Photo by Christian Esguerra/PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER
MANILA, Philippines – The future may bring a lot of uncertainty, but like what happened in Edsa 28 years ago, Filipinos will prevail when love prevails, President Benigno Aquino III said Tuesday in Cebu.
“Ang nag-udyok sa atin sa Edsa, ang nag-uudyok sa tuwing may sakunang tumulong sa isa’t isa, hindi dahil gusto nating lumamang o may pakinabang tayo dito…Sa nakakaraming Pilipino po, and pinakamalakas na naguudyok sa ating kumilos ay pagmamahal,” Aquino said in his nationwide televised speech.
(What led us to Edsa, what prompts us to help each other during times of disaster, is not because we want to get ahead or because it will benefit us…For many Filipinos, they were prompted to act because of love.)
The President, ditching his original speech, recalled how Filipinos united and succeeded in staging a peaceful Edsa People Power.
He also explained why it is appropriate to celebrate the restoration of democracy in Cebu.
“Kung ang huling yugto o huling kabanata sa Edsa, pwede nating masabi ang unang yugto nagsimula sa Cebu,” he said.
(If the last act or chapter was in Edsa, we can say that the first act started in Cebu.)
Aquino narrated the time when he went to Cebu in September 1983, a month after his father Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. was assassinated. He said it was one of the provinces where he felt the people were free and adamant in fighting against the dictatorship.
At the end of his speech, Aquino said he was grateful to have been given the opportunity to lead the Philippines, a country resilient to the challenges of the world and of nature.
For the first time in history, the commemoration of Edsa was held outside Manila. The President said he wanted to spend Feb. 24 and 25 with the survivors of past calamities in Cebu, Leyte, Samar, Bohol and Davao Oriental.
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