[Rappler’s Best] Impeach? Resign all?

We lost a formidable pillar in human rights and critical thought on January 30, when lawyer-activist-lawmaker Edcel Lagman passed away at the age of 82. The principled, reliable congressman did not only fight for difficult causes with courage, but did so with mental rigor and incredible energy that would put to shame the rah-rah activists in our midst.

I knew him only from a distance, through occasional chats and interviews on the streets and in covered halls. But the Lagman family — a bloodline of grit and commitment — helped shape my years as a young reporter. I had spent many hours with the congressman’s late mother, the feisty Cecilia, and his assassinated younger brother, Filemon “Popoy” Lagman. Another brother, militant labor lawyer Hermon, was one of the Marcos dictatorship’s desaparecidos, which pushed Mrs. Lagman to organize and lead FIND (Families of Victims of Involuntary Disappearance), the first group of families of the disappeared. 

The rebel commander Popoy, probably the most colorful character that the Philippines’ revolutionary Left has ever produced, was fierce, frank, and unforgiving. His stinging written critique of the mainstream communist leadership then led by the late Jose Maria Sison opened a Pandora’s box that caused a split in the communist underground in the 1990s from which the rebels had never truly recovered. 

I got reminded of Popoy while watching on video the two protest rallies mounted at the EDSA Shrine and the People Power Monument on Friday, January 31.

• The protest held at the EDSA Shrine, led by evangelicals, called for an end to corruption — whether involving the Dutertes or the present Marcos government. Filipinos must stand up to brazen acts of abuse, they said. One placard read, “Resign All.” Watch Rappler’s Paterno Esmaquel II’s interview with the organizers and participants here.
• Those who joined the other rally at the nearby People Power Monument had a singular message (at least as far as the organizers were concerned): impeach Vice President Sara Duterte. The implicit message was that, conflating the Duterte issue with Marcos weakens the impeachment momentum. Watch them here.

This is no different from the difficult conversations and screaming matches among the various groups opposed to then-president Joseph Estrada before, during, and after the impeachment proceedings against him from late 2000 to early 2001. 

“Resign all,” the brash Popoy had insisted — which meant the call included then-vice president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who stood to benefit from an Estrada ouster. “Erap resign,” was what other groups and those who had made their bet on Arroyo, preferred. Popoy, of course, would be sidelined after Arroyo took power via a coalition of military rebels, the moderate Left, and the mainstream communists who so loathed him. He was gunned down a month after Estrada’s ouster.

Indeed, some things, and some slogans, never change — even as the world is on the road to perdition.

It’s just been two weeks since Donald Trump took his oath as the 47th president of the United States, but he’s been a wrecking ball. (We keep track of his first 100 days here.)

• Trump has ordered a freeze on US aid, triggering alarm bells from Thailand to Ukraine. And he plans to emasculate USAID and put it under the control of the State Department. 
• Risking a trade war, Trump has imposed tariffs on Mexico, Canada, and China. Canada and Mexico shot back. China vowed to take “unspecified measures” as a response.
• He’s targeting federal prosecutors, scrapping “gender ideology,” and offering early retirement options to government workers — some of whom have been locked out of computer systems by Trump adviser Elon Musk.

Here are some of Rappler’s bests that you shouldn’t miss:

• What do we know about the supposed spying activities of Chinese nationals in the Philippines? Read more about it here.
• Sex abuse in the Catholic Church persists, based on a US database. A Filipino bishop makes a heartfelt apology.
• The POGO problem did not start, and will not end, with Alice Guo. Watch this documentary.
• The Marcos government failed to meet its economic growth target. Rappler’s resident economist JC Punongbayan explains why.

To a week as smooth-sailing as you wish it to be.

– Rappler.com

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The views expressed by the writer are his/her own and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of Rappler.