As the air crackles with anger, with the righteous fury of a people tired of broken promises and whispered deals in dimly lit rooms. It’s a feeling you can taste in the streets, a feeling that fuels the calls for President Marcos Jr. and Vice President Duterte to step down. And in the heart of it all, stands Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David during the Trillion Peso March, a shepherd of souls, offering not a rallying cry for immediate revolution, but a hand outstretched, urging caution and a path less travelled.

It’s easy to dismiss the Cardinal’s stance as being out of touch, as clinging to a system that many feel has already failed them. But look closer, and you see not complacency, but a deep, abiding love for the Philippines, a love that compels the Cardinal to ask the hard questions, the ones that whisper of unintended consequences and the fragility of democracy.

Imagine the power vacuum, the sudden jolt to a nation already teetering. Can we truly be certain that what follows will be better? Can we guarantee that the forces that rise to fill the void will be driven by a genuine desire for justice, or by the same hunger for power that plagues the present? These are the questions that keep Cardinal David up at night, the questions that shape the Cardinal’s calculated, yet unwavering, stance.

The Cardinal sees the fiery passion of those demanding immediate change, the Cardinal hears their cries for justice, and the Cardinal understands the depth of their pain. But the Cardinal also sees the ghosts of history, the specter of good intentions paved with unforeseen consequences, leading to a road even darker than the one they seek to escape.

The Cardinal speaks not as a politician, hungry for power, but as a pastor, concerned for his flock. The Cardinal is apprehensive and cautious at the thought of a military junta, even one draped in the robes of religious leaders. The Cardinal’s faith teaches the Cardinal that true power lies not in the sword, but in the quiet strength of the human spirit, in the unwavering pursuit of justice through peaceful means.

The Cardinal’s is a plea for patience, not apathy, hope not rage. A call for dialogue, not division. The Cardinal knows the road ahead will be long and arduous, filled with setbacks and compromises. But the Cardinal believes, with every fiber of the Cardinal’s being, that lasting change can only be built on a foundation of democratic principles, on a commitment to peaceful solutions, and on a unwavering faith in the power of the Filipino people to build a better future, together.

So, before we rush to tear down the house, brick by painful brick, perhaps we should pause, listen to the voice of the shepherd, and ask ourselves: are we truly ready for what comes next? And are we willing to commit to the long, hard work of nation building? something stronger, something more accountable, transparent and just? A good and trustworthy government that will truly endure? Because the future of the Philippines depends not just on our anger, but on our wisdom, our patience, and our unwavering commitment to building a better tomorrow, together.

It is really hard to tell if the continuous association of the 1986 EDSA Revolution dubbed as People Power the awed the whole world and restored the respect that we lost due to corruption, abuse of power and human rights violations is accorded to the Aquinos — the late former Senator Benigno Aquino, the late President Cory Aquino and their heirs and political affiliations or allies.

Whether we like it or not, the Philippines and the Filipinos were given so much admirations because of this, while the late President Corazon Cojuangco-Aquino and those who supported the bloodless revolution benefitted from this, that was all incidental.

Needless to say and unknown to many people especially to the young generations, a lot of the political kingpins who were then associated with the Marcoses slowly metamorphosed into chameleons and then eventually sided with the Aquino. Even the late mother of the President Rodrigo Duterte, Soledad Roa Duterte or fondly called as Nanay Soling by the people of Davao is a known leader of the Yellow Friday Movement that was against the Marcos administration as early as 1970s till the time the former dictator was toppled and the rest is history.

Sadly, the Philippines’ political landscape and dynamics will remain like that, an endless politicaL opportunity seeking game wherein one’s principle 0r political party is no longer valued.

Take the case of the Johnny-come-lately Senatorial candidate of Hugpong ng Pagbabago Rafael Alunan III. The guy served in the cabinets of the late President Corazon Aquino and President Fidel Ramos, as Secretary of the Interior and Local Government and Secretary of Tourism, respectively. As inevitable, he moved into private sector after his stints in the government where of course was able to widen his network.

This is the sad reality of the Philippine politics, there are no permanent friends or foes, only permanent personal interest!

But for how long will we have this kind 0f vicious cycle? For how long we will also realize and mature that the People Power is not about the Aquinos, PDP-Laban, UNIDO, LP and other political spectra that joined in the 1986 including the different military services that ultimately forced the Marcoses to flee and went to hiatus until such a time when the Filipino chronic malady of amnesia attacks again and forget what happened on or before that fateful day of the 1986 EDSA Revolution.

So many benefitted from it, Honasan, Enrile, Ramos, Villar, Arroyo and you can name it and it would almost be infinite.

But there’s one thing we have already forgotten that the People Power brought the best in us Filipinos, that we do not like violence, the we are prayerful and still have faith in the goodness of humanity and God’s divine intervention.

Sadly, for political spin doctors and rumor mongers, the People Power is all about the Aquinos, nothing more, nothing less. But that is a myopic view of the foregoing fact. The People Power or 1986 EDSA Revolution is about the greatness of the Filipinos and of our country, the Philippines.

Indeed, the Holy Scripture is right when it says, “Do you still not see or understand? Do you have such hard hearts? Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear?’ And do you not remember?”