CBCP head urges leaders to use lessons from EDSA People Power Revolution to bring change
A church leader urged leaders to use the lessons learned from the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution to solve the country’s problems and to bring about change.
In a homily delivered during the 38th anniversary of the People Power Revolution at the EDSA Shrine, Caloocan Bishop Pablo Virgilio David said it was important to remember the protest because it gave people a chance to talk about ways to solve the problems of the country.
“The EDSA Revolution was a shining moment of greatness for a country that has stayed silent for so long but has suddenly awakened, gone out, and gained the courage to speak up. Conversation is an important part of freedom, especially at a time when freedom of expression was prohibited,” said David, president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).
Former President Ferdinand Marcos Sr and his family and his associates left the Philippines for Hawaii on Feb. 25, 1986, ending 21 years in power. Corazon Aquino took over as president.
David said the freedom that people fought for in the revolution could not be taken away if the Filipinos would allow the 1987 Constitution to be manipulated.
“We cannot be free if we do not make laws that are fair and in accordance with God from whom all laws come from. We also cannot be fully free if the law is written but we do not implement or follow the spirit of the law,” David said.
“And we cannot maintain our freedom if we allow our law to be manipulated to serve the interest of the few and not the masses. You should clarify the difference between the people’s initiative and the politician’s initiative,” he said.
“We have seen how the law has been weaponized for people who have no respect for it,” he added.
David also likened the transfiguration of Jesus Christ to the transformation that the EDSA Revolution brought to the country.
He also said the true key to freedom was following the covenant and to voluntarily offering one’s self to the country.
Earlier, as part of the commemoration of EDSA People Power Revolution, cyclists, skaters, and joggers converged at Ayala Avenue in Makati City to hold the “Freedom Ride” where they expressed their opposition to Charter change.
The event, which was organized by the Akbayan Party as well as other youth and progressive groups, began with a wreath-laying ceremony at the Senator Ninoy Aquino monument.
The “Freedom Ride” was attended by former Senator Rene Saguisag and Francis Dee, deputy executive director of the Ninoy and Cory Aquino Foundation (NCAF) and grandson of former President Corazon Aquino and former Senator Benigno Aquino, Jr.
This was followed by a multimedia musical event at Club Filipino in San Juan City in the afternoon and a concert at the People Power Monument in EDSA. Jaspearl Tan/DMS
