In commemoration of People Power 2, I am posting here a copy of my contribution to a still-unpublished youth compendium of articles on the event.

I wrote this piece way back in 2002 (or 2003?). It deals with the use of technology in Edsa 2 and succeeding events.

I hope to see you tomorrow, Jan. 19, as Bloggers Kapihan marks Edsa 2 with BK 3.0 at Kape Tasyo.

Forward the message, answer the call for change
TEXTING AND OTHER TOOLS OF A PEOPLE IN REVOLT

By Anthony Ian “Tonyo” M. Cruz

Much has been said about the role of texting and the People Power 2 uprising. Some quarters have even gone to the extent of calling it a “texters’ revolt.” They cast aside People Power 2 as nothing but “mob rule” that was helped in a big way by texting and a flowering of websites and mailing lists which were all directed against one common enemy called Erap.

However, they are right only on one point: That the most vocal, most determined and most organized participants in the uprising were armed with cellphones and sent out a heretofore unimaginable number of text messages for about three days.

These critics of People Power 2 were wrong everywhere else.

For in the case of People Power 2, the message was crystal-clear, with solid basis and with urgency that challenged most Filipinos. It was either we stay put wherever we were or stand up in the forcible removal of a President who has violated the public’s trust and laws big time.

Unfortunately for Estrada, the purveyors of this message were not only backed up by the truth.

They were also tech-savvy.  They used technological tools beyond printing presses, mimeograph machines, telephones and fax machines. Instead, the People Power 2 forces – organized or not – had more potent tools in their hands: cellphones and the Internet.

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