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The rumors about an impending People Power 3 continued to intensify
as a text message stating the military’s eventual withdrawal of
support for President Gloria Arroyo began to circulate Thursday.
Late that afternoon, a number of staff of The
Manila Times received the following text message: “On Mon.,
we’ll have a NEW PRESIDENT. This will be the scenario. AIRFORCE
will withdraw their support on GMA, followed by MARINES, ARMY &
PNP. The heads of these military services have NO MORE RESPECT for
GEN. ESPERON. People will converge in EDSA SHRINE early morning. Pls
pray for peaceful & nonviolent transition. Let’s pray that GMA
& her Cabinet members will not hold on to their positions or
else this would lead to BLOODY REVOLUTION. See you on Monday.”
The day, February 25, will mark the 22nd
anniversary of People Power 1, which ousted then-President Ferdinand
Marcos in 1986.
Such messages are becoming a repeating
occurrence lately. Two weeks ago, roughly an hour after the first
appearance of Rodolfo “Jun” Lozada Jr. in the Senate, a text
message circulated warning people of a plan to bomb certain
transport facilities in Metro Manila. The motive behind the planned
attack, the anonymous sender explained, was to divert the public’s
attention from the controversial $330-million national broadband
network project.
Amid mounting calls from civil-society groups
and religious leaders for President Arroyo’s resignation, the
military’s chief, Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr., assured the public
that the military will not be swayed into joining another political
upheaval.
-- Perry Gil S. Mallari
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