Addressing a dinner audience, she pointed to abuses of People Power, the massed but peaceful demonstrations that carried her into office in 1986, saying it had been "the spontaneous reaction of an incensed public to a political stimulus."

Recently, she asserted, People Power had been "misused by losing candidates, disgruntled government workers and politicized religious cults to further their narrow agendas."

"In the post-election period," Aquino continued, "when the votes were being counted, collated and canvassed in what has become known as the slowest election count in the world, we saw partisan groups try to replicate previous manifestations of People Power by whipping up their followers to mass and protest alleged poll irregularities."

The former president, who served until 1992, declined to address the issue confronting President Arroyo — whether to withdraw Philippine troops from Iraq to appease Islamic militants who threatened to behead a Filipino hostage. Aquino spoke here before Arroyo gave in and the hostage was released.

Ever since the Philippines was granted independence from the United States in 1946, its politics have been marred by coups, assassinations, rebellions, rioting, corruption, nepotism, impeachments, terror and a press filled with rumors and unsubstantiated reports.

Perhaps the greatest failure has been the inability and refusal of the ruling oligarchy of landowners, business executives, church leaders and politicians to alleviate the nation's grinding poverty.

In Manila, world-class affluence is seen in compounds of luxurious high-rise apartments with clubhouses, swimming pools and tennis courts that stand next to world-class slums of wooden shacks and tin roofs, no running water and primitive sanitation facilities. Only high walls topped with broken glass separate them.

Aquino alluded to that poverty, affecting 64 percent of the 84 million Filipinos. Of the 10 million who live in Manila, 52 percent are classified as poor.

Of such are revolutions made.

For nearly six decades, the Philippines has experienced one uprising after another, from the 1950s communist Hukbalahaps to today's militant Abu Sayyaf, affiliated with Islamic extremists elsewhere in Southeast Asia and in the Middle East.

American assistance, from the Central Intelligence Agency in the 1950s to U.S. Army Special Forces and U.S. Marines today, has helped to keep the rebels at bay.

Aquino is not alone in her assessment.

Newspaper columnist Rasheed Abou Alsamh wrote last winter: "In the world of Philippine politics, nothing should surprise anyone anymore. Especially during election time: Old enemies become best friends, and ideological allies suddenly see each other on opposite sides of the political fence."

Similarly, columnist William M. Esposo wrote: "In Philippine politics, you can trust the underachievers — the morally bereft and the inept — to drag down their rivals who they know they will never be able to match. This type of blood sport has given this country's politics an unsavory reputation quite distinct from those found in other countries."

Or as another journalist, Marco Garrido, declared, the slate of presidential hopefuls "would seem illustrious indeed if only half the candidates weren't mad."

Aquino ended her address with a plea: "Of late, I have been asking people to imagine what the Philippines would be like if enough of us stopped complaining about how bad things are and took responsibility for our communities, if we placed duty to country and people ahead of our personal interests, if we set aside politics for the higher goal of national unity and progress."

Richard Halloran is a former New York Times correspondent in Asia and Washington. Reach him at oranhall@hawaii.rr.com.