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BY AYIN DREAM D. APLASCA
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Tuesday, February 27, 2018
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THIRTY-TWO years ago, millions of Filipinos from all walks of life marched along Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA). The main purpose was to end the dictatorship of then president Ferdinand E. Marcos. It was an exercise of true democracy to reclaim liberty from a dictator.
Every time the nation celebrates the spirit of EDSA, social injustices in the country and around the world are being called to mind – the exploitation of women, abuse of children, extrajudicial killings, and hasty move to change the form of government. Today, the EDSA Revolution is also a celebration of World Day of Social Justice.
Unfortunately, there are people who just march along with others just to jump into the bandwagon of what is trendy. Others do not know the significance of the EDSA Revolution and are not aware of what social justice means.
The EDSA Revolution was a peaceful cry for freedom. It was a sovereign act of the Filipino people to overthrow the Marcos dictatorship. It was an act for national independence and democracy. It was an act of hope that human rights violations would cease.
It was the nation’s contribution to world culture and civilization because it brought down a deep-seated predatory and cruel regime without assaulting the life and dignity of anyone, friend or enemy. It became a world model for political change without bloodshed.
It was a significant day to end widespread abuse of power. It was the beginning of a united struggle for concrete political change. People were no longer going to allow themselves to be subjected to despotism and the curtailment of their freedom. It was a definition of social justice.
As enunciated in the landmark case of Calalang vs Williams (G.R. No. 47800, December 2, 1940), social justice is “neither communism, nor despotism, nor atomism, nor anarchy” but the humanization of laws and the equalization of social and economic forces by the State so that justice in its rational and objectively secular conception may at least be approximated. Social justice means the promotion of the welfare of all the people, the adoption by the Government of measures calculated to ensure economic stability of all the competent elements of society, through the maintenance of a proper economic and social equilibrium in the interrelations of the members of the community, constitutionally, through the adoption of measures legally justifiable, or extra-constitutionally, through the exercise of powers underlying the existence of all governments on the time-honored principle of salus populi est suprema lex. Social justice, therefore, must be founded on the recognition of the necessity of interdependence among divers and diverse units of a society and of the protection that should be equally and evenly extended to all groups as a combined force in our social and economic life, consistent with the fundamental and paramount objective of the State of promoting the health, comfort, and quiet of all persons, and of bringing about “the greatest good to the greatest number.”
Whether you agree or not, the country needs to change. There are no shortcuts. Nothing has changed. The formula to succeed is still the same. Filipino people need to unite and face the challenges as one nation, with one aim and direction. More importantly, there must be willing to harness the talents of the people.
For the rest of the Filipino people, there are a lot of work to do. It is very important to do the right thing by our conscience to our fellow human beings. Definitely, we could all sleep soundly.
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(Atty. Ayin Dream D. Aplasca practices her profession in Iloilo City. She may be reached thru ayindream.aplasca@gmail.com/PN)
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