Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 25) — Amid the country’s changing political landscape, icons of the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution lamented the fading principles they fought for to oust the Marcos dictatorship during one of the most shining moments in Philippine history.
Reli German, chairman and co-founder of the August Twenty-One Movement, emphasized only the story’s characters have changed and the country’s political setting remains the same since the peaceful revolution that happened 35 years ago today.
“It was good for what, a month or a year? After that, it’s the same thing all over again. The true change that we aspire is still absent up to now,” German told CNN Philippines’ The Final Word.
German added present government officials failed to respond to the needs of Filipinos and show true honesty in service, the hallmarks of what they fought for in EDSA 35 years ago.
One proof of this failure, according to German, was the burial of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani in Taguig City in 2016.
The 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution led to Marcos’ ouster after 21 years in power. The Marcos family faced several cases from the billions of public funds they pocketed during the strongman’s rule, and were convicted in some.
Despite their proven ill-gotten wealth, the Marcoses still managed to make a political comeback with Ferdinand’s wife Imelda who became a congresswoman, daughter Imee who is now a senator, and Bongbong who was a senator and vice presidential candidate.
“Ang laking kalokohan ‘nun, ang sakit para sa aming mga lumaban at nagsakripisyo para sa EDSA Revolution (That was a big joke, it’s so heartbreaking for us who fought and sacrificed for the EDSA Revolution). It was so difficult and so frustrating,” lamented German.
Singer Jim Paredes, who composed the patriotic song “Handog ng Pilipino sa Mundo” which was released a month after People Power, said the revolution served as the country’s “north star” that reminds the Filipinos’ shining national consciousness in fighting for democracy.
“It is a reminder of what we really wanted as a people. We have failed EDSA, but EDSA did not fail us,” Paredes said, as he explained why the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution is still relevant today.
Paredes, popularly known as a member of the APO Hiking Society singing trio, also stressed the country’s great “political inertia” where institutions failed to serve its purpose, leading to people’s apathy in the flawed and corrupt political system.
This status quo motivated Paredes and German to remind Filipinos, especially the younger generation, about the story of the EDSA Revolution.
“Otherwise, we will continue to repeat the mistakes and we are not learning. We just have to follow this north star. The end goal is katotohanan, kalayaan, at katarungan (truth, freedom, and justice),” Paredes said.
“We have in our hearts and our memories all the things that happened in EDSA 35 years ago,” German added.
The state of the Philippines has changed over the last 35 years, after over a million Filipinos trooped to EDSA to topple the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, who ruled the country for two decades.
Here's what we gained from the 1986 People Power Revolution. #EDSA35 pic.twitter.com/Jfo5ZNZ2wz
— CNN Philippines (@cnnphilippines) February 25, 2021
