THE MAY 1 UPRISING

The may 1 rebellion of 2001 that heralded the climax and sudden end of EDSA III (perpetuated by the stalwarts of Joseph Estrada) was another memorable moment in my life. My classmate Nigel and I decided to join the other forces guarding mendiola bridge leading to the palace against the EDSA III forces that were slowly making their way to the area from the EDSA Shrine. After having a light dinner of siopao and softdrink at a carenderia near CEU, we called up Radio Veritas to report first-hand the activities at Mendiola. At that moment, officers of RAM and Guardians went on stage to announce that they will not support the EDSA 3 forces. At that point, the crowd cheered and in a few moments we received word that Gloria Arroyo was making her way to the stage to assure the public that she was well in control of the situation and that she had the military’s full support. After staying a few more minutes, we decided that since Gloria already went on-stage that nothing exciting was going to happen. Boy, were we ever wrong! After dropping off Nigel at Espana and agreeing to return after a short rest and bath, I headed for home. Little did I know that 30 minutes later the EDSA3 forces would reach the area where we were before and destroyed the barricades and everything and everyone that stood in their way. Our fellow “guardians sought refuge at the Centro Escholar and San Beda campuses to escape the wrath of the angry masa. So in the end, instead of resting, I ended up monitoring the radio and television in what was to be the violent May 1 uprising against the Arroyo administration. /end/