Pro-Marcos forces were sent in to take back control of the crucial TV broadcast station of Channel 4 .
Meanwhile, pro-Laban radio broadcasting was urging for people to come and surround the station to deter the soldiers. More "People Power" was needed.
We went and I found myself ducking from the hail of bullets coming
from helicopters above.
The picture above was taken on the streets surrounding Channel 4.
Why was Channel 4 such a crucial station for Marcos?
Before the station had been captured by anti-Marcos forces just days before, pro-Marcos propaganda had been broadcasted from this station all during the campaign for the elections, during the elections and after the elections.
After the independent counters had proclaimed, from the votes, that Corazon Aquino had won the elections, all other TV broadcasting had been immediately cut-off and only the government controlled Channel 4 was broadcasting. The news on this channel declared that Marcos had again won the elections by a landslide and showed the Marcos family celebrating and preparing for his Presidential Inauguration the very next day.
Aquino had won the elections, but Marcos could not step aside to a new president.
So Marcos was again using his power to shove lies and deceit down our throats and was forcing us to swallow it all.
As I watched the farce on Channel 4, I was outraged by this affront to the Filipino people
Many others were outraged too.
Anti-Marcos soldiers came and threw out the broadcasting crew at Channel 4.
A couple of days later, though, Marcos attempted to take back his TV Station.
I remember hearing over the radio that people were needed to come and "protect" Channel 4. "People Power" was needed.
We had to do something,too!
So, I (a student at the Univ. of the Philippines) and my brother Michael (a student of San Beda) decided we would go.
When staying in Manila, I was a boarder at a private home and the family of this home were very good and dear to me. There were the owners, Tita Baby and Tito Ado, and their two sons Peter and Cesar. (Tita and Tito mean "Aunt" and "Uncle")
The youngest son Cesar wanted to go, too (I believe he was going to the Univ. de Santo Thomas).
But we had to sneak out of the house before the father knew that we were going.
The day before, we had wanted to go to Camp Crame to help the soldiers but Tito Ado did not let us go. He had the front gate locked and, boy, was he ranting and raving at that time. He was afraid that we would all get shot.
I'll never forget what Cesar said to his father though. He said to his father something to this effect: "When you were young and the Philippines was invaded (by the Japanese) you wanted to fight them. You didn't think about getting killed or not because you wanted to protect the Filipino people and your country. Well, today, it is our time, Dad. Marcos has been ruling our country for so long and now is the time for US to do something about it."
The three of us quietly left the house and went with 3 other guys from down the street. You see, we all felt this way.
To get to Channel 4 was a dilema at first. Most public transportation was not in service and nobody would be allowed to take their car because it was too dangerous. Many private cars had been burned in the streets in the previous weeks.
We ended up taking a bus. When the driver and conductor heard our story, they took the bus out of its regular route and brought us straight to Channel 4, that is a few blocks away. Corazon Aquino's home was nearby so many were worried about that too. She was safe in Cebu, though th epublic did not know that at the time.
When we got there, we started walking towards the station. All of a sudden, there were soldiers running behind us towards the station, too. As we ran out of there way, a helicopter flew above us and machine guns started to fire. We started running, too. We ran to the side of the road between some bushes and a concrete fence - - - what protection that could have provided was nil of course.
One of our group plus Cesar sprang out to run along with the soldiers and to take pictures. We shouted to them to come back. Of course, they didn't listen. So we shouted for them to be careful. The above picture is one of the many that Cesar took at that incident.
When the helicopter cleared, there was more shooting at the broadcasting tower. Two soldiers were up there, and they were shooting downwards at the other soldiers on the street. Helicopters, snipers and ground soldiers. It was a little battle and there we were in the middle of it.
To this day, I was never clear as to which soldiers were pro- and which were anti-Marcos. But three soldiers were killed. I do remember seeing a soldier's body being hauled down the tower as we crouched behind cars and buildings during the gunfire.
Every now and then, between the sounds of gunshots, people in the crowd would cry out "Laban."
We felt rushes of adrenaline whenever we ran or duck from gun shots and then we would chuckle with nervous relief when the gunfire ceased. It was no party though. One of us civilian bystanders did get shot in the crossfire. I did not know him or see his face. But he was a casualty of the People Power.
Marcos' forces did not succeed in recapturing Channel 4.
A Chronological Account
BusinessWorld
Online Edition - article on the movements of the
Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) during this time
All rights reserved©1996 Perla P. Daly
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