Filipinos celebrate revolution

Press, 26 February 1987, Page 6

Filipinos celebrate revolution

By

PHILLIP MELCHIOR

NZPA-Reuter Manila Church bells pealed at sunrise across the Philippines yesterday to signal the start of a national party celebrating the first anniversary of the "people power" revolution that brought President Corazon Aquino to power.

In Manila, thousands of people headed for the street corners and army camps that were the focal points of last year’s civilian-backed military revolt that ended Ferdinand Marcos’s 20 years of rule.

There was no sign of tension In the capital yesterday and little evidence of a military alert against threats by communist rebels to disrupt the celebrations.

Philippine television showed live coverage of the early festivities, intercut with footage from a

year ago, when a million people formed a human barricade around a group of soldiers at Camp Aguinaldo who had rebelled against Mr Marcos. The four-day revolution ended with the exile of Mr Marcos in Hawaii and the installation of Mrs Aquino in his place. The day has been declared a national holiday and Filipinos were out early to begin a day of celebration and selfcongratulation that will end with a street disco. Mrs Aquino started the day to a solemn drum-roll at Camp Aguinaldo as she reviewed troops at a flagraising ceremony.

In a reference to the three coup attempts against her by Army and Air Force troops loyal to Mr Marcos, she told the soldiers: “So long as you are responsible to the will of the people, the people

will rally to you as they did last year. “Our people turned out to defend your lives. It is your part now to defend their freedom.”

Mrs Aquino chatted with troops at the camp and moved among a

crowd of several thousand civilians there chanting “Cory, Cory”. She was presented with a bouquet of flowers — yellow, the colour that has come to symbolise the revolution , — by the leader of an Army skydiving team.

Hawkers began their day early and did a brisk trade selling anything yellow, as trucks overflowing with yellow balloons made their way through the streets surrounding the national military headquarters. Many private cars tied yellow ribbons to their radio aerials and flew the Philippines flag from windows.

The Army said it had placed 3,000 troops on alert and would guard television and radio stations. Military sources said the precautions were taken as much against the

possibility of another coup attempt as rebel attack. But apart from.sporadic helicopter reconnaissance flights over the sprawling capital, the security was low profile. ■- > ?*• Members of the public gained ready access to the military camps and there was no unusual security at the presidential * Malacanang Palace. « But Mrs Aquino’s'problems with the military do not appear to be over.

On a street comer in the heart of the -site of last year’s revolt, a trooper yesterday watched children ■ playing on a troop carrier like those driven back by the human barrier of a year ago.

Asked if he would be joining the party, the soldier said: “It’s a day of shame, it’s not a celebration for me.”

Carrying his Ml 6 rifle, he walked away.