*Dr. Rodolfo John Ortiz Teope, PhD, EdD, DM
Never say never in politics. Governments fall. Alliances collapse. Political loyalties disappear overnight. But if we remove emotion, propaganda, partisan loyalty, and wishful thinking from the present political situation, another EDSA-style People Power Revolution appears increasingly difficult to imagine.
Hindi dahil mahal na mahal ng mga Pilipino ang administrasyon. Hindi rin dahil ayaw na nila kay Vice President Sara Duterte.
Pagod na ang mga tao. Sawa na. Nadala na.
The Philippines has already experienced the extraordinary power of the streets. In 1986, EDSA changed the course of Philippine history. In 2001, another mass mobilization contributed to the removal of President Joseph Estrada.
But decades later, ordinary Filipinos are entitled to ask a painful question:
What happened after People Power?
Did corruption disappear? Did political dynasties disappear? Did poverty disappear? Did patronage politics disappear? Did our institutions finally become strong enough that Filipinos no longer needed another political savior?
Unfortunately, many of the problems Filipinos protested against simply returned wearing different names, different colors, and different political uniforms.
That is where People Power fatigue begins.
The Filipino people cannot forever be summoned to the streets whenever political factions can no longer resolve their conflicts within constitutional institutions. People have families to feed, tuition to pay, businesses to keep alive, medicines to buy, jobs to protect, and bills waiting at the end of every month.
Hindi maaaring habang buhay na lang na kapag nag-away ang mga nasa taas, ang ordinaryong Pilipino ang tatawagin para pumunta sa kalsada.
And this brings us to the political controversy surrounding Vice President Sara Duterte.
There are attempts to frame her legal and political difficulties as the possible spark of another People Power movement. Perhaps some of her supporters genuinely believe that possibility exists. Perhaps some political strategists believe public sympathy can eventually become mass mobilization.
But sympathy is not yet a revolution.
A rally is not yet a revolution.
A viral hashtag is not a revolution.
Millions of followers on social media are not a revolution.
And most importantly, 32 million votes are not automatically 32 million people willing to march into the streets.
The frequently invoked 32 million votes from the 2022 election therefore deserve examination rather than worship.
Those votes represented an electoral decision made in 2022. They were not a lifetime political contract.
How many remain solid today? How many have changed their minds? How many remain sympathetic but politically passive? And among those who continue to support Sara Duterte, how many would actually leave their homes, sacrifice their livelihood, travel to a protest center, remain there for days, and accept the risks associated with attempting to remove a sitting government?
This is where political analysis must distinguish between electoral strength and mobilization strength.
They are not the same.
A person can vote for Sara Duterte without becoming DDS. A person can sympathize with Sara Duterte without wanting President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. removed. A person can oppose actions against her while simultaneously opposing another People Power. And a person can dislike the Marcos administration while still believing that the next president should be chosen through an election rather than another political upheaval.
That middle ground is frequently forgotten because Philippine politics increasingly forces Filipinos into artificial camps.
Pro-Marcos or pro-Duterte.
Administration or opposition.
DDS or anti-DDS.
But democracy should allow disagreement without requiring Filipinos to become enemies.
There is another reality that advocates of another People Power must confront.
Successful political uprisings rarely depend upon crowds alone.
The Philippine experience itself demonstrates the importance of fractures within political institutions, particularly the security establishment. EDSA 1986 was not simply a story of civilians standing along an avenue. It involved an extraordinary convergence of mass mobilization, a crisis of political legitimacy, elite defections, religious participation, international pressures, and crucial developments within the military.
That combination cannot simply be recreated by announcing another People Power.
Which raises perhaps the most important question:
Would the Armed Forces of the Philippines abandon the constitutional chain of command and support an attempt to place Sara Duterte in power outside the regular constitutional process?
That is entirely different from asking whether individual soldiers, officers, retired generals, or police personnel personally support her.
Every institution contains individuals with political opinions.
But individual sympathy is not institutional defection.
Without a significant fracture within the security establishment, substantial elite realignment, sustained nationwide mobilization, and a profound collapse of governmental legitimacy, another successful People Power becomes enormously difficult.
That is why we should stop romanticizing revolution whenever politics becomes uncomfortable.
And we should stop making everything about Sara Duterte or Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
This is bigger than both of them.
This is about the Philippines.
Sara Duterte has rights that must be respected. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. exercises constitutional authority that must likewise remain within constitutional limits. Those accusing the Vice President must prove their allegations according to law. Those defending her have every right to challenge those accusations. Courts must decide legal questions. Constitutional institutions must perform their responsibilities.
But the Filipino people should never become collateral damage in an endless war between political families.
Habang nag-aaway ang mga nasa taas, sino ang naghihintay?
The farmer waiting for assistance.
The worker whose salary cannot keep pace with prices.
The parent wondering where tomorrow’s tuition will come from.
The small entrepreneur desperately trying to keep a business alive.
The commuter spending hours every day in traffic.
The young Filipino wondering whether there is still a future worth building in this country.
They are the forgotten constituency whenever politics becomes consumed by personalities.
And that is why the legitimate political battlefield should not be another EDSA.
It should be 2028.
If Filipinos want Sara Duterte, let them vote for Sara Duterte.
If they want another candidate, let them vote for that candidate.
If they want to reject both the Marcos and Duterte political camps, let another leader emerge.
That is democracy.
If a presidential election were held much sooner than 2028, Sara Duterte would remain a formidable political contender. She retains significant political support, and controversies surrounding her could generate additional sympathy among voters who perceive her as being politically persecuted.
But political sympathy should never be confused with guaranteed electoral victory.
There is no such thing as a 100 percent certain presidential winner years before an election.
Because 2028 is another political lifetime away.
Political careers can collapse. Unexpected candidates can rise. Allies can become enemies and enemies can become allies. Economic conditions can change. Coalitions can disintegrate. New controversies can emerge. Public sentiment can shift dramatically.
The objective assessment therefore is not that Sara Duterte will inevitably become president.
It is that she remains a formidable potential candidate, but 2028 will be another ballgame entirely.
And perhaps this is where we must finally learn from history.
People Power should remain part of our democratic heritage. It reminds every government that political power ultimately comes from the people.
But something extraordinary becomes dangerous when politicians begin treating it as an ordinary mechanism for changing governments.
We cannot keep replacing one political faction only to discover that another faction has inherited the same broken institutions.
We cannot continue replacing personalities while leaving political culture untouched.
We cannot endlessly celebrate political revolutions while ordinary Filipinos continue waiting for the economic and social transformation promised after every political victory.
But here lies the painful contradiction.
Filipinos may already be sick and tired of People Power, but many Filipinos are also sick and tired of government.
Pagod na sa pangako. Pagod na sa corruption. Pagod na sa political dynasties. Pagod na sa mga imbestigasyong napapanood nang ilang buwan pero pagkatapos ay parang walang nangyari. Pagod na sa pagpapalit ng mga pangalan sa Malacañang habang marami sa mga problema ng ordinaryong Pilipino ay nananatiling pareho.
And this creates perhaps the greatest contradiction confronting Philippine democracy:
If Filipinos no longer believe another People Power will solve the problem, but they also no longer trust the government that is supposed to solve the problem, where do we go from here?
How can government rescue the Filipino people when the people increasingly believe that government itself needs to be rescued from corruption?
How can institutions restore public trust when the institutions expected to protect public resources are themselves sometimes subjected to questions of credibility and accountability?
How can Filipinos continue believing promises of reform when every generation seems to hear the same promises from different politicians?
This is where frustration becomes dangerous.
People can become angry enough to demand change yet exhausted enough not to march.
They can distrust government while also distrusting revolution.
They want something new, yet elections repeatedly return familiar surnames, familiar alliances, familiar political machinery, and familiar problems.
Eventually, the Filipino begins to utter perhaps the most dangerous words democracy can hear:
“Pare-pareho lang naman sila.”
When people stop believing politicians, democracy becomes weaker.
When people stop believing institutions, democracy becomes fragile.
But when people stop believing that anything can change at all, something even more dangerous happens.
They stop caring.
And perhaps political indifference is ultimately more frightening than another People Power.
A revolution means people are still angry enough to fight for something.
But what happens when nobody wants to fight anymore because nobody believes anything will change?
And so, the final appeal of this article is not to Sara Duterte.
It is not to Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
It is not to the DDS, Marcos loyalists, administration supporters, or the opposition.
This is addressed to everyone who sits in government today.
Open your eyes.
Look at the Filipino people.
They are tired. They are frustrated. Many are losing trust.
But they are still waiting.
They are waiting for a government that works regardless of whom they voted for.
They are waiting for justice that does not first ask for political color.
They are waiting for public money to become classrooms, hospitals, roads, jobs, food security, peace and order, and opportunities instead of disappearing through corruption.
They are waiting for leaders who understand that public office is not a battlefield between political families but a responsibility entrusted by an entire nation.
Because perhaps the strongest antidote to another People Power is neither repression nor propaganda.
It is not political maneuvering.
It is not silencing critics.
It is not defeating Sara Duterte or Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
It is good governance.
Govern objectively.
Deliver honestly.
Fight corruption regardless of political affiliation.
Apply justice equally to allies and enemies.
Make institutions work for ordinary citizens.
Give Filipinos a government worthy of their trust.
Democracy will always have factions. Filipinos will always disagree politically. There will always be supporters of different candidates, parties, ideologies, and administrations. That is not the disease. In fact, disagreement is part of democracy.
The danger begins when loyalty to a politician becomes greater than loyalty to the country, when defending a political personality becomes more important than defending institutions, and when Filipinos begin treating fellow Filipinos as enemies merely because they voted differently.
Good governance will not eliminate political differences.
It can make those differences less important than our common citizenship.
Imagine a government so objective that a DDS does not fear receiving different treatment because of political affiliation.
A government so fair that a Marcos loyalist does not need political connections to receive justice.
A government so trustworthy that a critic can oppose the President without being considered an enemy of the state.
A government so accountable that even its own allies are investigated when evidence demands it.
A government where the Filipino no longer needs a political patron because institutions themselves work.
Then perhaps we would spend less time asking:
DDS ka ba?
Marcos loyalist ka ba?
Pro-Sara ka ba?
Pro-Marcos ka ba?
Because above all those political identities should stand two loyalties greater than any surname:
Pro-Filipino.
Pro-democracy.
And so, to everyone who sits in government today, look beyond the rallies, surveys, social media, political colors, and electoral numbers.
Look at the Filipino who wakes before sunrise to work.
Look at the parent counting the remaining money before payday.
Look at the farmer wondering whether another harvest will be enough.
Look at the young Filipino wondering whether success requires leaving the country.
Look at the ordinary citizen who no longer knows whom to believe.
They are not asking government to perform miracles.
They are asking government to work.
Do not merely tell Filipinos to trust government.
Give them a government worthy of their trust.
Do not simply tell Filipinos that democracy works.
Make democracy work for them.
Do not ask them to stop being angry.
Remove the reasons for their anger.
Do not ask Filipinos to abandon political factionalism while government itself practices patronage, favoritism, selective accountability, or partisan governance.
The Filipino people are waiting.
Not for another EDSA.
Not for another political war.
Not for another political savior.
They are waiting for government to finally prove that democracy can deliver.
And perhaps that is the greatest challenge confronting those who govern today.
The best way to prevent another People Power is not to prevent people from gathering in the streets.
It is not to silence anger.
It is not to suppress dissent.
It is not to frighten people into obedience.
It is to govern so objectively, honestly, and effectively that Filipinos no longer feel that taking to the streets is their only remaining hope.
Because when government works, democracy becomes stronger.
When justice is equal, political colors begin to fade.
When institutions can be trusted, the Filipino stops searching desperately for another political savior.
And when public service finally becomes about the Filipino rather than the politician, perhaps we will discover something this country has been searching for through elections, revolutions, presidents, and political families for generations:
A Philippines where we can disagree about our leaders without forgetting that we belong to one another.
No longer Filipino against Filipino for the sake of politicians.
No longer defined primarily by DDS, Marcos loyalist, pro-Sara, or pro-Marcos.
But citizens who can disagree politically while standing together on what should never divide us:
Pro-Filipino. Pro-democracy.
And to those who sit in government, remember this:
The Filipino people are still waiting.
Do not wait until they become too tired even to care.
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