30 YEARS ago—on Feb. 25, 1986—the People Power Revolution on EDSA trampled the 20-year-old dictatorship of former Pres. Ferdinand Marcos. For the generation who witnessed this peaceful uprising, the echoes of the People Power Revolution reverberated not only in the air, but in the consciousness of the Filipinos who were awakened to their senses about a leader who kept their democracy in chains.
When Marcos declared martial law on September 21, 1972, then Senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. was one of the first to be arrested. He was allowed to leave for the US due to his health condition. While in the US, Aquino attended forums, symposiums and delivered speeches in freedom rallies opposing the Marcos dictatorship.
Saying “the Filipino is worth dying for,” Aquino returned to the Philippines from his exile in the US to continue his plight for the restoration of the Filipinos’ rights and freedom. He met his death upon his arrival at the Manila International Airport. He was shot in the head while being escorted off the airplane by his captors via the Manila International Airport.
His kababayans found solidarity in his death. His widow, the late Cory Aquino was thrust into the public eye. She ran for president against Marcos during the 1986 snap elections and pulled the Filipinos out in the streets for the People Power Revolution.
According to the Malacañang Palace, the essence of People Power Revolution remains: to commemorate the heroism and greatness of the Filipino race that helped the country achieved freedom.
“The important issues here are freedom and justice. The EDSA People Power revolution became the answer of the Filipino nation to the suppression of their freedom and making a travesty of democracy by imposing martial law,” Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said.
Coloma also said that remembering this event would make Filipinos learn from the past.
“We were united in EDSA in 1986 based on principles of democracy, freedom and justice. That is the true spirit of our EDSA 30 celebration,” Coloma added.
The People Power Revolution is embedded in Philippine history. To honor the people who have suffered and lost their lives for the sake of democracy, today’s Filipinos must never forget the event that freed the country from the clutches of a tyrannical ruler.
Much has been achieved since martial law. But with present controversies hounding current government leaders, Philippine politics appears to be hampered by bureaucracy, manipulation of money, interests of capital and the status quo.
Filipinos must zealously guard that has been granted to them by the People Power Revolution. Filipinos must appreciate the genuine meaning of democracy, which is empowered by the will of the people. It gives the citizenry the power to overturn the culture of corruption, unethical conduct, and self-serving antics of politics. (AJPress)
