ILOILO CITY—Protest rallies, pealing of church bells and a noise barrage marked the commemoration of the 36th People Power Revolution in the Visayas on Friday.
In Iloilo, church bells rang at 9:25 p.m., the exact time when the late president and dictator Ferdinand Marcos left the country together with his family and their cronies on board US helicopters to Hawaii amid a massive uprising.
“May this commemoration revive the spirit of this historic event [which] is a truthful witness of the nation’s struggle and victory for truth, freedom and democracy,” said the Commission on Social Communications of the Jaro Archdiocese in a social media post.
A noise barrage spearheaded by the Iloilo provincial government was also held to remember the end of Marcos’ 20 years of dictatorship, with Gov. Arthur Defensor reminding Ilonggos that the holding of the activities was “meant to safeguard the truth of history during the martial law years and remember the struggle for freedom and democracy during those times.”
The noise barrage will be followed by a “people power” caravan, with vehicles holding motorcades to various points in the province.
‘No more Marcos’
In Bacolod City, some 200 members of the Federation of Urban Poor (FedUp) and about 300 from Bagong Alyansang Makabayan in Negros staged a protest in front of the old city hall to oppose a possible return of another Marcos to Malacañang.
“If we allow Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to become president in May, the international community will laugh at us for allowing the return of the Marcoses after what our country went through,” said Joy Jarabelo of FedUp Negros.
The People Power Revolution, she said, is a historical event worth celebrating because no one paid, pressured and threatened the Filipino people to finally unite in 1986 to put an end to years of abuse, theft and killings under the Marcos regime.
In Cebu, militant groups who held a protest rally in front of the capitol building also urged voters to never allow another Marcos to become president.
“A Marcos should never be allowed to return to Malacañang. Let us not forget history. People should be united not to allow the dictator’s son to hold the top position of the country,” said Kabataan party list Cebu in a statement. —REPORTS FROM NESTOR P. BURGOS JR., CARLA P. GOMEZ AND NESTLE SEMILLA