A Season of Coups (Reflections on the Role of the Military in Politics)

Abstract

The politics of coup d’etat emerged as another form of extra-legal politics by the end of the Marcos regime. The military sharing some power during the Marcos years became a political force. Coups became an option to topple the dictatorship but the success of the EDSA phenomena had frustrated its launch. Several attempts to launch a coup d’etat were done during the Aquino administration for various reasons: Marcos’ refused to let go of the presidency and the military wanted to seize power or to share equal power with Enrile at the helm. All this shook the pillars of an already vulnerable administration and a young democracy. The article does not come up with a conclusion but rather an epilogue to the lingering problems of poverty and instability. A suggestion to properly politicize the military was made and a more actions from the Aquino administration a year after it was established is being called for to prevent another despot from coming forward.