THE PEOPLE WHO TALK ABOUT MOUNTING People Power in the event of cheating are ?crazy and irresponsible,? says Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales. Things are different between then and now. The situation in 1986 was extraordinary. ?We can?t do (Edsa) again. We have laws now.? The problem with us is that ?we are always in a hurry.? That is why we have not matured as a nation.

Things are different then and now? Let?s see.

Then we had Ferdinand Marcos who ruled the country without a mandate from the people. He won two consecutive terms before he decided he had not had enough and would like to rule some more. He declared martial law in 1972, and mounted iron-fisted rule. By 1986 he had been ruling for 14 years by fiat.

Now we have Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo who rules the country without a mandate from the people. She has never won a presidential term, becoming president only by succeeding Joseph Estrada in 2001. Ironically she became an illegitimate ruler only after elections and not before, when she conspired with ?Garci? to cheat the hell out of Fernando Poe Jr. By 2010 she has been ruling for six years by fiat.

Then we had laws, the kind of laws that fomented lawlessness. Marcos was a stickler for law, having a law to cover everything, including transforming Ronnie Nathanielz into a Filipino citizen. His was the kind of rule of law that produced wholesale murder, corruption of spectacular proportions (he would be second only to Suharto among the most corrupt leaders of the world), greed and abuse.

Now we have laws, the kind of laws that foment lawlessness. Arroyo is not a stickler for law, she couldn?t care less if there was one forbidding staying on, but she has them anyway for show, or to allay disquiet. Hers is the kind of rule of law that has produced wholesale murder, corruption of spectacular proportions (she would be second to none, turning the Philippines into the most corrupt nation in the region), greed and abuse.

Then Marcos didn?t just steal the country?s money, he stole the country?s light, the country?s hope, the country?s possibility, the country?s life, the country?s soul, the country?s future. Not a single institution of society was left unsullied, least of it the military, which suffered the greatest perversion of all. Here was a rule hated beyond measure, the people wondering when it would ever end.

Now Arroyo hasn?t just stolen the country?s money, she has stolen the country?s light, the country?s hope, the country?s possibility, the country?s life, the country?s soul, the country?s future. Not a single institution of society has been left unsullied, least of all the Catholic Church, which has suffered the greatest perversion of all. Here is a rule hated beyond measure, the people wondering when it will ever end.

Then the snap elections offered the hope of ending the bane. Or at least the glimmer of it. Everybody knew Marcos would cheat there. Just as he had produced laws that had nothing to do with justice, he was expected to produce election results that had nothing to do with votes. Specifically he was expected to show that the elections had succeeded and his favorite candidate, himself, had won. But no matter, Cory, Jaime Cardinal Sin, Jose W. Diokno, and friends fought on, knowing the elections were a means to enlighten, organize and rally people to a cause, knowing the elections were never an exercise to win a presidency but a struggle to end a tyranny. Marcos did employ guns, goons and gold, quite apart from a Comelec that existed to thwart the public will, and produced results that said Cory lost.

A month later, he was gone, courtesy of People Power.

Now the elections offer the hope of ending the bane. Or at least the strong assurance of it. Everybody knows Arroyo will cheat there. Just as she has produced laws that have nothing to do with justice, she is expected to produce election results that have nothing to do with votes. Specifically she is expected to show either that her favorite candidate, Manny Villar, has won or that the elections have failed. But no matter, Noynoy Aquino, the volunteer groups, a public fed up with the face of a modern-day Medusa have fought on, knowing the elections are a means to enlighten, organize, and rally people to a cause, knowing the elections are not just an exercise to win the presidency but a struggle to end a tyranny. GMA will employ automation, quite apart from a Comelec that exists to thwart the public will, and produce results that say Noynoy lost.

A week later, she will be gone, courtesy of People Power.

If there is in fact any difference between then and now, it is only this:

Then there was Jaime Cardinal Sin who believed like Aesop that God helps those who help themselves. Who with fire in his belly and hope in his heart called for the people to be vigilant during the elections and to be militant when their will was thwarted. Who believed cheating was a cardinal sin, a thing to be resisted with heroic action, and with the power of this conviction helped spark Edsa.

Now there is Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales who believes like Mike Arroyo that God helps those who help themselves?to the public coffers. Who with fat in his belly and cynicism in his heart calls for the people to be sheep during the elections and to be lambs when their will is thwarted. Who believes, along with Archbishop Antonio Capalla, that cheating is a relative vice, everybody cheats anyway, as Archbishop Arguelles put it, a thing to be taken in stride. And on the awesomeness of this dereliction thinks to douse Edsa.

The reason we have not matured as a nation is not that we are always in a hurry, it is that we have always had the patience of carabaos. There?s proof right there:

We?ve tolerated clowns like Rosales for far too long.