Noynoy Saved The Nation In 1987

From Hilarion Henares Jr’s column Make My Day on the Philippine Daily Inquirer

What was Noynoy Aquino doing outside at 1:30AM, when everyone else was asleep last Friday? A date with a girlfriend, a party, a night club caper?

No matter. He saved the nation, this Noynoy.

Up to the time he was accosted by rebel soldier in front of the St Jude Church, everything seemed normal, and the surprise attack was going on smoothly.

When he identified himself, the rebels opened fire, and that woke up Cory and tipped off the Presidential Security Forces.

Without him, the rebel forces would have surprised the Palace Guards and might have captured Malacanang and Cory at her residence.

Cory is right, this was a Ngo Dinh Diem (or Salvador Allende) operation that was meant to kill her and her family. Otherwise the rebels would have never fired on Noynoy…but they did and luckily showed their hand.

Without the surprise factor, the Palace guards readily dispersed the rebel attackers and forced them to go to Camp Aguinaldo.

The tide eventually turned. But can you just imagine what could have happened if one rebel with a hand grenade penetrated the President’s bedroom? Or captured the Aquino family and forced Cory with a gun at Kris’s head to announce their takeover of the nation?

***

Where was Juan Ponce Enrile all this time? No word from him, no support for the duly constituted authorities? No alibi for not attending the senate session?

Col. Gringo Honasan said the last time he saw Enrile was after he was proclaimed senator. Soon after, the senator was arguing against the constitutionality of maintaining checkpoints. Why?

What does Enrile’s objection to military checkpoints have to do with the busloads of rebel soldiers coming from Fort Magsaysay to the gates of Malacanang? To allow them to approach with the minimum of trouble and maximum secrecy?

After midnight I cannot drive from Makati Avenue to Dasma Village without being stopped by at least two checkpoints.

How come several truckloads of fully armed rebels were able to move through several provinces without being challenged by any checkpoint?

Was there collusion between the military police and Honasan’s forces? As there was between Honasan and the gate-keepers of Camp Aguinaldo?

***

Some radio amateurs, including young Bobby Viola, were listening in on military frequencies. As early as 11PM they were startled to hear unusual activity going on … Pare, saan ba kami pinapupunta? … Anong gagawin natin dito? … Maghanda na kayo d’yan, malapit na! …

Don’t tell me the Americans at Clark were not also listening as they usually do? Boy what cow dung they feed us for not knowing anything!

Most mysterious of all, how come loyal army signal corps men were not listening as they should? Or were they listening and chose to keep quiet?

***

Why did the rebels indiscriminately fire at civilians in Malacanang?

Said an ex-Secretary, “Remember when one of the RAMboy colonels said, ‘People Power? One blast from a grenade launcher will deflate the people power!’…Come on, maybe in February 1986 you would face up to armed soldiers, but would you honestly risk your life now for the likes of Komong Sumulong and Peping Cojuangco?’”

Perhaps for Cory and Tingting, but certainly not for Komong and Peping!

It might have been a direct order… Disperse all civilians you find on the streets, shoot if you need to… and that’s what the rebel officer probably meant when he threatened to have everyone shot on sight who interferes with their mission.

Was shooting civilians part of the rebel plot – the same policy of schrecklichkeit (frightfulness) Hitler applied on the massacred inhabitants of Lidice to break the spirits of his enemies??

***

Why were there no official government bulletins from 5am to mid-afternoon?

Why were the people kept in the dark during all the time Col. Gringo Honasan was giving us all that cow dung about having six battalions rushing down to Manila… about Red Kapunan leading a contingent of PMA cadets like the American cavalry rushing to relieve the beleaguered cowboys… about the rebel take-over of the Villamor airbase and control over helicopter gunships and fighter planes? … and about the capture of Camp Aguinaldo?

Why was the Western Police District policemen, trained to catch criminals, not to fight an army – used to assault Channel Four? Isn’t it a bit embarrassing for the army to depend on the police to protect it from its enemies?

Why did Cory take a long time to appear before television? Was Noynoy’s being shot kept from her? Was she so distraught about Noynoy’s wounds, as a mother should, that she lost her bearings for some time?

Who was taking charge of crisis management in those crucial hours when the public perception was that Gringo Honasan had won the war?

***

Nobody ever talks about the crippling jeepney strike that preceded the attempted coup d’etat. It was as if it were orchestrated by a small well-organized group. Who were they?

The nation-wide jeepney strike sprouted in all major cities – Manila, Cebu, Iloilo, Bacolod, Davao, Iligan – the first that succeeded in paralyzing the entire nation. Provincial buses were prevented by the strikers from entering Manila.

It was as if the strike was part of a diversionary tactic that riveted the attention of the nation on the leftist menace, and lowered their guard against any rightist threat.

Leftists, with their attention on the strike, were caught off guard, and stunned by the revolt.

The rebellion could not have succeeded as far as it did if not for the strike.

Was Honasan’s revolt timed to take advantage of the jeepney strike?

Lastly, what was IS Embassy assistant defense attaché Dennis Fowler doing in Villamor airbase among the rebels throughout all the time the drama of the attempted coup unfolded?

So many questions left unanswered!

Source : noynoy.ph