Diary of a People Power 2 Survivor:
Still a Work-in-Progress
By Libay Linsangan Cantor

First published in Likhaan Online, April 2001

16jan01 Tuesday home 9+pm 

Malutong pa sa balat ng chicharon.  That was how crisp my girlfriend’s contempt was for what just transpired in the Senate.  I was doing my nightly round of email check when she blurted this out.  In the middle of an email to my college film friends’ email group, I got distracted when Senate President Aquilino Pimentel resigned.  I asked my girlfriend, a lawyer, to tell me about the implications of what was happening.  I understood the betrayal of the 11 senators who voted NO.  I didn’t understand the legal repercussions of that.  I asked her to explain.

“Baseless!  They couldn’t do that! That is evidence!  That is ridiculous!”

For hours, we were waiting for the impeachment trial court hearing of the day to end.  We tried to eat, but the suspense was killing our appetite.  Nevertheless, my Roasters box waited.  We tried to eat—in the middle of disgust—while Ninoy’s sister danced.  And I thought, why the fuck is she dancing?  Is there music inside the Impeachment Court, or is it just in her head?

It’s just in her head.
 

11+pm

Somebody sent me a text message earlier about holding an 11pm noise barrage. 

Show ur dsgust 2 d 11 NO senators.  Noiz barage 11pm! 

I received at least 5 different versions of that message.  I forwarded those messages to our best friends, B and A, inside the compound.  A called on us, urging us to go outside and start our own noise barrage.  Yikes!  The village is dead silent!  Where is that 11pm noise barrage, I thought.  Oh well, let’s go out nonetheless and make noise!  Erap is such a fucker! He should resign!

Bang klang wang bong bzhug!

There’s only 4 of us here outside doing this noise barrage thing. We urged our journalist neighbor, Joanne Maglipon from the old Manila Times, to join us.  She then joined us.  Some of her compound-mates, as well as ours, also joined.  For about half an hour, we stood in the middle of Mabait Street and discussed our disgust over what happened in the Senate.  Joanne said she cried when Loren cried.  Never mind if we were wearing our sleeping clothes: we discussed how we really hated those 11 NO senators.
 

17jan01 Wednesday 12mn

I know it’s time to sleep but we are restless.  My girlfriend and I were contemplating on doing something, but no one was voicing it out.  Our friend B knocked on our door, asking if we wanted to go to EDSA.  And we knew that that was the thing to do. We immediately said yes. We packed our bag with essentials and hopped on the car.  I drove all of us to Ortigas. 
 

Pasig City 1am

I was having a hard time finding parking along the streets of Ortigas Center.  I’ve never seen so many cars parked along city streets since Michael Jackson’s Manila concert. Really.  Finally, we were able to park along a street near my old Strata 100 office.  We walked all the way to Ortigas Avenue and headed to the chapel of Our Lady Of EDSA. 

“Hayup, a!  Lahat yata ng mga nagra-rally naka-kotse!”

Indeed, it was an upper class revolt.  Cellphone-toting people, the kind I only see roaming Glorietta and Malate, were sporting Erap Resign shirts and waving banners and flags, giving out stickers and other stuff. 

We decided to walk with the crowd.  For every 50 steps I took, somebody greeted me.  Friends, ex co-workers, acquaintances.  We were all there.  And we all had one reason.

Hate.

Oreta pokpok. Osmeña bading. 

Even in rallies, Filipinos are still politically incorrect. Sexist, homophobic. Haaay. What’s a lesbian feminist like me to do?  I just did the thumbs down sign and chanted anyway.  I aimed my manual camera at the scene all around me.  I spotted a few celebrities in the crowd.  Jericho Rosales.  Jean Garcia.  Rico Yan.  Claudine Barretto.  Boy Abunda.  I tried to take photos of them.  Magulo. Madilim.  My shutter wasn’t working well.  My flash was shocking people.  I hope the shots come out fine.  I also saw a newspaper vendor selling our paper -  some back issues of the special edition, and the Wednesday daily paper with a black and white cover. 

Black and white? What gives? 

The headline read: SHAMELESS!
 

Pinoy Times office 3+pm

I came in late at work.  I had to wait for the photos to develop.  My girlfriend was with me.  I just have to close my pages and then we’re off to EDSA again. Some of our friends were already there, and we were going to follow.

Our ed in chief borrowed some of my photos and used it in the centerspread along with the shots of our photographers.  Miss Eggie decided to run the whole paper in black and white, so my usually colored pages were finished earlier because of that.  After putting my section’s pages to bed, I started writing that article my ed in chief requested me to make - an atmosphere article about this morning’s EDSA scenario.  After 30 minutes, I finished it. 

The people at the office are extra frantic.  I wonder why.  I asked our encoder to have some of my entertainment writers’ work encoded for advance material.  He politely refused, saying he had to finish something he was typing.  It seemed like a chart with numbers and names.  I said okay and encoded my material myself.  No big deal.  After doing advance work for my section, I signed out.  And with my girlfriend, we hopped on the car and sped to EDSA again. 
 

Pasig City 7+pm

Traffic was hell!  We were having a hard time finding parking.  We were both getting hotheaded.  My girlfriend was getting pissed at me for driving like a taxi driver.  She stepped out and let me find a parking spot on my own.  After parking, I tried to search for her.  It was hard to get a signal on my cellphone.  I tried to penetrate the thick crowd, getting rather suffocated and a bit claustrophobic.  Majority of the people was wearing black, the official color of this uprising.  After searching for her in vain, I parked myself in front of Robinson’s Galleria near Mercury Drug.  I texted and texted my girlfriend, sending her the details of my location, hoping that one of the messages would reach her, and that she wouldn’t be so mad at me anymore and go to me as soon as she reads my message. 

After a few minutes, there she was.  I apologized to her, and she did the same to me.  We talked, and we went back to the rally.  Erap hate lyrics to the tune of “Wooly Booly” played almost every 7 minutes, in between speakers.  And there were many speakers that night, and there were even more people than the last time I was there.  I heard a few comedians, a few singers on the sound system, speaking to the crowd, and singing. Kuh was there. Blech.   I remember her taray episode with me weeks ago, making me give my word three fucking times that I’ll never write about an artista meeting of theirs.  Whatever.  My girlfriend and I suddenly felt tired.  We went inside the Galleria mall and ate dinner.  Then we headed home. 
 

18jan01 Thursday QC 10+am

On a cab. On my way to SM City.  I was going to watch a film for my weekly movie review for a webzine when my girlfriend sent me text messages about Nora Aunor joining the side of the anti-Erap people.  I asked the cab driver to tune in to the radio station where Ate Guy was speaking.  My ed in chief calls me and tells me Ate Guy is in the Bayan office.  I called up Bayan and asked for directions to go there. I asked the cab to take me there. And he did.
 

Bayan Office  11+am

Good thing I always bring my tape recorder with me.  I mingle with the crowd of journalists and broadcasters flocking Ate Guy, the Gabriela head, the Erap Resign Movement representative, and other NGO folks.  Migrante’s information officer, a fellow UP CMC alumnus, was whispering to me, airing his disgust over ethics-less reporters.  I patted his tensed back, and asked for a one on one with the Superstar. 

“Okay, after the tv media leaves.  My heart goes out to print, so you’ll have your time.”

While I was waiting, I meet one of our beat reporters.  We talked, exchanged numbers and stories, and parted ways.   She was off to EDSA while I waited for the Superstar.  The info officer was hoping that Bernadette Sembrano would leave.  She was just roaming around the office, looking at people without actually talking to them.  Apparently, she shared my objective.  I never noticed before that she had an arrogant air about her.  Must be from having NoyNoy as a boyfriend.  Well.
 

1pm

Finally, I get to sit with the Nora Aunor.  She then proceeded to tell me about how Erap mistreated her during the campaign periods.  It was awful.  He was awful.
 

Pinoy times office 3+pm

I finished putting my pages to bed.  I relaxed a bit, had some coffee, and scanned the paper for today.  The headline read: THE ENVELOPE, PLEASE.  And on the second page, the contents of the second sealed bank envelope were printed. 

Jose Velarde, Jaime Dichaves, Kelvin Garcia, Equitable Bank, 5M, 3M, 2M… 

Wow, manna from journalism heaven!  So that explains yesterday’s chart-encoding.

The centerspread was so awesome!  Article by moi, of course, but some of my photos were edited out.  That’s alright.  I’m glad they didn’t change the title I put in that article – City After Dark. 

I then started writing a story about Ate Guy’s “defection.”  My ed in chief wanted to put my Nora interview in the special edition for that week.  Our managing ed and opinion ed debated with her about my material’s “freshness.”  I just let them debate while I finished the general story on Ate Guy. My ed in chief won the debate, apparently, and so I put off transcribing my tape for tomorrow.  I wanted to go home. It was a tiring day.  I just wanted to eat with my girlfriend and rest. 
 

Home 8+pm

We were thinking of going to EDSA because I wanted to see the Ouster Band perform live.  Someone said they’d be playing there tonight.  I wanted to hear “Huling-Huli” to the tune of “Wooly Booly” played live.  But emotional fatigue got the best of me.  I was also waiting for a writer to certify if we were going to interview Jude Estrada in an hour. No word from him, so I guess that’s canceled.  My girlfriend and I just decided to sleep early, for a change.
 

19jan01 Friday Sweet Inspirations Katipunan 10am

My girlfriend and I just finished our bank errands and we decided to eat breakfast here.  We bought a copy of today’s paper from a street vendor.  Of course, like almost all of the broadsheets and tabloids out there, Nora Aunor was on the cover.  The cover story caught our attention. 

NORA AUNOR ANTI-ERAP NA RIN ni Libay Linsangan Cantor. 

Wow. Cover story.  First time.  No extra pay.  But hey, never mind.  My story was in the front page.   I hope my mom and pop already bought this copy.
 

The Barn Katipunan 12nn

We just had coffee here after a few more bank errands. Breakfast automatically turned to brunch in our stomachs.  We planned our afternoon’s trip to EDSA.  Then, I dropped her at her office.  I headed to mine, bringing the car with me.
 

Pinoy times office  3+pm

People are extra frantic today.  We are putting the special edition of the week to bed.  But there are so many things already happening in EDSA that we didn’t know what story to run, what story to headlight, and what artwork to feature.  Well, that’s their problem.  I just had one story – the Nora Aunor interview. 

After doing that, a writer texts me about pro-Erap people rallying in front of Cavite Governor Bong Revilla, Jr.’s house.  I decided to write about his defection days ago, calling on his Ninong Erap to step down, and asking pardon for his Senator daddy because Revilla Sr. voted NO.  My ed in chief puts that in, too.

Ma’am Eggie arrives at the office.  We shower her with applause.  She smiles her usual sweet lady smile, then proceeds to make chismis with the staff, like what she usually does.
 

6+pm

Putang-ina!  Kating-kati na ‘kong pumunta sa EDSA! 

Everybody I knew was already there.  I was especially worried because my girlfriend, who hitched with officemates, texted me, saying that she got separated from her officemates.  And she was wearing heels!  But our publisher asked me to do an hourly update of what was happening to be posted on our paper’s website.  So I was the web editor for some hours.  Upload, upload. Defection this, defection that.  Coronel, general, lieutenant, defense secretary, PNP chief.  Estelito Mendoza fled the country.  Jaime Dichaves, too.  Everybody was in EDSA now, except for Erap. 

One of my writers texted me.  Erap’s stepping down in a while, she said.  I asked who her source was.  Showbiz sources were texting her, and they were getting confirmations from a certain presidential son.  Erap appears on tv, saying it’s okay to open the second envelope.  DUH! Didn’t he read yesterday’s paper?  After some time, he appears again, calling for a snap election in May.  Like, DUH talaga! 

“He doesn’t get it,” our publisher says. 

Apparently!

Putang-ina! Bumaba ka na para makapunta na ‘ko sa EDSA!
 

Roads 10+pm

We finally put the paper to bed.  The women rode with me and the men—er, man lang pala-- rode with Sir Pete.  Convoy to EDSA.  Megaheavy traffic due to rerouting and undisciplined bus drivers. 

20jan01 Saturday Pasig City  12mn

We finally reached EDSA. I walked with the staff while I frantically tried to reach my girlfriend thru cellphone.  The staff headed to the EDSA Media Secretariat and I headed to the same place where my girl found me last time.  She said she’ll be there, waiting for me.

As I reached the steps fronting Mercury Drug in Galleria, I saw her sitting there.  We exchanged stories and sighs of relief upon seeing each other.  Cool fireworks were lighting the night sky.  Some people were throwing up a pizza box to their companions on the deck.  We were both hungry, so we looked for an open eating establishment. 
 

Chatterbox Pizza  1am

Late dinner was okay.  We were more excited with swapping stories.  After resting and smoking and visiting the john, we headed back to where the crowds were.  We saw my girl’s officemate, the one whom we suspected has the hots for her.  Well. 
 

Streets  3am

We went around the streets.  We found one CD copy of the Grey Album in one of the stalls selling souvenirs.  No cool shirts.  We sat on the sidewalk as we puffed some sticks, thinking if we are staying for the 6am march to Mendiola or if we are going home and come back here way later.  Cory Quirino was on stage, enticing the crowd to do some stretching exercises.  At 3am?  Lola, okay ka lang? 

Again, fatigue caught up with us.  We decided to drive home.
 

Home 11+am

I get awakened by Maki Pulido’s report on tv.  Apparently, we dozed off, leaving the tv on.   Our friends in the compound gave us some leftover pancit in a bilao for lunch.  They said they’re not going to EDSA anymore. 

We all watched tv.  GMA was inaugurated.  Everyone was happy.  I’m still a bit tired.  My girl wakes up.  We watched footage of the Mendiola rallyists and the EDSA jubilants and the Malacañang imbecile as we finished the pancit in the bilao.  Later, the imbecile waves a final wave and says goodbye.  We shouted at the top of our lungs.

ERAP RESIGNED!

Haaay.  What a week.  I wonder what our headline would be on Monday. 

----------------
Libay was the entertainment editor of the political tabloid Pinoy Times owned by Ms. Eggie Apostol.  A 2-time Palanca awardee, she is currently pursuing a masters degree in Creative Writing in UP.  During her spare time, she also serves as a contributing editor of the Pinoycentric cultural-literary webzine Natives’ Wish and is a contributing writer of Pulp Magazine.  She is one of the founders of UP Sappho Society, the first university-based lesbian organization in the country.  Last year, her Filipino poetry got anthologized in the book called Taxi Signs published by Finkomarts.

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