For months, former president Corazon Aquino has been urging People Power veterans like Danny Manalo to stage another peaceful uprising against a president deemed by her critics to be corrupt and inept. But Mr Manalo will not be heeding that call.
'I have the feeling I'm just being used by other politicians,' the 40-year-old executive said.
He's not alone. Despite the unpopularity of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, a straw poll by the South China Morning Post has shed some light on why the tens of thousands of people, that Mrs Arroyo's detractors had hoped would flood the streets, have failed to materialise so far. That small survey also hints that even some of the people who don't like Mrs Arroyo personally might come to her aid if she called for a 'people power' demonstration to help her stay in office.
'Would I rally to save Arroyo's butt? I guess so, if only to continue the good economic programmes she has begun,' said businesswoman Tess Mayuga. She once joined her family chanting 'Cory, Cory' on the Edsa highway to drive out dictator Ferdinand Marcos in 1986.
Like Ms Mayuga, Mr Manalo also joined the 1986 Edsa demonstrations. He went on to drive away president Joseph Estrada in 2001, on Mrs Aquino's behest. Now, he said, he has other things on his mind. 'I'm not getting any younger, I'm retiring in a few years and I want to make my money now.
'I feel the economy is on the upswing and I want to keep that going,' he said, adding he would 'definitely' join a protest to save President Arroyo in case of a military takeover.
