More schools urged to declare Edsa rites ‘academic holiday’
More schools and educational institutions in the country have been urged to declare Feb. 25 an “academic holiday” to mark the 40th anniversary of the Edsa People Power Revolution, as Church-led groups called for renewed vigilance in defending the country’s hard-earned democracy.
In a joint statement, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines – Episcopal Commission on Catholic Education (CBCP-ECCE) and the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP) urged its more than 1,500 Catholic school-members across the country to suspend regular classes on Feb. 25, a Wednesday, and instead hold activities that deepen students’ understanding of the historic event.
The day should be “an academic holiday for reflection, commemoration, and civic formation,” CEAP and CBCP said. “Edsa is not only a commemoration, it is an unfinished movement that demands vigilance, active participation, and collective resolve from all sectors.”
“To honor it authentically is to combat revisionism, defend democratic principles, and build a nation where justice, dignity, and peace are lived realities,” they added.
Schools like the Ateneo and La Salle, whose Greenhills campus is a historic site in the 1986 snap election leading to the People Power Revolution, have earlier announced the suspension of classes on selected dates between Feb. 23 and 25.
‘Special working day’
Since 2023, President Marcos has not followed the tradition of declaring any of the days from Feb. 22 to Feb. 25 a national holiday to commemorate the 1986 bloodless uprising that toppled the dictatorship of his father and namesake.
For this year, Mr. Marcos declared the Edsa People Power Revolution Anniversary on Feb. 25 a “special working day,” but with classes and work continuing as usual.
