"WEAR yellow and die." That was the opening salvo of the Philippine Star on its very first issue on July 28, 1986.
The story was about a 23-year-old bystander who was mobbed to death by loyalists of former President Ferdinand Marcos during a rally at Luneta Park.
His "crime"? Just wearing a yellow shirt, which the loyalists mistook for support to President Corazon Aquino.
I was reminded of this incident again after hearing the news of an ABS-CBN van being heckled and mobbed by supporters of Marcos' son, Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., during their recent motorcade in Quezon City.
While this is the first incident of “open harassment” by die-hard loyalists of the former regime in the run-up to the 2022 elections, I am afraid this will not be the last.
After all, trolls allegedly paid by the Marcoses’ social media group have reportedly spewed such vitriol and hatred on social media, poisoning what should be a civil discussion of the issues that continue to plague this country.
I no longer believe in the term “sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me.”
Look at what happened in the United States last January, where a mob of fanatic supporters of former President Donald Trump actually stormed the U.S. Capitol and tried to derail a peaceful and orderly transition of power to current President Joe Biden.
That sheer desperate act of wrecking centuries of peaceful, democratic transition was actually brought about by years of fake news, misinformation (and disinformation), and playing to the Americans’ worst qualities of xenophobia, racism, and misguided nationalism.
And that scene is – well, not uncommon here in the Philippines.
Remember “EDSA Tres,” the attempt of die-hard supporters of ousted President Joseph Estrada – led by several powerful political and religious leaders – to reinstate him and reverse the results of “EDSA Dos” that forced him out of power?
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Which also brings back to mind what I wrote here when I first started this column about what writer Bob Ong warned about “extra-constitutional” movements.
The problem, Ong said in his 2005 book Stainless Longganisa, is that some of us are bent on jumping over rules that we ourselves made (meaning our Constitution).
He likened the Philippines’ situation to antibiotic resistance where overuse of antibiotics can render the bacteria resistant to it, causing great bodily harm.
In the same vein, Ong warned that if we keep on thinking that we should change government by “extra-constitutional” means, we might soon find ourselves unable to cure the basic problems of our society.
It would not be far-fetched that ultra-loyalists of the Marcos regime may stage their own “People Power” to force a return of the dictator’s family to Malacañang.
That motorcade held last week is, to me, a warning that if they once again lose, these loyalists may turn to the mass movement that put them from power in 1986.