Aquino to spend People Power anniversary with calamity survivors
President Benigno Aquino III. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines – Instead of the usual ceremony at the People Power Monument in Edsa, President Benigno Aquino III will celebrate the 28th anniversary of the Edsa People Power with typhoon survivors.
“The President prefers to spend… next week with the people affected by natural calamities: by Typhoon ‘Pablo’ and also by Typhoon ‘Yolanda,’” Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said Thursday at a Palace press briefing.
Palace earlier said the celebration will be held at the Malacañang grounds, taking into consideration the traffic it will cause on Edsa.
Next week, Aquino will visit areas badly-hit by typhoons Pablo and Yolanda, as well as the 7.2-magnitude earthquake that shook Visayas. He will visit Cateel, Davao Oriental and Bohol on Feb. 24 and spend the Edsa anniversary on Feb. 25 in Leyte and Bantayan Island in Cebu.
Lacierda said Aquino wants to be with the typhoon survivors to show solidarity, especially on the eve and day of the Edsa People Power.
“I fully support the decision of the President to spend his EDSA celebration in the midst of the people afflicted to show that he is one and will always be one with the people—those who suffered during the two calamities,” he said.
The spokesperson said the government continues to do its best to address the concerns of the survivors.
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