The nation celebrates and commemorates this week the 40th anniversary of the Edsa People Power Revolution, a seminal event in Philippine history.
But the hope and expectation that the main forces and their allies that worked to dismantle Ferdinand Marcos Sr.’s dictatorship would march shoulder to shoulder on the now-world-famous avenue to mark the historic milestone will go unfulfilled.
2 main programs
There will be two main commemoration programs, separated by less than a one-kilometer section of Edsa outside Camp Aguinaldo, where hundreds of thousands of Filipinos from all walks of life and from various political persuasions massed during those four days 40 years ago, forcing the dictator and his family to flee Malacañang.
Tomorrow, Feb. 25, both the aging veterans of the antidictatorship struggle and their supporters, including many who were not yet born during those days, will hold rallies that will make similar but differently nuanced calls and demands fueled by the outrage against the latest government corruption scandal involving billions of pesos in kickbacks from flood control projects.
One will be held at the People Power Monument (PPM) and the other at the Edsa Shrine, which was a patch of land overgrown with tall grass in 1986 where nuns praying the rosary joined large crowds that stopped Philippine Marines on tanks sent by Marcos Sr. to crush the soldiers who had broken away from him.
There were efforts by representatives of the two main groups, both considered politically progressive, to hold a joint activity, but these failed to iron out differences in time for this week’s commemoration.
The PPM progressives under the Trillion Peso March Movement (TPMM) include the Buhay Ang People Power Campaign Network, Siklab (or Simbahan at Komunidad Laban sa Katiwalian), Akbayan Party, Tindig Pilipinas, Magdalo and Nagkaisa Labor Coalition.
The Shrine progressives under the Edsa40 Committee include the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan), Alliance of Concerned Teachers, Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino and Kilusang Bayan Kontra Kurakot.
Both coalitions include church-backed groups; they said celebrations will be held in other major cities nationwide. Fr. Carmelo “Tito” Caluag, one of the key TPMM leaders and the secretary general of Caritas Philippines, said the 86 Catholic dioceses across the country will also hold commemoration activities.
Differing tactics
While both groups condemn corruption and demand an end to political dynasties and the return of ill-gotten wealth, they differ in tactics, particularly in the manner their aspirations or demands are to be achieved.
The general call of the Edsa40 coalition is to “continue the fight against corruption and poverty for truth, justice and accountability.”
In a statement on Feb. 11, the TPMM called to “put an end to systemic corruption, that continues to plague Philippine democracy, seek justice for human rights abuses of the past and present governments, especially the victims of the Duterte drug war, and institutionalize reforms to end corruption and ban dynasties.”
The TPMM has made clear that it will not support any extraconstitutional action that would destabilize the government, such as the establishment of a military junta, a revolutionary government or a transition council following the resignation or ouster of both President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Vice President Sara Duterte. The Vice President, who is now the most strident critic of Mr. Marcos, recently declared that she will seek the presidency in 2028.
Bayan and its allies are considering a post-Marcos-Duterte transition council, not a military junta, as a way to assist the nation’s transition leader—which is the Senate President—in the event that both the President and the Vice President are forced to step down.
According to Caluag, as long as all the legal means to achieve all their demands or goals remain available, they will not discuss “resign all, revolutionary government, or transition council.”
Francis “Kiko” Aquino Dee, executive director of the Ninoy and Cory Aquino Foundation and co-convenor of Tindig Pilipinas, said that “while we’re calling for accountability, we’re calling for an end to dynasties, we’re very cautious to make sure that’s within the bounds of the ’87 Constitution.”
While he has “no right to say that they (other groups) shouldn’t call for that,” he said, “I also want to be clear that my allies and I are distinguished from that call. So, I think that difference is important.”
Disallowed calls
Dee drew rebuke for a Facebook post on Feb. 20 listing the calls that he said will be disallowed on Feb. 25—calls for violence, calls addressed to the armed forces, and calls to install in positions of power any non-elected group such as a revolutionary government or a transition council.
In response, Obet de Castro, deputy secretary general of Bayan, pointed out that the Edsa uprising itself resulted in a revolutionary government led by Dee’s grandmother, Cory Aquino.
Bayan chair Teddy Casiño said a transition council may be allowed under the Constitution through an executive order by a transition president.
Casiño criticized the TPMM for seeming to excuse the President from direct accountability, especially for corruption rooted in his father’s regime, while directing most of their fire at the Vice President.
His group has filed impeachment complaints against both the President and Vice President, but groups under the TPMM filed a complaint only against Duterte.
Casiño said it would appear that to the TPMM, any attack against the President would favor Duterte, who is an unacceptable replacement for Mr. Marcos.
Caluag himself opened his daily Mass from Dec. 25, 2025, to Feb. 22 with “special intentions” “for all our leaders in government who are shepherding the priority bills of the President—the President himself, the Speaker, the Senate President, our Senators, Congressmen/women.” He was referring to the proposed Anti-Dynasty Law, the Independent People’s Commission Act, and the Citizens Access and Disclosure of Expenditures for National Accountability Act.
‘Lesser evil’
Casiño said the groups under TPMM might be trying not to antagonize Mr. Marcos so that they could win over his voters’ base, and that they would continue doing that until 2028. “That’s a very naïve lesser-evil tactic,” he said.
Luke Espiritu, president of the Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino, said it was ironic that four decades after a plundering president was ousted, no mention of the name of his son and namesake would be made in a gathering at Edsa.
“That is why we at Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino join the call to seek accountability from all those responsible—Marcos and Duterte should answer to the people,” Espiritu said. “And it would be unacceptable that ‘never again’ would turn into ‘never against’ Bongbong Marcos.”
“Never again” is an activist slogan calling on Filipinos to do all they can to prevent a dictatorship from ever recurring.
Dee said he personally could not let the 40th anniversary of the Edsa revolution pass without recognizing its historical significance because that part of Philippine history should be seen in relation to “what’s going on right now.”
“The world-record corruption of Marcos Sr.’s dictatorship, how is that different from what’s going on right now? And more importantly, how is that very similar to what’s going on right now?” he said.
Dee also indicated that he is not closing the door to uniting with other progressive groups. “While it didn’t happen now, my strong hope is that it’s not something that is taken for granted, both in terms of ‘it’s good to unite, period,’ but also in terms of this ‘never the twain shall meet’ [scenario],” he said. “It should always be assessed and revisited.” CS
