Edsa Revolution Revisited

We write this column as the nation commemorates the 36th anniversary of the EDSA revolution this coming Friday February 25. My personal experience of the fateful event reverberates in my fertile mind even up to now. I was then a member of the Provincial Board of Camarines Sur with the late Gov. Felix A. Fuentebella as the provincial governor, under the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (KBL) as our party standard. Together with the other board members, to wit: Jaime Claveria, Jose A. Cledera, Manuel Penaflor and Julian Dumalasa, we went to Malacanang at the behest of the governor in order for us to show our support to the couple even at the time that student activists were already storming the palace. When we went back to our car however, and while cruising Concepcion Aguila St. near San Beda College, the student activists started pushing our car on both left and right sides, that we were hardly able to catch our breath when we were already on our way to the residence of then Governor Fuentebella in Quezon City. Later that afternoon, the Marcos family were whisked out of Malacanang and enplaned to Honolulu, Hawaii. The rest is history, until they returned back to the Philippines years later. But beyond this personal memoir of the EDSA Revolution, its fullest significance as a revolution of the “peoples’ power” takes on greater meaning to us now as a people, 36 years later. It symbolizes the courage of the Filipino people to stand together to fight for the country-something that becomes deeply relevant to us, as we prepare to vote and choose our new set of leaders for the next six years. We are threatened once again by the wounds of divisiveness, and it would seem that we have forgotten whatever it was that had brought us together on that fateful day as one people and one country. It is time to reclaim the story of EDSA and all that it stood for, and make it our story once again.

TRIVIA:

Belated condolence to the family of the late Atty. Santiago Ortega Sr., president/proprietor of the St. Anthony University who passed away last Monday, February 21. If I remember right, his wife used to be the anchor of the midnight stand program “Midnight Serenade” over DZRH in Manila, with hundreds of listeners because of the soft and mellow repertoire it was airing. Atty. Ortega and the voting student population of St. Anthony supported me when I ran as a member of the Provincial Board of this province. Members of the Provincial Board then were elected at large.

Belated birthday greetings to Rev. Fr. Felipe Culvera III, Parish Priest of the Our Lady of Penafrancia Parish, (old shrine) at Penafrancia Ave., Naga City. Likewise, birthday greetings to Antonio “Boboy” Gerona whose birthday falls today. Years back, Boboy stayed with us at our rented apartment at the back of University of Sto. Tomas. Boboy is now residing in Australia together with his family.

QUOTATION OF THE WEEK:

“A DEMOCRACY MUST REMAIN AT HOME IN ALL MATTERS THAT AFFECT THE NATURE OF HER INSTITUTIONS” -WILLIAM BORAH

FOR OUR WORD OF LIFE:

“IT IS FOR FREEDOM THAT CHRIST HAS SET US FREE; STAND FIRM, THEN, AND DO NOT LET YOURSELVES BE BURDENED BY THE YOKE OF SLAVERY” -GALATIANS 5:1