SOME things that we regained or expected to gain in the four-day Edsa Revolt 13 years ago:

Freedom of the press, which is the first thing to go when a dictatorship or totalitarian rule is imposed on a country. But some newspapers may be giving it up because they practice self-censorship or perhaps are being cowed into silence by threats coming from Malacañang. So far, the Philippine Daily Inquirer and The Manila Times have not knuckled under in the face of the strong words uttered by top administration officials by way of reaction to two controversial stories about him and a story about a tax census measure that he is endorsing.

The Congress, which was also one of the first institutions that President Marcos closed down when he imposed martial law on Sept. 21, 1972. Marcos shut down the media and Congress to neutralize the major sources of opposition to his dictatorial rule. The legislature is back in business, but the quality of our legislators has been deteriorating since the first post-martial law Congress was elected in 1987. In the Senate, how many senators are of the same caliber as Recto, Tañada, Diokno, Aquino, Osias and Sumulong in the past? And how many idealistic, principled men and women do we now have in the House? Is Congress really serving the people or is it serving principally the interest of its members?

Freedom to peaceably assemble and ask for a redress of grievances. We lost this freedom when martial law was imposed and regained it after the Edsa Revolution deposed the Marcos dictatorship. But have we used this freedom adequately to make our protest heard against things that greatly affect us?

Just about a month ago, people turned out in droves to protest the postponement of the execution of Leo Echegaray by the Supreme Court. But do we see the same level of indignation being expressed by people marching in the streets to protest, for instance, against big cases of graft and corruption in government? Or against measures like the disclose-all-assets bill or the bill on warrantless arrest which would invade a person's privacy or limit his freedom?

A level playing field in business. We expected to have this after the Edsa Revolt, but each administration has had its own set of cronies to whom it gave special privileges and advantages. The present administration is no exception; its cronies are enjoying special treatment and are being given kid-gloves treatment in the tax and other cases that they are facing.

A new and reformed Philippine National Police. We expected the police to shape up, but it appears now that we were expecting too much. We still have many corrupt, criminal elements in the police. And are not the police part of the problem of the rising tide of criminality during these times

What changes?

PLUS ca change, plus c'est la meme chose (The more things change, the more they remain the same). The Marcoses and their cronies are back, the same social and economic inequality continues, Philippine politics is still as unprincipled as ever (one thing new is the emergence of more show biz personalities as politicians), the police and the criminal justice system are corrupt, the press is free again but some sectors are easily cowed by the powers that be, Congress has not alleviated the plight of the masses but has remained an exclusive tayo-tayo club of the country's social and economic elite, and nothing much has been done to improve the economy so that our mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, daughters and sons would not have to work under harsh conditions abroad to earn a living for their families. The Edsa Revolt? Yes, it was a glorious, bloodless revolution that made the whole world sit up and take notice of a nation that had finally found its courage and its voice. But apart from the fact that it booted out the Marcoses, their relatives, cronies and associates (most of them are back), did it really drastically change anything?