Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 16) – Liberal Party President and Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman on Monday filed House Bill 9405 seeking to declare Feb. 25 of every year as a regular non-working holiday following its removal from the 2024 holiday list.
The bill explained that the law will be a commemoration of the Filipinos’ triumph in ousting late dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos — the father and namesake of the current president.
It said it will also memorialize the heroism of the martial law victims and survivors and promote historical truth in massive violations of human rights.
“The inordinate arrogance of the second Marcos administration in failing to celebrate February 25 as a regular public holiday is a continuing distortion of the verities about the evils and repression of the Marcos martial era,” Lagman said.
The veteran lawmaker also said that the country has marked Feb. 25 as a day of national celebration whether or not it falls on a Sunday.
“The more Marcos Jr. would sweep under the rug of historical perfidy the profligacy and oppression of his father’s dictatorship, the more unreachable reconciliation and justice will be,” Lagman added.
There is no law declaring the People Power Revolution as a “regular holiday.” Throughout the years, presidents proclaim it as a “special non-working day” except for next year as President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed Proclamation No. 368 excluding Feb. 25 from the list of regular and special holidays.
The Office of the President said Friday that it was not included because it falls on a Sunday.
“There is a minimal socio-economic impact in declaring such day as a special non-working holiday since it coincides with the rest day for most workers/laborers,” the Palace added.
READ: EDSA anniversary not among Palace list of 2024 non-working days, special holidays
Lagman says Marcos Jr. forced to agree
Lagman said that the Marcoses will be “forced to good in agreeing with the bill” saying that otherwise they would admit to the historical revisionism and distortion.
“We forgot that Filipinos are forgetful and sitting presidents would treat in varying degrees the celebration of the peaceful EDSA People Power Revolution. For this reason, albeit belatedly, there has to be a law memorializing the Filipino people’s relentless crusade for freedom and democracy which culminated in the ouster of Marcos, Sr,” Lagman said.
He said that Marcos Jr’s presidency, “whether deserved or not,” is not a condonation of his father’s dictatorial misrule.
“A son should not be punished for his father’s sins. But he is expected to admit and seek amends for his father’s transgressions in order to achieve reconciliation, unity, and justice,” he said.
He said that the EDSA People Power Revolution was never a Marcos-Aquino feud, emphasizing that it was the successful crusade of the people against the elder Marcos’ profligacy and oppression.
A survey released by the Social Weather Stations in February showed majority of Filipinos believe the spirit of the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution remains alive in the country nearly four decades later.
READ: SWS: 62% of Filipinos believe spirit of EDSA People Power still lives
House Bill 9405 pursues EDSA Commission
Lagman’s House Bill 9405 Sec. 2 calls for the reconstitution of the EDSA Commission in pursuant of Executive Order No. 82 (s1999) to plan and implement appropriate nationwide ceremonies and celebration of EDSA People Power Revolution.
It says the Executive Secretary will be chairperson and members will include the:
-Secretary of the Department of Interior and Local Government;
-Secretary of the Department of Labor and employment;
-Chairperson of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NCHP)
-Chairperson of the Commission on Human Rights;
-Chairperson of the Families of Victims of involuntary Disappearance (FIND)
-Chairperson of the Task Force Detainees of the Philippines (TFDP);
-Chairperson of the philippine Alliance of Human Right Advocates (PAHRA);
-One (1) representative from the private sector; and
-One (1) representative from the academe.
It adds that the representative of the private sector and the academe shall be appointed by a majority of the Commission and they should be “ advocates of the promotion, protection, and fulfillment of human rights and of the continuing celebration of the peaceful EDSA People Power Revolution.”
The Office of the Chairperson of the NHCP will act as the secretariat of the EDSA Commission, the bill says.
It recommends that at least P10 million annually shall be appropriated in the General Appropriations Act and allocated to the EDSA Commission for its operations, together with private donations.
