If you have ever read those compilations of letters written by children to famous and powerful people, you know that kids can say the darndest things.
They can be insightful, bold, annoying, confused but also quite funny.
Here are some verbatim quotations from entries in an English/Filipino on-the-spot writing contest on the topic 鈥淪hould we celebrate Edsa 1?鈥 or 鈥淲hy do we celebrate Edsa 1?鈥
The contest was part of the 29th Teodoro F. Valencia-DepEd Search for NCR鈥檚 10 Outstanding Campus Journalists and School Publications.
鈥擫inda B. Bolido
Elementary students
鈥淓x-President Benigno 鈥楴inoy鈥 Aquino was seated in the presidential chair. One day he traveled using a helicopter and when they landed, in Ninoy鈥檚 few steps, a bang of a gun was heard. Ninoy died 鈥 Since Ferdinand Marcos was his vice, Marcos wanted to be president.鈥
(Fact: Ninoy Aquino was never President. He was a senator. He was killed as he was getting off an airplane when he returned from the United States. Marcos was President when Aquino was killed.)
(Fact: Government officials have been implicated in cases of malversation of funds since Edsa I, the latest of which involves senators, congressmen and other public officials allegedly in cahoots with Janet Lim-Napoles.)
鈥淪enator Aquino was [coming] back to the Philippines to do something he should have done earlier but unfortunately, he was assassinated by some people that did it purposely or ordered by someone 鈥 Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law and they were planning to destroy the military camps that were already built when we were being attacked by other countries and that鈥檚 when people got pissed off.鈥
(Fact: Marcos was not planning to destroy military camps, as he relied on the military to prop up his one-man rule.)
鈥淢any innocent people, especially journalists, were put in jail and some were killed.鈥
(Fact: Journalists and other antigovernment people were killed, jailed or were made to disappear during martial law, not during Edsa I.)
鈥淓dsa revolution started when Benigno 鈥楴inoy鈥 Aquino Jr. was assassinated 鈥 After the goose-bumping happening, Marcos was beaten and Cory Aquino, as the new President, led the Filipinos.鈥
(Fact: Protests against martial law were brought into the open after the Aquino assassination. But the revolution itself started after the snap election when Marcos was declared winner.)
鈥溾 It was led by the wife of Senator Benigno 鈥楴inoy鈥 Aquino who was then gunshot by the military member of former President Marcos.鈥
(Fact: The Aquino assassination happened in 1983, two and a half years before the Edsa People Power Revolution.)
鈥溾 A snap election is made. Corazon Aquino鈥 is declared as the President of the Philippines and Marcos as the President of Malaca帽ang. Corazon Aquino is the first President girl of the Philippines.鈥
(Fact: Marcos was declared winner of the snap elections, which led to the revolt because most people believed Corazon Aquino was elected President.)
鈥淸Edsa I] was about fighting against the government during the occupation of Marcos 鈥 [Without] Edsa, are we safe in the hands of a cruel President?鈥
鈥淚isa lamang ang naghahatid ng balita sa mamamayan, puro pabor pa kay Marcos. Itinatago nila ang mga maling ginagawa nila.鈥
鈥淜ung wala ang People Power Revolution, hindi tayo makaka-computer, hindi makaka-Facebook at hindi makaka-Twitter.鈥
鈥淧inakita ng Edsa na maaari na nating husgahan ang hindi karapat-dapat sa puwesto.鈥
鈥淓dsa shows the Philippine spirit, teamwork, industry and mostly the fear of God.鈥
鈥淣oong panahon ng People Power鈥 maraming tao ang nasaktan at nasawi.鈥
鈥淒apat maalala [dahil] napatalsik ang opisyales na di naman karapat-dapat na gaya ni Marcos.鈥
鈥淯pang maging malaya ang mga Pilipino sa pamumuno ni dating Pangulong Marcos at mapatigil ang聽 martial law na kung saan ipinagbawal ang鈥 pag-uwi ng huli sa gabi.鈥
鈥淧apaano kung inaabuso na tayo鈥utunganga na lamang ba tayo at aasa na lamang na parang aliping sunod-sunuran?鈥
鈥淭ila nabunutan ng tinik sa lalamunan ang mga Pilipino sapagkat nakamit ang kalayaan.鈥
鈥淭inatag ang People Power Revolution para sa mga Pilipino na nagluluksa sa pagkamatay ni [Cory] 鈥 [Ito ay] bilang pag-alaala sa yumaong Presidente.鈥
(Fact: The revolution was staged to put Cory, who was widely acknowledged as the duly elected President, in power. She died in 2009, 23 years after Edsa 1.)
鈥淯pang patalsikin si鈥 Marcos dahil sa ginawang pandaraya kay Ninoy Aquino.鈥
(Fact: It was Ninoy鈥檚 wife, Cory, who was cheated in the snap presidential election.)
鈥淎ng kapangyarihan ng pamahalaan noon nasa iisang tao lamang鈥 ngayon ang kapangyarihan ng pamahalaan nasa taong bayan na.鈥
鈥淸Ang Edsa] ay ang tanda na kung saan ang mga buwaya ay nakahiga sa malagintong upuan at nagpapakasarap na nakahiga sa pera samantalang ang mga Pilipino nagpapakahirap at dugo鈥檛 pawis inaalay sa ating bansa鈥︹
High school students
鈥淲e revolutionized a way of getting peace 鈥 It was to practice peace itself.鈥
鈥淭he celebration of Edsa can help officials reminisce the time when鈥β democracy overpowered a ruler. The celebration can encourage lawmakers to exercise well-executed justice in cases like the pork barrel scam.鈥
鈥淥ther countries took notice [of the country], even the United Nations, which ignored the Philippines being a totalitarian regime鈥︹
鈥淢arcos made every person an idiot and ignorant on issues.鈥
鈥淪ayang ang isang araw na pag-aaral ng mga bata at produktibong araw sa opisina 鈥 Ito ba talaga鈥檡 para sa lahat o nagbubulagbulagan lang tayo sa pagmamanipula ng angkan [ng Aquino] sa atin?鈥
鈥淲ala rin namang pagbabagong nangyayari, abala lamang para sa iba鈥 Wala nang pakialam ang mga tao at inuunang tugunan ang mga pangangailangan.鈥
鈥淣atural lamang na gunitain ng bansa sa pamumuno ni P-Noy ang kabayanihan ng kanyang ama at ina鈥 pagpapakita ng respeto sa kanila at pagmamahal bilang anak sa tinuturing na magulang ng mga Pilipino nang panahon ni Marcos.鈥
鈥淜ung sino pa ang may ginagawang kadakilaan para sa bayan, siya pa ang napapahamak 鈥 Nais nilang (Edsa protesters) ipaghiganti ang mga Pilipinong namatay para sa bayan.鈥
ILLUSTRATIONS BY STEPH BRAVO