Edsa, no more?

By The Sunriser

FEBRUARY 25 was supposed to be Edsa Revolution Anniversary Day but it was dropped from the list of regular holidays and special non-working holidays since 2023 via Proclamation 368 issued by President Bongbong Marcos.

We were warned that historical revisionism will be on the Palace menu the moment the Marcoses reclaim the presidency.

We were told the Marcos restoration project that took three decades of painstaking strategizing and patient planning will purposely erase the Edsa People Power and ambush the spirit that fueled it on February 25, 1986.

The Marcoses have never apologized for all the wrongs that transpired under the repressive regime of Ferdinand Sr. So why should they lead the nation in celebrating the seminal event that ousted their father?

Martial Law bred villains. But produced heroes, too.

In Panay Island, we have Antique’s Evelio Javier, whose assassination was attributed to Marcos lackeys who lorded it over the province. Iloilo had its freedom fighters, too, foremost of whom is the former governor and former congressman Arthur Defensor Sr. who promptly warned us during the 2022 presidential campaign that a BBM victory would mean “a victory for thieves and criminals” and a return to the old decadent order. He knew where he spoke of, having served as commissioner of the Presidential Commission on Good Government tasked to run after the ill-gotten wealth of the Marcoses.

Edsa was celebrated in Iloilo during the presidency of Noynoy Aquino. The festivities and the speeches were simple but it was obvious the revolution’s spirit lived on in the halls of the City Hall and the grounds of the Provincial Capitol.

Edsa celebration continued, albeit in more muted ways, during the presidency of Digong Duterte. Ilonggos, especially our elected leaders like Mayor Jerry Treñas and Governor Arthur Defensor Jr.  were right in remembering and honoring Edsa however simple the ways they celebrated it.

Now that BBM is president, not a whimper was heard even from them, however. Ahaaay….

Whatever happened to the power of remembrance? Well, the answer may be found in human’s extreme care of self. Of all the human drives, self-preservation could be as strong as sex. Especially when political survival is at stake.