The Philippines finds itself ensnared once again in the grip of a bloodthirsty regime—stuck in a vicious cycle that needs to end but refuses to.
If history does repeat itself, it is because of the attempts of those who are sufficiently well-off to act as a god and promise redemption in exchange—not because of any divine intervention. Almost four decades after the ousting of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr.’s regime, the nation has reversed itself as the children of the tyrant occupy the highest positions in the state, with Imee Marcos as a senator and Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. as the current president.
The resurgence of their family’s power has emboldened them to cleanse the horrors of Martial Law and its atrocities through 2024 Proclamation No. 368, which removes the EDSA People Power Revolution anniversary as a public holiday and a yearly celebration and 2025 Proclamation No. 727 wherein the event was reclassified as a special working holiday. It is a no-brainer that EDSA People Power Revolution was the product of people’s struggle against Marcos Sr.’s tyranny, and the anniversary of this event is a tingling memory of the time their family fled the Philippines.
Thirty-nine (39) years later, there is a blatant form of rewriting our history by reclassifying holidays that are meant to remember the reclamation of power to the people. It sets a dangerous premise that individuals in positions of authority may decide what aspects of our history should be conveniently forgotten and which are worth remembering.
Historical denialism in full swing
The Marcos’ historical denialism is evident, backed by a well-funded propaganda machine that never rests. As is the case with all conventional narratives that are driven by the rivalry between Aquino and Marcos, the elites become the protagonists instead.
In “Society Must Be Defended,” Michael Foucault aptly noted that history often serves to “spear the right of power,” an outlook reflected in the elimination of February 25 as a holiday. Marcos Jr.’s regime claimed economic efficiency as justification for this action.
In 2024, Marcos withdrew the historic event from the list of holidays. When the administration instantly drew flak for its exclusion, Malacañang only argued that February 25 falls on a Sunday and that there would only be “minimal socioeconomic impact” if it were added.
And lest we forget, this was not an isolated incident; in 2023, Marcos changed the holiday’s observance to establish a long weekend under the guise of “holiday economics,” a policy initiated by former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Under this policy, the president is granted the authority to move the commemoration of certain holidays closer to a Saturday or Sunday.
The 1986 People Power Revolution was regarded as one of the most defining events in Philippine history. Nearly two million people marched the streets of Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA) to oust Marcos Sr. from power. Beyond the capital region, protests across the country were in operation prior to the EDSA Revolution. Davao City has frequent Yellow Friday mobilizations; Cebu was a site of resistance over the imposition of Marcos’ dictatorial rule; Cagayan de Oro – Xavier University Ateneo de Cagayan – held daily showings on the Marcos family’s ill-gotten wealth.
Choosing to forget the People Power Revolution and the resistance that led to it—or allowing historical amnesia through negationism—will plunge our nation into a state of dread and paralysis where Filipinos are left to wriggle in the abyss of unrest without any direction or vision. It silences a historical point and neglects the large past of “dark servitude and forfeiture” —the numerous accounts of oppression and struggle that the nation suffered under a dictatorship that still persists today.
An act of silently killing democracy
Bayan Muna representative Teddy Casino stated that the reclassification of the holiday is a “…move to downplay this historic event is part of a larger effort to rewrite history, hoping that our people eventually forget their sovereign power.” However, more than the attempt at historical denialism, it is an erosion of the democracy of the people. In fact, killing democracy does not come in the form of knocking on one’s doors; it is imperceptible.
In this case, decapacitating the state’s democracy comes like a cloud of smoke seeping in-between spaces of doors. First, there is a disruption of normalcies to taint the public’s memory of the what happened. Declared as a special working day, this day that is supposed to commemorate and celebrate the return of the power of the people will just be diluted as a normal passing February 25.
Second, there is a weakening of avenues for people to exercise what happened in history. Public schools and universities, and government institutions are left mandated to work, limiting the participation in activities meant to relive the past, and even the lack of commemoration ceremonies from these public institutions.
It is even alarming that schools are avert to resistance, and are simply submissive in national proclamations – like Proclamation No. 727 – that obviously require defiance. Education, and the institutions that provide such are critical in nation-building. For students to be mobilized in social engagements and increase democratic participation, universities must take a stance in times where society is just all conforming with little dissenting.
To give credit where it is due, some schools continue to resist, such as private autonomous universities that declared this day as a non-working day and universities that held alternative classes to compel students to attend initiatives that remember the martyrs and the atrocities that led to the 1986 People Power, but the rest go on with their lives. The decline of the scale of people remembering, participating in activities, and resisting is no less than an opposition that is quietly being silenced by the state itself.
Upholding through annual commemorations
The experiences and material realities of the people—not the godlike figures who clearly have a stake in the course of history—should ultimately serve as the foundation for any endeavor to (re)write it. After all, history will serve not only to recount the past but also to fuel the people’s struggles in the present.
As we work toward a progressive society where oppressors continue to hide their crimes in the hopes of changing history at their own volition—may we never lose sight of the importance of every experience our nation has had and how it has brought us to this point.
As we commemorate the EDSA People Power Revolution in its 39th anniversary, may we never fail to remember—not just despite its exclusion but defiantly against all attempts to distort our history right before our very eyes.