“The Philippines is not a playground for political experiments”
IN MOMENTS of national anxiety, when tempers flare up and rumors multiply faster than facts, it is tempting for some to romanticize the idea of upheaval.
Talk of “people power again,” “RevGov,” “snap elections,” or even a coup d’état resurfaces like an old ghost—summoned each time frustrations peak or political ambitions collide.
But history teaches us a sobering lesson: be careful what you wish for.
The late President Fidel V. Ramos—soldier, statesman, peacemaker, and the quiet anchor of our post-EDSA stability—often reminded us that we cannot afford another 1986 or 2001 EDSA upheavals.
FVR, who lived through the chaos of coups and rebellions, would repeat with his trademark candor that the next EDSA would be bloody. And in one of his famously blunt metaphors, he warned that if we keep agitating for upheaval, “the plate of sh*t we keep fanning will splatter back on our faces.”
It was not profanity. It was prophecy—delivered by a man who understood the true cost of instability. And in some of his speeches and columns, Filipinos were just as lucky to have two regime changes without bloodshed.
Today, that warning rings louder than ever.
There is increasing chatter in some quarters about changing the political order midstream.
But let us speak plainly: President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. was elected in 2022 with a clear mandate, and our democracy demands that he be allowed to serve that mandate until 2028.
Interrupting the Constitutional cycle—whether through extra-legal shortcuts or manufactured crises—will only plunge the nation into deeper uncertainty.
And those peddling the idea that a sudden transition to Vice President Sara Duterte will somehow “fix everything” must also confront harsh realities.
She, too, is weighed down by allegations: questionable confidential funds, leadership concerns, political contradictions within her own coalition, and lingering shadows of her father’s controversies.
Swapping one leader for another midstream does not guarantee stability. It may even worsen political fractures.
RevGov? Snap elections? A coup d’état? These are not solutions—they are accelerants.
They burn institutions, weaken investor confidence, and place ordinary Filipinos at the mercy of power struggles they never asked for.
Nations do not prosper through shortcuts; they build strength through continuity, accountability, and reforms that endure.
To be fair, there are signs that governance mechanisms are working.
The government’s anti-corruption drive has begun to show teeth, particularly in the recent filing of charges and the imminent arrest of several personalities involved in ghost flood-control projects across different provinces.
For once, the public is seeing concrete action: investigations, warrants, and jail time instead of empty declarations.
This momentum must continue—and it can only continue if we keep our democratic institutions stable and functioning.
Instead of tearing everything down each time frustrations emerge, let us demand better governance the right way—through transparency, prosecution of wrongdoing, stronger oversight, and civic vigilance.
The Philippines is not a playground for political experiments.
We have lived through coups, dictatorships, people power uprisings, and transitional chaos.
FVR’s generation paid the price so ours could live in a more stable era. It would be a tragedy—and an insult to their sacrifices—if we threw it all away because we failed to distinguish between real reform and reckless disruption.
So yes, be careful what you wish for.
Not every call for change leads to progress.
Sometimes, it leads straight back into the darkness we once fought so hard to escape.
Stability is not stagnation. It is the foundation on which meaningful reform becomes possible.
(The writer, president/chief executive officer of Media Touchstone Ventures, Inc. and president/executive director of the Million Trees Foundation Inc., a non-government outfit advocating tree-planting and environmental protection, is the official biographer of President Fidel V. Ramos.)
