In the space of about 15 years, the Philippines has witnessed two revolts that ousted their repressive or corrupt governments. And both times, the Filipinos showed to the world their peaceful brand of people's power. They certainly have everything to be proud of in their shining contribution to democracy at work.

I was in the Philippines in Jan 14-17 en route to the US. The event that precipitated the gathering of the Philippine masses that rapidly turned into the successful People's Power II was the abrupt halt to the impeachment trial of President Josef Estrada in the Senate. Eleven senators voted not to open a sealed bank letter that supposedly would reveal the many accounts of Estrada under the name of Jose Velarde for his ill-gotten wealth. Only 10 senators voted to open.

As a result, the presiding Senate President resigned and the prosecuting lawyers withdrew from the trial. On the other hand, a female Senator (incredibly, a sister of Benigno Aquino, the martyr of the People's Power I that toppled Ferdinand Marcos) who voted against the opening of the letter did an obscene dance of celebration that a newspaper columnist described as "the mindless gloating of someone totally oblivious to what she had done to the honour and credibility of the Senate." And all that was shown live on Philippine TV.

The abrupt turn of events appeared to have signaled to the people of the Philippines that it was time for them to step forth and take history into their hands, again. For within an hour or two after the impeachment trial ended at 10pm, they started to gather at the monument to People's Power I, a place called the Edsa Shrine, just a stone's throw away from its biggest shopping mall. How did they know about the gathering? Through their cell phones. Filipinos immediately wrote messages to friends on the cell phones about the gathering after the impeachment trial was shown to be a sham.

The next morning, on Wednesday, I went to the University of the Philippines, Diliman, from the southeast side of Metro Manila. I had to pass the Edsa shrine on my way to and from the university, and both times I could see thousands gathered there, with many more marching towards it, especially from the direction of the university with a large contingent of students.

The huge gathering and group of marchers went about their business peacefully. The police helped direct traffic for the marchers. I did not have a sense of fear at all that things would get out of hand and chaos and violence would ensue. Neither did any of the Filipinos I saw and met along the way.

After I left the Philippines on Thursday morning, I, and the rest of the world, learnt that the entire episode of People's Power II had unfolded peacefully, with the police acting professionally and within the law.

A potentially trouble spot had been when some among the anti-Estrada forces gathered at the Edsa Shrine marched towards the Malacanang Palace, where the president resides. For them to get there, the best way would be to go through a downtown portion of Manila called Mendiola, which had been the rallying ground of Estrada supporters for at least the past two weeks. On that early Saturday morning, Estrada supporters there were down to about 80 and many believed they were Manila gangs paid for by Estrada. They were also reported to carry steel pipes and wooden planks.

However, the Philippine police, upon hearing the march of the anti-Estrada group, immediately set up barricades to separate the two groups. When the two groups eventually met, they were prevented from any altercations or violence. Only a few minor incidents occurred, reportedly started by Estrada supporters. What the proud Filipinos have shown is that a large gathering of the masses does not automatically spell trouble and violence. It belies what the Mahathir government and Barisan Nasional like to tell the Malaysian masses. After all, why should any gathering of the masses united by a common cause want to create problems for themselves?

Further, should there be competing groups protesting, the police have an important role to play and they must act professionally and within the law so that the groups have little opportunity to engage in violence. After all, should not the police, supported by tax dollars, ensure that the rights of all groups of citizens in the country be equally protected?

The Philippines may have many problems with their economy compared with Malaysia, but their two People's Power revolts show that they are far more mature in their understanding and practice of democracy. Mabuhay Philippines!