well...my home country is the Philippines. I was no longer there when the uprising occured when people massively (this i can confirm as a native from knowing them) - dispensing with their many class differences - called for marcos to leave..despite US support for him to the last minute .

at that time, i recall watching the news in some awe really..because i was still quite aware and remembering how DIRE the economy was, how difficult life was for most, and how distant the ONCE-exemplary general prosperity and very real liberties had been in the early 1960's when i was growing up (to the point that The Philippines in those years was once visited by economists and leaders from other asian nations to study and try to adopt to their countries..and where the philippines was once the 'bread basket of asia' and then became the basket CASE of asia..and NOT without some "prescriptions" by the IMF to make THAT , as usual) ...

i recall my sister being one of those in the pictures in photos spread worldwide during that day when the masses clogged the streets, especially a main street in Manila to confront the Military tanks and guns .

they related to me that what really happened was:

When the "PINOYS" (as we call ourselves jokingly : usually it means BOTH with pride and with a note of self-depreciation about our failings) decided they had enough of marcos: the "collective decision" that was simmering under the surface was given "power" when Pinoys used a combination of word of mouth, and sending messages by using what is NOW more common globally :

TEXTING...that was also something the Pinoys basically had already been doing habitually decades ago even with the less advanced devices...

and that was basically how the archipelago-wide (consisting of thousands of islands, a great number of them populated but often quite "hinterland") organizing was achieved...so that in a matter of 3 days - i was told - the revolt was in place:

"THE PEOPLE HAD SPOKEN" in as REAL a manner as could be seen anywhere or anytime.

this is something that the USA has YET to achieve..for all its modernity . and in this, whatever the failings of the philippine nation...i am quite proud that they showed this example:

an UPRISING, a REVOLT, of the ENTIRE country, all nearly 70 million of them....rich, oligarchs, middle class, poor....but all agreeing -- a Tyrant had to go.......and a PEACEFUL one.

and there is much to be achieved and hoped for..and so many troubles...and I often feel so saddened at it...that so many of us, filipinos have had to go outside of our beautiful country and leave those we loved and our friends and our funny, absurd, even exasperating, yet lovable people....because the philippines remains a country of "unrealized" - GREAT potentials...and despite the poverty - we are a people that loves to LAUGH at OURSELVES...EVEN in tragic times..find every excuse to sit together and chat and EAT even if most are poor, we love to DANCE and sing and make music together, and all kinds of silly goings-on, we love to tell jokes and tell old fantastic stories, as often as not at our expense, we love to make daily visits with each other, often in the afternoon to evening...as a way to remind ourselves that despite the poverty - LIFE is about being with your friends and family and community ...

it's indeed quite forgotten that globally - whatever relatively peaceful uprisings there were began in the more recent modern history , beyond Mahatma Gandhi - as a result of THAT example by my home-country folks and its proximity to our times.

whatever the failings of her administration - considering the troubles of the country ....

may she rest in peace.

I didn't know you had an admiration for my people...TJ...

i appreciate that.

we DO have our many failings...i can assure you ..and we are QUITE aware of those...and often make fun of ourselves because of those...hehe...but in one thing "pinoys" are quite good at:

often - our first greeting even to strangers introduced to us in our "turf" is "did you EAT already?"

even if we have barely nothing in the cupboard - and we'll offer it anyway.

this is also one of my own misgivings as a Filipino...but then we can't claim to be perfect ....it's partly because it's a different culture -- a mix , one might say , of Malay, Chinese, Spanish and of course european (the belgians were quite influential in education) and eventually "hollywood" ...

but generally - there is in the Filipino Culture a great deal of deference towards the WOMEN of the family or any institution..whether it is a traditional one or the modern-world "institutions".

the woman , in filipino culture is considered of great power and authority. that is one reason why Cory Aquino and Gloria Macapagal today (regardless of their politics and characters and whatever failings) - are so easily accepted as leaders...it's always been NATURAL for Filipinos to see women as the equals of men.

one of our most respected historical leaders in fact was a woman - a kind of "warrior queen" long ago - who was one of those that died leading battles against the foreign invasion of the Spaniards. we are equally a matriarchal society as much as a "macho" society...although one can also say the "macho" part is often mainly in order to make the men feel important...but as we often say:

the REAL power is with the woman.

I often defer to MY own sister - who is years younger than I am, or two female cousins, in many family decisions, in fact.

it's just one of those cultural things, i guess. but it's partly expressed in our having had 2 female presidents already ...........

to NONE in the USA......after 43 presidents.....

she was from the oligarchy - that is sure. it was part of philippine history and culture really. and much needs to be done to have more equity and economic opportunities for all. but the lack of opportunities really have less to do with the background culture itself than that the COUNTRY as a whole was overtaken by specifically AMERICAN dominance since the SPaniards left over a century ago...it is really from THAT period - after the Philippines was free of spain (which could no longer sustain its empire and handed it over to the "winner USA" in the American'Spanish wars) that INSTEAD of entering its NATIONAL destiny as a nation in its own right...and with our potentials and an already rising education system left by the spaniards...the USA turned the Philippines into a "colony" of its own BUT without the benefits of US citizens...

it is THAT legacy of exploitation that remains today.

it was "liberalized" according to the current Washington consensus -- really from the days of Marcos .

an example is:

HE instituted what he called "land reform".

BUT he made sure it was limited to mainly rice growers - which meant the MAJORITY of land holders - which meant mostly those with up to a few hundred hectares - but mostly a dozen or so - family held...with our "tenants" as we called them.

this was a kind of feudal system - a kind of partnership between indigent farmers who shared - usually 60-40 (landowner/peasant worker) - in the harvests but usually - if a bit more for the landowner (such as my grandfather who bought some rice land in his older years after his profession as a Doctor in the provinces) - it also meant the Landowner paid for the irrigation, seeds, fertilizer, pest control, trucking, and threshing the grain ..before bagging. it's similar to US small farmers traditionally.

but the difference was the the "tenants" on the farmlands also had a kind of "extended family" relationship with landowners to whom they could run for favors or assistance (some loans, or help in getting their children to elementary school..or having their children live and work in the landowner's home..similar in ways to the Plantation system in the USA..but in which the landowner family usually felt and carried out the obligation of sending the children to school, even up to college among those that can afford it...at the landowner's expense...getting a little plot of their own in the farm..this is basically what MY clan had in relation to our "tenants" in the years BEFORE land reform under marcos..so there was a great deal of "loyalty" through the generations involved between the parties if the landowners were , within our traditional system, more or less decent in their relationship with the "peasants")..

but when marcos instituted "land reform" - he basically forced RICE OWNING landowners - mostly small to medium sized areas - to divide their holdings to "lots" at the maximum allowed 21 hectares PER title or family.

the result was : because a much smaller could not keep up with the expenses of irrigation, and other things - many were reduced to selling their "lots" -- often to their own tenants...who would then have no managerial experience - and being much poorer to begin with - found it even harder to maintain the land, the harvest, seedlings, etc...--and ended up borrowing from rural banks - that themselves were being swallowed up by bigger financial institutions...and the lands were being bought up by even bigger owners - or corporations....

MANY of them - fronts for US corporations..like Dole pineapple, etc...at least that's ONE of the ways things withered in the philippines..

a lot of it through "prescriptions" by the World Bank and IMF.

from the days of Marcos , in fact.

there was once what was called the "LAUREL'LANGLEY" act - after the second world war .. in which the USA basically forced the "president laurel" - to sign a treaty in which US corporations and nationals could buy and own land and possessions in the philippines without taxation or much obligations ... that held for decades...and if it was overturned eventually in the latem 60's - it was replaced by a far more INSIDUOUS washington "consensus" - the IMF, WORLD BANK lending practices - and what we now know as "liberalization".

i can say this for sure:

I grew up when the philippines was once a rather prosperous country in fact...middle class was not UNcommon at all..just about everyone , even from the hinterlands, COULD eventually gain a college education or a vocation...but the advent of "liberalization" - worsened what was already a colonial dominance through the treaties forced upon the country by the USA after the spanish/american war and the second world war...(while ironically enough, the USA funded JAPAN towards its power and prosperity -- and this remark was made to me BY an American serviceman in his 80's who was held captive in the philippines by the Japanese and was among american "slaves" of the japanese - while leaving the philippines which was its "ally" largely neglected except as a naval/airforce station and a source of cheap labor and rich natural resources to be exploited) .

Like most tools, term limits have their strength and weaknesses, much as some on the left, and the right too, hate to admit. Term limits have weaknesses, they also have their uses

Also, context matters. Given that Aquino followed Marcos, it would be curious if she DIDN'T institute term limits.

teddy August 1st, 2009 1:04 am.....teddy, thank you for all this information. I visited Cebu last year for about one month. Personally, I fell in love with the place and especially the people. They seem to love Americans and are sincere about serving them. For the most part, it was a very poor culture, but not lacking in spirit and what appeared to be sincere friendliness. Maybe you can explain this love for Americans after we slaughtered many of their people, stole their gold and from what I saw in the city of Cebu, their culture, too....although it did seem to thrive in the mountains and outside the Westernized city. For the month I was there, never did I heard any anger or even a curse.

do you know - in my own university days in the philippines many years ago (is it that long now? hehe) - i had close friends belonging to a nationally treasured choral group - that often was "commanded" by imelda marcos to be her entertainment group whenever she had her MANY parties - involving heads of state, diplomats, etc....

this was her way of showing she was "among the world's ROYALTY"...

often my close friends in the choir would come the next morning in class - "hey - teddy -- last night - we were in Malacanang palace again...for Madame...and so and so were there from saudi arabia, from monaco, etc.."......

and they would describe how Imelda held her parties like it was some kind of Royal gathering...guests would already be milling around , being served...entertained...etc...and a GONG would sound -- to announce her "royal highness" entrance..the doors open and OUT comes the "blue ladies" - members of high society that are her friends...striding forth in line - with big plates on their hands full of jewelry and expensive gifts -

HANDING THEM AWAY to everyone in the room....

a friend often would show me what SHE got - a FULL GOLD watch with the image of Marcos....a ring...pearl necklaces...etc....

the second daughter of marcos actually was a classmate of mine in a music class in Ethnomusicology in the National University...and she was very friendly and always offered us "belgian chocolate"...haha..i always refused and thanked her. she was a voice major - and being a pianist and pretty good - i could [probably EASILY have ingratiated myself - and be "madame's scholar"..but i just couldn't do that kind of politics.