1986: A Revolt Remembered

“It was a bright, cold day in April and the clocks were striking 13.”

- ​​​​​​​Joel Pablo Salud

What was true in George Orwell’s 1984 was also true in 1986, with one particular exception: it was mid-February and the tail end of the amihan had earlier taken refuge among the boughs and fronds of nearby trees as the winds bid the Christmas chill farewell.

I was 22 going 23 that year, totally restless, altogether flustered by the way things were going in my life as an out-of-school youth. I opted to take the freelance writer ’s road if only to have a feel of what it was like to live the dream.

Something larger than this infinitesimal existence was, however, going on in the background: rumors of hundreds of thousands of people flocking to Camp Aguinaldo within minutes at the behest of the Archbishop.

If I remember correctly, it was the day Jaime Cardinal Sin, Archbishop of Manila, made a call over the radio: to protect rogue military officers who bolted from the Marcos regime and holed themselves up in the military camp, awaiting retaliation from the dictator’s loyal armies.

The camp, located along Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA), was a good 24.8-kilometer distance from where I lived south of the metro. After having heard the call, I lost no time packing a duffel bag with extra shirts, socks, a couple of sandwiches, a canister of concentrated Sunny grape juice, some water and packs of salted peanuts and a couple of books for the trip ahead.

Curious as any cat lost in unfamiliar territory, I did what any pain-in-the-neck young man was expected to do: make my way to the door.