Activist Kiko Aquino-Dee, grandson of former President Corazon Aquino and ex-senator Ninoy Aquino, emphasized that the essence of the EDSA People Power Revolution endures regardless of whether February 25 is declared a holiday.
“I think ang nangyari ngayon, naging malinaw yung hamon na ipagtanggol yung diwa ng People Power ay sa taong bayan, hindi manggagaling sa gobyerno. Dati kasi executive order lang yung paggawa na special non-working holiday nito. Nakita natin na pwede ipagkait sa taong bayan,” Aquino-Dee said.
He added that, whether or not a law is passed to restore the holiday, it is the people’s responsibility to keep the revolution’s legacy alive:
“Isinusulong natin yung batas, pero ang malinaw, maisabatas man ‘yan o hindi, nasa atin yung responsibilidad na sariwain yung legacy nito.”
Traditionally observed on February 25, the holiday was moved in 2023 by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to February 24 under holiday economics, leaving February 25 without official recognition in subsequent years.
Lawmakers in the House of Representatives have filed a bill to restore the date as a regular holiday.
Kalookan Bishop Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David highlighted that the commemoration cannot be suppressed:
“I’m not even surprised about that. Sino ba ang ibinagsak ng EDSA People Power? Diba? Obviously, nandudoon pa rin sila sa ilusyon na yung years of dictatorship were the golden age.”