L sign recovers from its loser status

To many TV-addicted children, the “L" sign formed by thumb and index finger means “Loser!" – popularized by television characters Yaya and Angelina. Imagine the initial confusion these youngsters must have experienced earlier this month when thousands of Filipinos flashed and waved the sign, wondering why they were insulting the person whom their parents called a departed hero and icon. The death, wake, and funeral of Cory Aquino revived the glorious meaning and legacy of the L sign. Back when Cory was leading the anti-dictatorship movement in the mid-1980s, there was no mistaking its symbolism – Laban! (Fight!) The sign instantly signified where one stood, the flasher’s willingness to take the risk of open opposition to join Cory in continuing her slain husband Ninoy Aquino’s mission to restore democracy by challenging the Ferdinand Marcos regime.

But the real political roots of the sign are much more obscure. Imprisoned by Marcos for seven years and seven months, former senator Benigno “Ninoy" Aquino Jr. embarked on a quixotic campaign for office while behind bars. Together with another former senator, Lorenzo Tanada, Ninoy led the opposition’s Lakas ng Bayan (LABAN) party during the Batasang Pambansa (National Assembly) elections in 1978, recruiting other idealists to challenge the Marcos juggernaut of a political party, Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (KBL). Interestingly, Lakas ng Bayan could be translated literally as “people power," foreshadowing the full bloom of what Ninoy began from inside his prison cell. Ninoy’s colleagues were campaigning when the “L" came up, the right forefinger pointing to the sky and the thumb parallel with the horizon. The symbol was intended to signify two things: literally, it meant “Laban!" a battle cry against the Marcos regime; at the same time, it referred to the party LABAN itself. It was both a symbol of denunciation and association, of anger and hope. The sign found itself passing from one hand to the next, from Santo Domingo church to EDSA, grieving a fallen hero, defying a brutal regime, and welcoming a new leader. The “L" was present when mourners escorted the assassinated Ninoy’s remains, as it was when Cory ascended to the presidency in 1986. The triumph of people power made the Laban sign passé, and it nearly passed from memory, only to be revived in recent months by comics imbuing it with new meaning: dejection. What a fall from grace for a sign with such a magnificent heritage. Perhaps those EDSA veterans contemplating migration thought the sign’s fate mirrored the state of the nation and its shattered hopes. Cory’s death on August 1 made many recall those whirlwind days from 1983 to 1986, when Filipinos threw caution to the winds in their struggle for freedom. Those too young to remember any of that were amazed by what they witnessed in the streets and on television and their computer screens: Filipinos showing genuine affection for a former president, who reminded many of a more noble side to our politics. For a week and maybe longer, the L sign had recovered from its loser status, making Filipinos feel like winners again. - GMANews.TV