People Power Revolution

 

 People Power Revolution: A Gen Z's Insight

  

 

 The 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution brought together millions of Filipinos from all walks of life to march along Epifanio de Los Santos Avenue (EDSA), Metro Manila's main artery, to end President Ferdinand E. Marcos' dictatorship and usher in a new era of true freedom and democracy. A demonstration that did not tolerate violence or carnage successfully overthrew a tyrant, demonstrating the genuine empowerment of democracy in EDSA. The long-repressed freedom and the potentially fatal atrocities carried out by the Marcos government—to name a few—were the cause of the revolution. Human rights violations since the dictatorial Martial Law Proclamation of 1972 were other contributing factors that started when Ferdinand E. Marcos declared it on September 22, 1972. Because of Marcos’ dictatorship and the Martial Law that he declared, human rights were violated as a result of people protesting to end Marcos’ position as president. Many people went missing, were physically abused such as being tortured, and were killed whenever they were past their curfew. 

 When news broke that former senator Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino, Sr. had been shot and killed at the airport on August 21, 1983, while returning to the Philippines from exile in the United States, the Filipino people snapped. The day Aquino passed away was when the Filipino people learned to fight. Together with the priests and nuns, the Catholic Church, represented by Archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin, urged all Filipinos who upheld democracy to lend their support. The Cardinal Sin message, which called on thousands of Filipinos to march through the streets of EDSA, was broadcast on Radyo Veritas. It was a powerful protest with the hope of using spirituality to help it happen amicably. With rosaries in their hands, nuns knelt in front of tanks and said their prayers.

 

 The EDSA People Power Revolution is still taught in schools today, and generations continue to educate their grandchildren and children about it. It served as the foundation for democracy in the Philippines, inspiring the people to demonstrate love and compassion for one another in order to put an end to the bloodshed and overthrow the Marcos regime. The purpose of the EDSA People Power Revolution was to usher in a new period known as "The return of democracy," one that would be characterized by genuine freedom and democracy. Children as well as adolescents should remember this occasion since, in my humble view, this movement impacted history. It shaped the kind of life we currently lead, the kind of structure we employ, the kinds of decisions we should never make again, and the kinds of lessons we learned.