The Japanese occupation had merely worsened an existing social conflict because of its fascist character that had complicated the domestic political situation. World War I had not provided a clear-cut understanding of its implications on the country's fledgling political system except the continuation of mass agitation for the general welfare of the Filipino poised against the entrenched illustrados who have usurped the gains of the 1896 Revolution. When World War II came, the socialists who have evolved into a higher level of ideological commitment to the cause of the working class failed again to grasp the actual meaning of the world coflict as basically a confrontation between imperialist nations for the division of the world into shperes of their direct colonial rule and sources of raw materials.

Because of the shalllow comprehension of the transitional character of the imperialist war between the United States and Japan, attacks fell prey to the predatory tactics ans military strategies of the CIA which was under the directorship of a certain Col. Lansdale. But if the 1896 Revolution was wracked with factionalism so was nationalist movements.

Within the traditional body politics, factionalism resulted in the formation of a different political parties stunted further the establishment of a two-party system with clear ideological and political lines that could have instigated deep partisan loyalties based on principled commitment to serve the genuine interest of the people.

The declaration of MARTIAL LAW in 1972, unsuccessfully tried to restructure the reactionary character of the country's body polity. Attempts to introduce the ideological basis for such efforts to remold the thingking and practice of the partisan politics which has merely anchored on the culture of patronage failed miserably. Prior to Martial Law, the Plaza Miranda carnage worsened the rift between the ruling class, between the old rich and noveau rich in the Phil. society. The well-entrenched old oligarchs considered to be the principal players who betrayed the Revolution dug deeper into their anti-Marcos resentment who was then viewed as the architect of the bombing.

The attempt to re-orient our social realities along positive values that have been incorporated in the mainstream of our national life failed mainly due to the absence of social efforts to educate, organize and discipline the entire nation. The failure was an expected denouement in the actual dramatization of the people's introduction of a higher level of ideological awareness. Its purpose was to internalize the aims of Martial Law regime but for the absence of the highly disciplinesd individuals who could oversee the implementation of programs and projects with ideological underpinnings.

The return of "democracy" and "freedom" after the EDSA I incident have merely brought back the old political habit and practices. This time with a vengeance. The newly-framed 1987 constitution brought up various social, economic and political weaknesses aggravated by the proliferation of emergent parties that obliterated the former two-party system in our body polity. The multi-party scenario gave an opportunity to the traditional politicians in reclaiming their old turfs but without a social semblance of political monopoly because of the emergent new faces and aspiring pseudo-young leaders many of whom just rode on the momentum of anti-Marcos movement made much more stigmatized by the systematic campaign of hatred and vindictiveness by the traditional elite in the Philippine society. For a certain religious institution, any semblance of "indio" legacy that spawned the 1896 Revolution sholud be exorcised. This way it was strengthening further the legacy of the country's former conquerors, i.e. Spain and the Roman Catholic Church. For the greater part of the socio-economic elite, Ferdinand E. Marcos was an embodiment of the Filipino's blatant attempt to make a clean breast of his historic mistakes one of which was the church domination of the political institutions and all facets of the social milleu. For the former leader, he was askance at the way the church interference in the affairs of the government regardless of the principle of separation of church and state in our democratic system.

The hands of "religiosity" could be seen in almost all levels of the state's superstucture so much so that the Filipinos could never seriously assert that they have succeeded in discarding the legacy of frailocracy in the country. The Filipinos remained prisoners of the pejorative aspects of their cultural, political and tribal legacies. The "divide and rule" tactic that the Spanish, American and Japanese colonizers used in subduing the people's rebellious spirit left an indelible scar in the psyche of every Filipino. Until now that this tactic is very much a part of the mainstream of national life. Ironically, the culture of political patronage has assigned to it a "legitimate" role of arbitrator at the grassroot level of representative democracy. Any attempt to re-orient the socio-political instrumentalities beginning at the barangay level will surely meet stiff opposition from those who benefit most in the old system of political patronage, and therea are the traditional politicians who have never relinquished the idea ofpaternalist and regionalist albeit apocryphal methos of leadership. This particular facet of the Filipinos' social life remains as one of the stumbling blocks that prevent us from attaining a progressive and genuinely democratic country.