FILE PHOTO: Philippine Vice President Leni Robredo. AFP PHOTO / NOEL CELIS
MANILA, Philippines — The spirit of the Edsa People Power Revolution goes beyond surnames, Vice President Leni Robredo said Friday, stressing that the historic event in the country’s history is about how Filipinos united to fight for freedom and democracy.
“Higit pa sa pangalan o apelyido ang diwa ng araw na ito. Ang kuwento ng Edsa, kuwento ng pagtindig at paglaban para sa pangarap ng paglaya,” Robredo said in her message commemorating the 36th anniversary of the world-renowned 1986 bloodless revolt.
(The spirit of this day goes beyond a name or a surname. The story of Edsa is the story of standing up and fighting for a dream to be free.)
“Kuwento ito ng pagkakaisa – ng kabataan at matatanda, ng buong bansa, ng mga madreng lumuluhod sa harap ng baril at sa mga sundalong di mapigilang maluha nang sabitan ng rosaryo ang mga baril na ito. Kuwento ito ng pagmamahal,” she added.
(This is a story of unity – of the youth and the elderly, of the whole nation, of the nuns who knelt in front of firearms, and of soldiers who could not help but cry when their firearms were adorned with a rosary. This is a story of love.)
According to Robredo, the spirit of the Edsa People Power Revolution remains alive up to this day.
“Mapalad tayong makita ito sa mga nagpapakain ng kapwa, sa mga nag-aabot ng makakaya para tumulong sa nasalanta, at sa mga nagtataya ng pagod at oras para sa isang gobyernong tapat, na magdadala ng lipunan kung saan aangat ang buhay ng lahat – lahat nabibigyang-lingap, lahat nabibigyang-lakas, lahat napupuntahan nang agaran dahil may pamahalaang itinuturing na sentro ang laylayan,” she said.
(We are lucky to see this in people who feed those in need, to those who lend a helping hand to victims of disasters, to those who would offer their time to make ensure a trustworthy government, that would lift our society wherein everyone’s life is uplifted—everyone is given care, strength, everyone is immediately given assistance because the government also focuses on those living on the edge of society.)
“Puso at pagmamahal ang nagdala ng tagumpay ng bayan sa Edsa. At tuwing isinasabuhay natin ang pagmamahal na ito – People Power man o People’s Campaign; sa mapayapang rebolusyon man o napakahalagang halalan – kaisa natin ang lahat ng henerasyong nauna at susunod pa: Sa pagtindig, pagkakapit-bisig, at pagbubukas ng loob sa kapwa, sa ngalan ng isang maunlad, mapagpalaya, at makataong bukas,” she added.
(Heart and love drove the country to Edsa victory. And every time we put into practice this kind of love – through People Power or a People’s Campaign; through a peaceful revolution or a very important election – we are one with all the generations that came before us and the next: In standing up, arm-in-arm, and openness to others, in the name of a prosperous, liberating, and humane future.)
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