Not the Marcoses definitely because surely they would rather forget. Never mind that twenty or so years after Ferdinand Marcos was unceremoniously ousted his wife remains a fixture in some social events, his children remain influential in their own right, his grandchildren benefit from the "Marcos" name (sometimes even acting like spoiled brats and landing in the papers for the wrong reasons) and his money…well, it is debatable how much the Marcoses were forced to give up, how much they lost to their cronies and how much they have been able to keep.

Maybe Cory, to the greatest extent among the key players, because to this day she tries to revive the spirit that moved a people (in Metro Manila) to oust a politically omnipresent and omniscient leader. If only Cory had also used her time in office to radically transform society, which may have been asking too much of someone so caught up by the politics and traditions of her social and economic class. Be that as it may, on two occasions Cory successfully called forth the forces of Edsa 1 to beat back attempts to tinker with the post-Edsa Constitution; she failed in 2005 to call forth the same forces to oust GMA. Whether she can and will try to do that again now and whether this time she will succeed - is something that bears watching.

Fidel Ramos? Well, it seems the answer would depend on which side of the bed FVR rises. There are days when you wonder how a key figure of Edsa 1 could be so staunch a defender of the status quo, until you suspect it is because the status quo helped protect FVR from any backlash from his actuations while in office; and then he surprises you the next day when you hear him criticize corruption and greed and imply that nothing much has changed since 1986.

Juan Ponce Enrile and the RAM? Since Edsa 1 and their decimation after numerous coup attempts during Cory’s term, JPE and the RAM he godfathered seem to have been able to reintegrate themselves into the status quo so ably in the last twenty years. While JAKA, his corporate vehicle, is now a shell of its former self, observers believe that Enrile’s business interests in his home province of Cagayan, specifically the development at Port Irene, make JPE an important ally of whoever is in office and with the ability to provide the all-important incentives, if not protection. As for RAM, it appears to have been overtaken by events and by a new generation of idealistic young officers who still have the ability to dream.

The Catholic Church? The principal godfather for Edsa 1 has long been conceded to be Jaime Cardinal Sin, Archbishop of Manila, he who called on his flock to rally around Enrile and Ramos when they were holed up in Camp Aguinaldo and very susceptible to attack from forces still loyal to Marcos. But Sin has been dead for some years now, and his "rebellious" spirit dead even longer. His successor hems and haws when Sin would have come out strongly on one side of the political and moral fence. The CBCP, on the other had, has been so divided thanks to able lobbying by the Palace that it shuts up even on moral issues, denying the people one clear guidepost, one that sets the bar against which others – specially the political leaders – are to be judged.

How about those who were young then? My generation – we who were in our early 20s and thrilled by the imagery of collective action? Many of my peers are parents now and some are just too preoccupied with day to day issues that getting involved all over again is a luxury they cannot afford. Others though have been turned off by the disappointments of previous commitments; yet a few remain in search of whatever it takes to continue righting wrongs, taking two steps forward after taking one step back, believing that we just cannot stop being part of a process of learning and of change.

It is this latter few who continue to give me hope because just as Edsa 1 was mainly a Metro Manila exercise that changed everything for the rest of the country, so do we not need to have each and every Filipino conscienticized and active in the search for better governance and a better country. It takes a conscientious few to make all the difference, and those who choose not to get involved will just have to live with the consequences of the actions of those who do choose to act.

As I type this while once in a while peering out of my Hong Kong hotel window to watch a gathered mass of Filipinas outside, I feel a rollercoaster of emotions as memories of Edsa 1 flash before me interspersed with images of a weeping Lozada, a grinning Estrada and a still-missing Joc Joc Bolante. I think of Francisco Tatad and how he went public with the declaration of martial law; then I think of Ignacio Bunye and how he went public with his "I have two discs" spin. I focus on how Enrile was "forgiven" his sins in recognition of his key role in Edsa 1, and wonder whether Chavit has been forgiven, too. I think of Clarissa Ocampo and remember Jun Lozada and then I think of Mike Defensor and Mawanay, Garcillano and Bedol. I think of Macapagal Avenue, and then I remember the Centennial Expo scam. I muse about Imelda’s glamor and greed, and think of FG and wonder where the glamor went. I remember Manny Villar’s maneuverings on the impeachment, then recall JDV’s maneuverings and also the maneuverings that led to his own ouster. I think of Fabian Ver and I wonder about Hermogenes Esperon; I think of Fidel Ramos and his relationship with Ver, and wonder who is the Ramos to Esperon. I recall a young and idealistic Gringo, and I imagine a new crop of young officers replacing the ideals of Trillanes and Company. And all of these come to a dead stop like a roller coaster car does when I think of the Filipinas outside my window, huddling under open umbrellas in the cold drizzle that is gripping Hong Kong, and I wonder how their lives will ever change if, at home, years go by and yet everything but the faces of power and greed stay the same?