Cyber Rebels

Among the weapons wielded in the EDSA Dos Revolution was texting. This was commonly recognized as one of the factors that lead to its success. Several other uprisings have been attempted since then, but so far, the magic recipe of EDSA I and EDSA II have yet to be concocted again. Another foiled "revolution" was Trillanes' stunt last November 29 in Manila Pen. Seeing as the take-over was quite far from being strategically impressive, columinists, political analysts and even Chief Justice Panganiban have given their take on the flaws of the "grand plan". What I did wonder about was whether Trillanes' tactician even thought of using a technological weapon lethal enough to compare with texting during the EDSA Dos.

Apparently, Gen./Col./Lt./Maj. Tactician did make an effort to embrace the tools of the modern world. A couple of hours after Lim's courtroom walkout, the website, http://www.sundalo.bravehost.com posted a message announcing the Manila Pen take-over and calling upon the people to converge in Makati and join in the stand. The site itself contains statements from Trillanes, Lim and other persons from the military, news articles, the Oakwood Agreement and quotes from national heroes. It has an online petition calling for GMA & her VP's resignation and the holding of a snap election. A section is devoted to messages and emails from the people/citizenry.The general theme of the site calls upon the people to dismantle the "illegitimate" Arroyo government, to expose and attack Esperon, to rally behind Danilo Lim and the reform soldiers and to defend Nationalist Forces in every Web forum. It also has a cute little slogan saying, "Be a Cyber Propagandist and Warrior!"

The effort is cute, but hardly effective. The speed and range of the information dissemination was compromised. If the goal was to call upon the people to rally for an EDSA III, by the time people heard/processed the call, the government's APC was already parked inside Manila Pen's lobby. Obviously, a (seditious?) website probably wasn't the most effective technological tool under the circumstances. But it is submitted that the site could have been of more use. Or more accurately, the benefits that a website can offer should have been used for other better purposes. Here's one such purpose.

The Black & White Movement also has a website, www.blacknwhite-movement.com. A rich but probably overlooked source of information is its blog and the comments to its blog entries. A survey of the comments will show that although there are those who sympathize with the Movement's cause, there are many who take pains to point out their objections to the Movement's goals or its means to achieve its goals. Some defend the government. Some do not deny the many imperfections of the present government, butfeel compensated by the economic progress the government has made. The blogs and the comments therein are rich sources of the people's opinion on the government and the lengths their willing take to express their discontent. Thus, the information that may be gathered in blogs and Web Forums could have been used to gauge (1) whether, under the circumstances and given the time, it was feasible to undertake a revolution, and (2) whether the people are really ready to embrace such revolution. Perhaps, if they had conducted this "feasibility study", then our "Cyber Rebels" would have realized that, at this particular point in time, the Filipino citizenry just aren't ready to march in the rain, and storm the Manila Pen to support and assist Trillanes' gang in waging their "revolution".

Perhaps there is fear that in so doing, the secrecy of their "take-over" would be compromised. But going around this and creating a cover-up should be a piece of cake for Gen./Col./Lt./Maj. Tactician. After all, another benefit (or flaw, depends on how you look at it) of the blogosphere is the extreme difficulty of policing it.

sources:
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/infotech/view_article.php?article_id=103810
http://www.inquirer.net/specialreports/makatistandoff/view.php?db=1&article=20071202-104275