Cebu’s religious and political leaders exhorted Cebuanos not to forget the lessons learned in the 1986 Edsa People Power Revolution as the country celebrated its 27th anniversary yesterday.
“What we have gained should be pursued and should always be upheld by the people so that our freedom and democracy should always be (alive),” Cebu Archbishop Emeritus Ricardo Cardinal Vidal said.
Vidal said people should also keep in mind the role of the Catholic Church in the revolt that toppled the late president Ferdinand Marcos.
“I’m wondering that we do not mention any contribution of the Catholic Church. The attention was only given to people who were there but (most) forgot the role of (the late Jaime) Cardinal Sin, and the (Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines) CBCP,” the 82-year-old prelate said.
Vidal also told reporters that the Carmelite Monastery in Mabolo, Cebu City was where the late president Corazon Aquino took refuge when the uprising in Metro Manila broke out.
Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama, who led City Hall employees and officials in a 7 a.m. Mass of the Edsa Revolution, said the event didn’t happen overnight since it was the product of more than 20 years of martial law rule.
In a message delivered at the Plaza Sugbu, Rama also said Cebuanos should take the lessons learned at Edsa in voting for their local officials in this year’s midterm elections.
He said while many top politicians fled to the US to escape martial law, he and his family stayed put in Cebu.
Rama said he and his uncle Napoleon Rama were placed on house arrest at the time.
Rama also related martial law rule in the 70s to the alleged strong arm tactics employed by Chief Supt. Marcelo Garbo, Police Regional Office-7 (PRO-7) chief, in removing suspended Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia from her office at the Capitol.
He said since Cebu City became a chartered city in 1937, the chief executive also earned the authority to govern the whole city of Cebu.
At the Capitol, Acting Gov. Agnes Magpale reminded the youth that they “should not forget about the Edsa Revolution.
“We now have democracy… The youth of today should not forget about the EDSA Revolution,” she said. /Reporter Ador Vincent Mayol and Correspondents Edison delos Angeles and Carmel Loise Matus