Actress and television host Bianca Gonzales shared her experience as one of the participants of People Power II in 2001 after the decision made by the majority of the senators to remand Vice President Sara Duterte’s article of impeachment back to the Lower House.
In her tweet, Bianca said that she suddenly remembered the incident that triggered the People Power: the majority of the senators during the impeachment of then-President Joseph Ejercito Estrada refused to open the second envelope, which allegedly contained evidence of the former chief executive’s hidden wealth.
“Focused on the Senate impeachment court proceedings right now, and I still remember the same attention when it was said that ‘the no votes have it.’ Where were you and how old were you at that time? I remember I was in college, and I was also one of those who went straight to EDSA afterward. Imagine, that was pre-social media,” said Bianca.
Several netizens also shared their experiences during that time.
However, some supporters of Vice President Duterte believed that the incident would not trigger the People Power II because many people could now gather more information on social media compared to Estrada’s time, where most of the population relied on traditional media.