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Thursday, February 23, 2017
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FEBRUARY 25 is a day reserved to remember the power of the people. Yes, that’s us. It should be a big deal but the Duterte administration is opting for simpler rites. Obviously it wants to mute the lessons of the struggle against the dictatorship in favor of looking towards the future. This is particularly disturbing today when there are real efforts to rehabilitate dictator Ferdinand Marcos. This year’s commemoration will reportedly be held inside Camp Aguinaldo, the headquarters of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
It is not really a question of whether a commemoration is simple or not. The point of a meaningful commemoration is to appreciate the lessons of the past and use these to guide our actions in the present and future. Previous administrations held grand celebrations but missed out on the real lessons and true heroes of the EDSA Revolution – we, the people.
The celebrations of the past focused on one family, one political color and on the role of politicians and generals. Past celebrations denied the reality that social ills remain the same – corruption, human rights violations by state forces, poverty, landlessness – 30 years after the toppling of the dictator.
A public and wider commemoration is necessary to pay tribute to the Filipino people, the real heroes who mobilized and waged a long and determined struggle, both legal and armed, to oust the dictator. A commemoration is important now that there are ongoing efforts to revise history.
The commemoration should also call attention to the unfulfilled promises of EDSA, and why things have remained fundamentally unchanged.
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