13-10-2023 (MANILA) Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has eliminated a public holiday commemorating the anniversary of a revolution that removed his father from power. An official document released on Friday (Oct 13) revealed this decision, reigniting accusations that the president is attempting to rewrite his family’s controversial history.
The “People Power” revolt in February 1986, backed by the military, brought an end to the oppressive rule of Ferdinand Marcos Sr. and resulted in the disgraceful exile of the Marcos family to Hawaii.
Critics have characterized the Marcos dictatorship as a dark era marred by human rights violations and rampant corruption, which ultimately left the country in economic distress.
On Feb 25, 2000, then-President Joseph Estrada designated it as a “special national holiday.” Human rights activists have traditionally organized rallies on this day to honor the restoration of democracy.
Ferdinand Marcos Jr. assumed the presidency in 2022, following a substantial social media misinformation campaign that sought to portray his family’s history in a more favorable light. Many had anticipated that Marcos would abolish the public holiday after taking office. However, rather than eliminating it, he opted to shift the date of the “EDSA People Power Revolution Anniversary” holiday to Feb 24 this year, a Friday.
In a surprising twist, a presidential proclamation outlining holidays for 2024, dated Oct 11 and released on Friday, omits any reference to the anniversary altogether. The removal of this significant holiday has sparked outrage among rights groups, with Karapatan denouncing it as a display of the Marcos administration’s disregard for “meaningful social actions that seek justice, truth, and accountability.”
Karapatan Secretary General Cristina Palabay expressed her concerns, stating, “It is on the road to blatantly distorting history by diminishing, if not entirely erasing, any indication that the Filipino people overthrew the Marcos dictatorship and rejected its detrimental impact on the nation.”
Project Gunita, an initiative focused on digitizing books, films, and articles documenting Marcos Sr.’s rule, has labeled this as another “state-sponsored attempt to whitewash the history of the brutal dictatorship.”
The newly revised list of holidays does include Aug 21, which commemorates the assassination of Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino, a figure along with his late wife, former President Corazon Aquino, who is revered for their pivotal role in leading the struggle to restore democracy in the archipelago.
