Not declaring the 39th anniversary of the EDSA People Power Revolution as a memorable non-working holiday is more than just a bureaucratic decision— this move is hardly surprising.
For years, Filipinos had commemorated February 25 as the day democracy was restored when millions peacefully took to the streets to overthrow a dictator. However, under the leadership of the dictator’s son, this historical milestone is being sidelined, ignored, and deliberately minimized.
The Marcoses no longer need to acknowledge EDSA because they have successfully rewritten history in their favor.
Since taking office, Marcos Jr. has carefully distanced himself from his father’s dark legacy while simultaneously rebranding it as a “golden age.” He has benefitted from historical revisionism, weaponized social media propaganda, and a generation too young to remember the horrors of Martial Law.
The EDSA Revolution was not just about ousting Ferdinand Marcos Sr. —it was about reclaiming the country from the grip of martial law atrocities, economic plunder, and political oppression.
The late dictator ruled over two troubled decades, declaring Martial Law in 1972 to crush dissent while consolidating absolute power. His rule saw thousands of human rights violations, extrajudicial killings, torture, and enforced disappearances. Billions of pesos were stolen from public funds, enriching the Marcos family and their cronies while the country’s economy spiraled into debt.
Yet, under his son’s presidency, these truths are conveniently ignored.
The atrocities are downplayed, the stolen wealth is dismissed, and the narrative is flipped. Marcos Jr. has not only refused to acknowledge the dictatorship’s crimes—he has actively benefitted from their erasure.
The government is subtly reshaping public memory by scrubbing February 25 from the national calendar. If a holiday does not exist, the commemorating event becomes less significant. Future generations will grow up without the historical weight of EDSA, and over time, the revolution may fade into just another footnote in Philippine history books.
The Marcos administration knows that memory is power. Letting propaganda and disinformation erase the human rights abuses, and corruption during the dictatorship is what they dearly wish.
In bold text, a nation that forgets its past is doomed to repeat it. If the horrors of dictatorship and authoritarian rule are erased from public consciousness, who’s to say it won’t happen again?
In spite of the Marcos administration’s attempts to suppress history, Filipinos must not allow EDSA’s legacy to be buried. Martial law is not just a piece of history to be told, and people must continue to remember why they fought for democracy—why the Marcoses were removed in the first place.
Not recognizing EDSA is a reminder that the fight for truth and accountability is far from over. It is up to Filipinos to keep history alive, to teach the next generation the real story, and to ensure that democracy is never again sacrificed at the altar of dictatorship.
