Edsa People Power commemoration lives

President Marcos’s declaration to downgrade the People Power Anniversary on Feb. 25 to a special working day was disappointing, but it didn’t come as a surprise. We can’t expect the President to celebrate the anniversary of the movement that toppled his dictator father. What amazes me is how some people are led to believe that the ouster of Marcos Sr. brought us to the dire state we are in today. Is the 1986 EDSA uprising responsible for the country’s predicament as claimed by Marcos loyalists?

It should be noted that most of the problems we are facing now are the same ones that plagued the nation during the martial law era, such as soaring inflation, massive unemployment, landlessness, and rampant corruption. When the Marcoses left Malacañang in 1986, the country was already burdened with a $28-billion foreign debt, while 59 percent of Filipinos were considered poor. No reasonable mind would argue that Marcos Sr.’s removal from power got us into this mess.

While it did not bring fundamental change to the country’s socioeconomic conditions, the EDSA People Power Revolution proved that the people were the decisive force in the fight against fascism and oppression. It serves as a potent reminder to those in power that collective action can dismantle authoritarian regimes. Indeed, EDSA was the culmination of years of struggle against the Marcos dictatorship, highlighting the crucial role of the mass movement in arousing, organizing, and mobilizing the people.

EDSA’s failure to fulfill its promises does not change the fact that the Marcos regime stole billions and committed grave human abuses, including extrajudicial killings, forced disappearances, and torture. President Marcos can downplay the historical significance of EDSA all he wants, but he can’t prevent the freedom-loving Filipinos from commemorating it.

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Daniel Aloc,

tierra.giya@yahoo.com