is already a done deal," Lazaro says. Paolo Benigno "Bam" Aquino IV, nephew of former President Corazon Aquino and also a prominent EDSA 2 youth organizer, believes Sandiganbayan handled the cases well, and the people should respect whatever the court’s decision will be. “Nandoon kami [sa EDSA 2] dahil tingin namin ‘yun ‘yung tama. Hindi mag-iiba 'yun just because iba na yung political leanings, just because iba na ang kinakalaban," Aquino says. Lazaro tries to explain the drastic change in sentiments among the older EDSA 2 leaders: Some segments of the EDSA 2 crowd probably feel guilty because they replaced Estrada with someone now perceived to be worse than the ousted leader; choosing Erap seems choosing the lesser evil. But Licudine stresses “you cannot choose a lesser evil." “Lagi tayong namimili ng lesser evil kaysa ipanalo ang just para sa lahat. Kung guilty si Erap, guilty si Erap at dapat makulong. Huwag pakawalan ang big fish, kahit ang nasa Malacanang mismo," she says. -- GMANews.TV