It’s the 38th anniversary of the Philippines’ People Power Revolution today.
Every year, Filipinos across the world remember that for one moment in history, we showed everyone that a peaceful, bloodless revolution is possible.
Between 22 to 25 February 1986, hundreds of thousands of Filipinos marched in Manila to protest the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos who claimed victory in the presidential elections.
For 20 years, Marcos ruled the Philippines, rewriting its constitution, closing down newspapers, ordering the arrest of opponents, and concentrating power among his allies.
The assassination of Marcos’ key critic, Senator Benigno Aquino Jr, in 1983, led to widespread protests across the Philippines.
In 1986, Marcos called for a snap election. The opposition fielded Corazon Aquino, Senator Aquino’s widow.
Marcos rigged the election and claimed victory. On 22 February, Filipinos started massing along Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA). Cardinal Jaime Sin, the Archbishop of Manila, went on the radio and called on all Filipinos to support the peaceful protests and to protect Marcos’ former military chiefs who had defected.
Thousands of Filipinos responded to the call and formed a human barricade between Marcos’s troops and the military defectors. Marcos and his family fled to Hawaii but would later get back into power.
Corazon Aquino was installed as President and restored democracy in the Philippines. Despite this, Filipinos continue to face the same lingering problems as before: poverty, climate vulnerability, corruption, and violence against journalists and civil society leaders, among others.
Today, we remember the words of Filipino nationalist Jose Rizal: “There are no tyrants where there are no slaves.”
