Remembering EDSA – February 25, 2026
[1] Recognition of this National Holiday: Power to the People“ The EDSA Revolution and the start of the Fifth Philippine Republic.
Live Links in References
February 25, 2026 (Wednesday) update from February 22, 2024—marks the 40th anniversary of the EDSA People Power Revolution in the Philippines. Per Proclamation No. 1006, s. 2025, this day is declared a Special (Working) Day. While not a, non-working holiday for all, it is widely recognized with school suspensions and special activities.
This event still holds a special place in the hearts of many Filipinos who remember a revolution that restored democracy to Philippines in 1986.
EDSA was a High-Water Mark Since PH Independence.
A Failing Economy and Crooked National Election were the Last Straws for Marcos Sr,
Essential democratic balance of power between executive, legislative and court system was disrupted, while Pres. Marcos already had control of the executive branch. Marcos then proceeded to take over all other functions that the government had mandate over.
[2] How President Marcos became a Constitutional Dictator; The Economic Model for Alaska, DONN LISTON, January 28, 2026 update from August 3, 2023.
Live Links in References
This is not much different than what happens in Alaska now, where elected officials from around the state sequester themselves annually in the isolated Southeast community of Juneau to pass record budgets, paid for by natural resource wealth. Under the Alaska Constitution all natural resources are to be developed for the good of The People.
Marcos Jr. wants Filipinos to Forget
EDSA fell on a Sunday, February 25, 2024—providing a great excuse for the son of the former dictator to drop recognition of this historical event. In 2026 it is on a Wednesday and is designated as Special Working holiday. President Marcos, Jr. has issued a new proclamation of Recognition.
[3] Full PROCLAMATION No. 1006 establishing all Philippines Holidays for 2026, in References.
We know now EDSA was born out of a failed military coup d'état attempt at a time when Philippines was a political tinderbox. As poorly as the military had treated the people during the time of dictator Ferdinand Marcos, Sr., when The People suddenly galvanized and rose up, scheming generals had to get onto the People Power train or be responsible for a massacre of innocent Filipino people—directed to happen by the Dictator—in the impending political wreck.
Young Filipinos and Old in the Military Choked when Faced with possibility of Civilian Massacre of their Own Countrymen.
Few true revolutions result in meaningful improvement of circumstances for the majority of people impacted. A 2016 book containing commentaries of participants, and others who have lived in the wake of EDSA, considers the status of Philippines 30 years later, asking: What is the true meaning and impact of EDSA? First-person accounts of what happened in Manila over four days of popular uprising, and thoughtful essays considering what has changed since—given the hopes and dreams of that time—are in this memorial book.
Some conclude EDSA was a failed effort and nothing has really changed despite the fact this day is (sometimes) celebrated as a demonstration of what People Power meant.
As a visiting teacher this writer regrets any effort to erase or diminish history anywhere–preferring instead to learn from history–and I have written previously about this time in Philippines history.
Today Philippines Politics is Again Volatile while Facing China’s Threat
Trump’s administration increased the frequency of freedom of navigation operations in the South China Sea. In June 2020, US Ambassador to the United Nations Kelly Craft sent a letter to the U.N. secretary general explaining the US position on China’s excessive maritime claims. On 14 July 2020, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declared China’s claims and coercions of parts of the South China Sea completely unlawful. On 26 August 2020, the US sanctioned individuals and 24 Chinese companies linked to construction and militarization of the artificial islands.
[4] Is China Bluffing? DONN LISTON September 20, 2025 update from November 16, 2023
Live Links in References
Recently (2023) Rappler.com/Newsbreak reported:
The culmination of the bloodless revolt on February 25, 1986, kicked dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos out of Malacañang after an iron-fist rule that lasted more than a decade. His family soon went into exile in Hawaii, an experience that his son Marcos Jr. described as among the darkest days of their lives.
A decades-long project to rehabilitate their family’s image ultimately led to the Marcoses returning to power, capped by Marcos Jr.’s ascent to the presidency in 2022.
Also from the earlier Rappler story: When President Marcos removed the People Power Revolution anniversary from the list of holidays in 2024, ‘a fire was lit under us,’ says the grandson of democracy icons Ninoy and Cory Aquino.
Recurring protests may be bringing back the previous tender-box with much more powerful Social Media.
This year also has events scheduled:
The 40th anniversary of the EDSA People Power Revolution on February 25, 2026, features major protests, specifically the “Trillion Peso March Part 3” against corruption at the EDSA Shrine and People Power Monument. Other events include the blessing of the EDSA Shrine, mass, and youth concerts, with security heightened and traffic rerouting by the MMDA.
Key activities for the 40th anniversary (EDSA@40) include:
Trillion Peso March Part 3 (Feb. 25): A protest march, starting with prayers, will move from the EDSA Shrine to the People Power Monument to protest against corruption and political dynasties.
Commemoration Events (Feb. 25): The People Power Monument and Shrine will host gatherings, including an afternoon program and an evening mass with Archbishop Socrates Villegas.
Youth and Cultural Events: Caritas Philippines will hold a youth event and concert at Eton Centris.
Educational and Institutional Activities: Schools like Ateneo de Manila University and Ateneo de Davao will hold special Masses, forums, and photo exhibits leading up to Feb. 25.
Academic Suspensions: Ateneo de Manila University, De La Salle Schools, and Miriam College have declared a holiday on February 25 to allow participation in commemorations.
Government Status: Despite the 40th-anniversary milestone, the day is officially listed as a special working day.
Security, led by the NCRPO and PNP with 11,000 officers, will be on high alert, while the MMDA implements traffic management for the expected large crowds.
Survey of Marcos Trust
MANILA, Philippines — With corruption issues hounding his administration, President Marcos’ trust ratings continued to plunge in the last quarter of the year, with more Filipinos saying they have “little trust” in him, a commissioned survey conducted by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) showed.
The Nov. 24 to 30 survey, commissioned by Stratbase, found that only 38 percent of the respondents have much trust in Marcos, down from 48 percent in June and 43 percent in September.
It was similar to what he obtained in the May survey, and slightly higher than the 36 percent in April.
[5] Report on Survey of Marcos Trust, Janvic Mateo, Philippine Star, December 27, 2025
Live Links in References
Remembering/Rethinking EDSA
As a young Idealist this writer had once become swept up in the anti-Vietnam War fervor of The Moratorium March in downtown Anchorage, ALASKA in 1969–sixteen years before EDSA.
We were idealistic.
I have moved on.
But I look back with mixed emotions on where I was then, where Alaska was at in context with the rest of the country, and where we have come as a state having tremendous oil wealth.
[6] We were Born to be Wild! My Alaska 1960’s Experience, DONN LISTON, October 10, 2025 Update from April 13, 2018
Live Links in References
From Remembering/Rethinking EDSA:
People PowerThe Philippine Revolution of 1986 introduced the term “people power” to refer to the campaign of persuasion against state violence. Instead of matching the armed forces of the state with their own weapons, as in a civil war, people power is the use of civilians to prevent the charge of the armed forces of the state. Monumentalized in scenes of civilians blocking, holding flowers and rosaries, offering food to soldiers, it was a cry for compassion and an assertion that violence is illegitimate if used against unarmed protestors.
[7] Remembering/Rethinking EDSA, Introduction JPaul S. Manzanilla, P-2
Before the historic four days at Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA), national democratic activists in the Southern Tagalog region had already formed “Solidarity for People’s Power,” in support of clean and honest elections. In her inaugural speech on 24 February 1986, Cory Aquino traced its provenance to her husband’s assassination: “It took the brutal murder of Ninoy to bring about the unity, the strength, and the phenomenon of People Power…”
[8] Ibid P-3 1986 PEOPLE POWER: An Eyewitness History, Mercado, Monina Allarey, ed, (The Philippine Revolution of 1986) Mania: The James B. Reuter SJ Foundation
Immediately after EDSA, a number of people have commented upon and developed the notion of People Power. It is generally characterized as a peaceful and nonviolent way of achieving the social and political goals they (the people) have long desired”, and “a nonviolent expression by the Filipino people to achieve justice.”
[9] Erum, Moody L. 1989. Moral and Religious Elements of People Power and Their Bering on Nation Building.
The Crisis that Caused EDSA
Social Rupture
To contemporary observers, the public outrage at the assassination of Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino, Jr. on 21 August 1983 clearly led to the escalation of a popular protest movement that culminated in People Power. From another angle, the four days in February 1986, from the 22 to the 25th, can be understood as the resolution to the rupture in social structure that occurred with Aquino’s assassination, an event that shocked most Filipinos. P44
Ironically, Marcos himself sought to resolve this social rupture a couple of years after Aquino’s assassination by calling for an unprecedented snap presidential election that he set on 7 February 1986. Seeking to pacify the US, Marcos announced the surprise poll in November 1985 during an interview over American television. Marcos had probably thought the same old electoral tricks would work and put his regime on solid legal grounds. P45
Regrettably for Marcos, various political groupings that opposed his regime managed to achieve something unprecedented: coalesce around Corazon Aquino as the opposition’s candidate for president…P45
[10] ESSAY: People Power: Deception and Truth in a History-Changing Event, Filomeno V. Aguilar, Jr. P42
It is always dangerous to rig an Election and this effort backfired
Marcos used technology to create a veneer of objectivity–perhaps the first time ever that computers were used in a Philippine election. As is well known, on 9 February some thirty computer technicians staged a dramatic walk out of the so-called quick count being held at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC), allegedly to protest the systematic manipulation of the vote. Technology was not on Marcos’s side after all because the walkout was captured live on television. Catholic bishops and the US condemned the fraud. P45
Election Fraud
The NAMFREL tally based on 69 percent of the precincts showed Aquino leading Marcos by 715,045 votes. But on 15 February Marcos’s parliament, the Batasang Pambansa, declared him the president-elect, with 10,807,197 votes to Aquino’s 9,291,716.
[11] “A path to democratic renewal”: A Report on the February 7, 1986 Presidential Election in the Philippines, International Observer Delegation. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY in References
The following day, at the Tagumpay ng Bayan rally held at the Rizal Park attended by “over a million” people, Cory Aquino proclaimed the “people’s victory” and launched a civil disobedience campaign, a largely symbolic one, to protest the stealing of the vote. P46
The story of fracture within the military and an organic movement to take back democracy from the dictator is compelling. Withdrawal of USA support for Marcos sealed his fate. Advisor to Marcos US Senator Paul Laxalt of Nevada, when asked if he should stay in the capital and likely die there, told Marcos to “cut and cut cleanly.” Newly elected Pres. Aquino demanded Marcos leave the country, thus ending the possibility that the dictator would be brought to justice. Instead he was removed to Hawaii where he would die in American sanctuary.
What was Learned?
Most scholars agree that while People Power toppled a dictatorship, its revolutionary potential fell far short of people’s hopes and expectations of change, and that the Aquino government was basically “restorationist” and what was “restored” was yet another variant of an “elite democracy” dominated by a predatory oligarchy composed of a small number of families linked to each other by personalistic ties of blood or marriage as well as shared political and economic interests, intent on extracting “booty” (in the form of rents) and other privileges from the state with little interest in formulating coherent economic policies or in redistributive justice. Scholar Paul Hutchcroft would say, despairingly, that “”the more things change, the more they stay the same.”
[12] “Oligarchs and Cronies in the Philippine State: The Politics of Patrimonial plunder.” Hutchcroft, Paul D. World Politics 43: 414-50
The Short Filipino Memory
More than 35 years later, in 2022 Filipinos elected the SON of Ferdinand Marcos as president. Having been present and experienced great privilege in political drama throughout his life, Marcos Jr. is now two years into his own presidency–after having been elected by descendants of the People Power movement that had first elected and then forcefully removed his father as president.
One Filipino Blogger, benign0, Challenges PH Hope for the Future:
We then get to the question on whether Filipinos were ever capable to begin with. Much is said about how, in the aftermath of World War II, the Philippines was the richest county in the region, second only to Japan. Why then does the Philippines now find itself way behind– way way behind countries like South Korea which was wracked by war into the 1950s and recently overtaken by Vietnam which only found peace well into the 1970s?
[13] On what bases do Filipinos harbour “hope” for 2024?
Live Link in References
Given challenges he faces, Pres. Marcos Jr. must learn from history on these days more than any other in the year.
References:
[1] Recognition of this National Holiday: Power to the People - The EDSA Revolution and the start of the Fifth Philippine Republic.
[2] How President Marcos became a Constitutional Dictator; The Economic Model for Alaska, DONN LISTON, January 28, 2026 update from August 3, 2023.
https://donnliston907.substack.com/publish/post/171003403
[3] Full PROCLAMATION No. 1006 establishing all Philippines Holidays for 2026.
[4] Is China Bluffing? DONN LISTON September 20, 2025 update from November 16, 2023
https://donnliston907.substack.com/publish/post/138902824
[5] Report on Survey of Marcos Trust, Janvic Mateo, Philippine Star, December 27, 2025
https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2025/12/27/2497036/president-marcos-trust-rating-drops-vp-sara-scores-sws-poll
[6] We were Born to be Wild! My Alaska 1960’s Experience, DONN LISTON, October 10, 2025 Update from April 13, 2018
https://donnliston907.substack.com/publish/post/170411810
[7] Remembering/Rethinking EDSA, Introduction JPaul S. Manzanilla, P-2
[8] Ibid P-3 1986 PEOPLE POWER: An Eyewitness History, Mercado, Monina Allarey, ed, (The Philippine Revolution of 1986) Mania: The James B. Reuter SJ Foundation
[9] Moral and Religious Elements of People Power and Their Bering on Nation Building, Erum, Moody L. 1989.
[10] ESSAY: People Power: Deception and Truth in a History-Changing Event, Filomeno V. Aguilar, Jr. P42
[11] “A path to democratic renewal”: A Report on the February 7, 1986 Presidential Election in the Philippines, International Observer Delegation. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PNABK494.pdf
[12] “Oligarchs and Cronies in the Philippine State: The Politics of Patrimonial plunder.” Hutchcroft, Paul D. World Politics 43: 414-50
[13] On what bases do Filipinos harbour “hope” for 2024?
https://www.getrealphilippines.com/2023/12/on-what-bases-do-filipinos-harbour-hope-for-2024/
