The Philippines: A Mass Requiem in Manila

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The funeral procession took ten hours to reach the cemetery. During that time, the mood of the accompanying Filipinos shifted back and forth between mourning and militancy, although the crowd never abandoned an impressive collective discipline. But gradually the participants became aware that they were engaged in the largest public demonstration seen in the country since Marcos' imposition of martial law. Groups of youngsters sang folk songs, and as the cortege passed near the Malacariang Palace, the President's official residence, shouts of Democrasya, Kalayaan, Himagsikan! (democracy, freedom, revolution) were heard.

Violence broke out only after dark, while Aquino's body was being laid into a temporary cement sepulcher, where it will remain until members of his family can agree on a final resting place. Before masons had cemented the vault closed, several thousand youths returned to the center of Manila, within a block of Malacanang, beating pots and pans and shouting, "Laban!" (fight). They were met by squads of police toting guns and riot shields. As the youths threw rocks and small homemade grenades, the police waded in, eventually dispersing the demonstrators by shooting into the air. At the end of the confrontation, one student had been killed and several police wounded.

Marcos kept a low profile during the days following Aquino's death. One of his main activities, however, was to act as host at a dinner, to the dismay of U.S. officials, for visiting Senator Mark Hatfield of Oregon, and to declare to his guest that "unfortunately you came at this dark hour, but I think we will get over it." Marcos reiterated his conviction that the only people who had gained from Aquino's assassination were "local Communists."

Certainly the odds against a peaceful transition to post-Marcos democracy had tragically lengthened. Deprived of their most visible leader, the President's moderate opponents called for Marcos' resignation and for the formation of a caretaker government prior to national elections. The moderates, however, grouped in an umbrella organization called UNIDO (United Nationalist Democratic Organization), stopped short of calling for a boycott of parliamentary elections scheduled for next year.

Philippine leftists were equally cautious. Some agreed with the conventional wisdom that the death of Aquino meant the death of the political center. Others wondered whether Aquino's martyrdom had not galvanized a hitherto silent majority of moderates. In any event, no one was rushing to take advantage of last week's outpouring of emotion. "It would not take a lot to ignite something in the present political climate," said a leftist with links to the Communist leadership. "But once you ignite that spark here, we would have a military government, and [the left-wing organizations] don't want that."