The 'Million People March'

There was this meme showing Dr. Jose Rizal's ghost descending in a dungeon and there he saw Mother Land, tied up and suffering. Two words his greeting was: "still here?" 

Two words. Very simple. Yet it struck a huge chord in me. And why not? More than a hundred year ago since Rizal's martyrdom, and indeed we're still here. We may have broken the chains of our colonizers, but the sad truth is we are being enslaved by our fellow Filipinos. Leaders we elected, sworn to uphold the rule of law and protect its people, were caught redhanded, pocketing billions after billions from the nation's coffer. 

It's national heroes day but instead of commemorating heroes from the past, most Filipinos chose to be heroes themselves. 

The EDSA People Power 1 started from Cardinal Sin's call through the radio while the EDSA 2 started in chains of text messages urging everyone to come out to rally in the streets. This time, the so-called "Million People March" started in social media. One click and thousands heed the call to scrap the pork barrel system. There was no figure who acted as the leader. And why should there be? Every Filipino that went there is a leader, a real boss ready to show the world that he's fed up and that he's willing to fight and slay dragons no matter how impossible it seems. 

When I arrived at the Luneta Park I was surprised to see a huge crowd. I was not expecting it will turn out this big. Probably it's because it's way easier to commit to a certain cause using Facebook and Twitter, but it's another thing to actually go out and go against your usual way. But it happened. There in front of Rizal where majority are youth, we the Filipino people proved that we're not asleep and that we're willing to stand our ground because we are angry, we want accountability and that we want a government that we deserve. 

It was so moving to see people united under one cause. Forget agenda. Forget their respective stand on different issues. This time, Filipinos realized that this cause is something bigger than all of us. There were dancing, singing and laughter. People looked happy, we looked happy not because we're not serious with our protest, but because we are fighting together and because we know we can make a change. 

Yes it's true that one rally will not change the world. But I believe the different voices that came today in one harmonious call will resonate far more than we expect. So until then. For now we have work to do. We know what to do.