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In the absence of radical changes, what effectively took place in 1986 was "a change of faces" in the same system, political analyst Clarita Carlos said. "Across the board the same problems persisted -- poverty, the sad state of education, political patronage," Carlos said. "It's disheartening to think that our sacrifices then did not bear much fruit," said Vilma Masinda, one of many nuns who joined the anti-Marcos crowd in 1986. "Change is very slow but we have to be patient." Like a genie released from its bottle, the newfound concept of "people power" emerged as a political weapon for social grievances. Fifteen years after ousting Marcos, massive numbers of Filipinos returned to the street to topple once-popular leader Joseph Estrada over alleged corruption. His vice president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo took over and later was linked to corruption scandals. After Arroyo's congressional allies shot down opposition attempts to impeach her, there were calls for another revolt, but amid public exasperation, huge crowds failed to turn up. Loyal generals quashed at least four failed power grabs against Arroyo during her tumultuous nine years in power. Corazon Aquino's death of cancer in 2009 sparked a mass outpouring of sympathy that turned into a groundswell of support for her son, Benigno, who hesitantly accepted an opposition draft and won last May's presidential election by a landslide on a promise to eradicate corruption and poverty. The lessons for the new president and Arab masses clamoring for reform is making sure that revolts bring real change. "The gains of popular uprisings can eventually dissipate if people feel the new order means nothing to them," said Budget Secretary Florencio Abad, who is also a close presidential adviser. Ramos and other security officials who broke off from Marcos grimaced at news of soldiers firing at crowds calling for ouster of beleaguered dictators in the Middle East. Security forces should be on the right side of history, said Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim, a former police commander. Lim defied an order by Marcos generals to disperse crowds preventing loyal troops from shelling military headquarters where Ramos and other defectors holed up in 1986. "Stay neutral or support the people, you cannot go against their voice," Lim said.
[Associated
Press;
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