By Butz Aquino Philippine Daily InquirerFirst Posted 03:13:00 02/22/2011
After the assassination of Ninoy Aquino on Aug. 21, 1983, former classmates, business associates and friends formed Atom (August Twenty-One Movement).
(Editor’s Note: The Inquirer invited Agapito “Butz” Aquino to write an account of his call to the people on Feb. 22, 1986, to support the breakaway of then Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile and Lt. Gen. Fidel Ramos. With all due respect to the eminent memory of Jaime Cardinal Sin, for the record, Butz made the call first for people power.
A former senator, the 71-year-old Butz is the younger brother of the martyr Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. He was a key player in the stunning events that played out for four days 25 years ago on EDSA which the world has come to hail and emulate as People Power.)
MANILA, Philippines—After the assassination of Ninoy Aquino on Aug. 21, 1983, former classmates, business associates and friends formed Atom (August Twenty-One Movement).
We had to learn to organize marches and demonstrations until it became a regular weekly activity. We could mobilize hundreds in a few hours, or thousands in one day’s notice.
We jogged regularly from Luneta to Baclaran on Sundays to build stamina and spirituality until we were able to launch a march from Tarlac to the Manila airport tarmac, 140 kilometers away. We started with 300 marchers.
The military blocked us in Valenzuela, but after a three-day stand-off in Meycauyan, Bulacan, we proceeded to Manila. The event hit national and international media and established Atom as one of the major groups in the protest movement against the Ferdinand Marcos dictatorship.
On Saturday, Feb. 22, 1986, at around 8 p.m. we heard over the radio that Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile and Armed Forces Vice Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Fidel V. Ramos had broken away from Marcos.
We were at a dinner party when we were told that there would be a replay of the breakaway statement of Enrile and Ramos on radio and that they were holding out at Camp Aguinaldo.
To support or not
We debated whether to support this breakaway group.
I said this was serious. This was not a zarzuela because the painful words used by Enrile and Ramos were very damaging to Marcos. I remember Enrile saying Marcos cheated with more than 300,000 votes in Enrile’s province in the Feb. 7 snap presidential election. We concluded that it was time to support this breakaway group in order to divide the military. We had learned in our studies on active nonviolence that we needed to break the pillars that support the dictatorship. Obviously, the military component was the strongest pillar supporting the Marcos dictatorship. So if we succeeded in splitting the military, the dictatorship could very well collapse.
We checked with the other opposition leaders. Cory Aquino was in Cebu pushing a campaign of civil disobedience and could not be contacted. Sen. Pepe Diokno said, “Bayaan mo nang magpatayan sila (Let them kill each other),” Justice Cecilia Munoz-Palma asked: “What are your plans?” I said we will support Enrile and Ramos. The enemy of our enemy is our tactical ally. She said “God be with you.”
As Atom debated, I went to Camp Aguinaldo with only my driver to gather more information and, possibly, to talk to Enrile or Ramos to assess the situation.
The call
Upon reaching the camp, I noticed that there were very few military men guarding the gates. I asked one if I could see Enrile. After the guard made a phone call, I was led to the second floor where I was met by Enrile. He appeared nervous and was perspiring. I realized that he was wearing a bulletproof vest. I said, “Minister, we are here to help you.” I said we have some food and medicine and a lot of people but we did not have any arms. He replied, “We need all the help we can get.”
Everything that happened after that meeting was spontaneous.
In the same room, I saw Jun Tanya, a reporter of Radio Veritas speaking on the phone. I asked if he was patched on to Radio Veritas, and he said “Yes.” I decided to make my call.
I remember saying over the radio: “Ako’y nananawagan sa Atom at sa lahat ng matatapang na Pilipino, magpunta sa Isetann Cubao ngayon para suportahan natin si Minister Enrile at General Ramos.” (I am calling all Atom members and all brave Filipinos to assemble in Isetan Cubao to support the breakaway group of Minister Enrile and General Ramos.)
Why Isetann? Because that was the assembly for Atom mass actions in Cubao.
I proceeded there at around 10:30 p.m. and saw six people I did not even know. We eyed each other suspiciously.
10,000 come marching
At 11 p.m. dozens of Atom members and supporters started arriving, saying “Hindi ka namin pababayaan (We won’t let you down).” But others said, “Ipapahamak na naman tayo ni Butz (Butz is going to get us to harm’s way).” By 11:15 p.m. hundreds came and at around 11:30 p.m. thousands arrived—mostly Atom members, supporters and just plain “usis” (usiseros, or kibitzers).
By midnight, at least 10,000 had gathered in the area and so we started marching on EDSA toward Camp Crame. There, I asked to see Ramos and I was ushered to his office on the second floor, leaving the others outside the gate.
Ramos appeared cool and confident. Following a briefing, we were asked to man all six gates in the camp, to serve as an early warning system. I later realized that we would be their shield in case of an attack by the Marcos forces.
I remember asking him, “How many do we have in Camp Crame?” He said 3,000. I assumed 3,000 soldiers and combatants. This gave us a little confidence. I found out later that the 3,000 included noncombat personnel, including drivers, houseboys and “kasambahay.” The more accurate figure was about 300 soldiers only.
Manning the gates
We left Ramos and divided the different groups that marched with us. The Ateneans were given one gate, the SocDems another, and UP, UST and La Sallites were also assigned to different gates. To my surprise, everybody just followed our orders. Nobody questioned our leadership. It seemed nobody wanted to be a leader at that time.
At 4 a.m., Sunday, Feb. 23, we saw Ramos jogging along EDSA, giving us the impression that everything was under control.
At 5 a.m., the spontaneous “demonstrators” went home. They promised to come back at 8 a.m. We were down to probably 2,000. As usual for Filipinos, they came late, trickling in at 9 a.m.
Credit to Cardinal Sin
At 10 a.m. we were back in the thousands. I attributed this to the call of Jaime Cardinal Sin who sometime at midnight made a broadcast and exhorted the people to support Enrile and Ramos.
By 11 a.m., we were at least 100,000. I was told that Gen. Alfredo Lim was looking for me. So I had a meeting with him in some antique store. He told me that he had orders to disperse us.
I said if Gen. Fabian Ver, Marcos’ Armed Forces chief of staff, gave him that order, we would not follow it. If Ramos told us to disperse then we would disperse. I even said “Hindi ba boss mo si General Ramos sa PC-INP (Isn’t General Ramos your boss)?” So Lim called Ramos and, of course, I could only hear several “Yes, sirs.” And when I asked what Ramos told him, he said Ramos just said “Bahala ka na, Fred (It’s up to you).”
After a few minutes, Lim offered me siopao (steamed bun). I even criticized him saying “after guarding your boss all night, all you will feed me is one siopao?” He didn’t appreciate my joke.
Going to war festive
The mood was festive, rather than like we were going to war. People just came bringing with them water, juice, sandwiches, anything and everything that they could share with other people. People came because they wanted to be counted among those protesting against Marcos.
At about 1 p.m. tanks started rolling in from Ortigas Avenue. We proceeded to the area, but how to stop the tanks? We did not know just yet. However, when we got there, they pushed me on top of the lead tank to address the crowd.
Using a bullhorn, I remember telling Brig. Gen. Artemio Tadiar: “This is what we have been fighting for. We are fighting for our freedom. And if we have to sacrifice our lives, we are prepared to do so.”
Tadiar ordered me to get down from the tank and my pants was ripped while getting off, showing my behind.
2 nuns
We sat in front of the lead tank. Two nuns appeared and knelt in front of us. Then the tanks started rolling toward us.
I wanted to run but could not because the two nuns did not budge. I would rather lose my life than lose face. I could not imagine myself running ahead of the nuns. There was also a pretty lady beside me. I said that if the tanks would really run over us, I would have to protect her by throwing my body on top of her so we would get quashed together. Bahala na! (So be it!) I was very nervous.
The tanks stopped about three meters in front of us. There was a collective sigh of relief. There was wild jubilation. We were grateful that the tanks spared us.
We marched back to EDSA. We were stationed in front of Camp Crame for the rest of the afternoon and evening waiting for news and other developments.
‘This is it’
Monday morning, Feb. 24. Helicopters flew overhead. I said, “Oh boy, this is it!” I was thinking we might be bombed or strafed.
But looking up and following the flight path of the choppers, we saw that a soldier aboard one of the helicopters flashed to the crowd below the Laban (fight) sign—the thumb and forefinger—of opposition to the Marcos regime. We all sighed in relief and gratitude.
There was loud cheering from the people outside the gates of Camp Crame.
Rumors were rife that Marcos had fled the country. There was an uncertain joy because we were not sure if the rumors were true.
Later, we found out that Marcos was still around. So people who left EDSA returned. The Atom members met to discuss the next move. We were now preparing for a longer stay as we did in Meycauyan.
It happened so fast
We were later informed that Cory would be sworn into office. On Tuesday morning, Feb. 25, I went to Club Filipino to witness Cory being sworn into office by Chief Justice Claudio Teehankee. I went back to EDSA after the ceremony and informed the Atom members what had transpired.
Since we didn’t plan the “EDSA Revolution” we were surprised that it ended abruptly. While we hoped for the expulsion of Marcos, we did not anticipate that it would happen that fast.
Next time, we should plan the results of our activities beyond our sudden victories.
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