The Edsa People Power Monument on White Plains, Quezon City, has been defaced with a message showing support for the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos. Malacañang says the graffiti incites “justified anger” among Filipinos. PHOTO BY CELSO SANTIAGO OF EDSA PEOPLE POWER COMMISSION
Malacañang on Tuesday slammed the act of still unidentified people who defaced the People Power Monument with vandalism showing support for the late strongman Ferdinand E. Marcos.
Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said that the act incited “justified anger” from Filipinos who toppled the Marcos dictatorship 30 years ago.
“The vandals who wrote a revisionist slogan at the People Power Monument are inviting the justified anger of our Bosses—the Filipino people—who stood in unison on Edsa to defy the dictators’ armed forces and assert their determination to restore democracy in our beloved country,” Coloma said in a statement.
Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) personnel first saw the defacement on the Edsa monument on Tuesday morning.
The message, which was sprayed with black paint, said: “MARCOS PA RIN!”
The writings were removed at around 10:30 a.m. by Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) workers.
READ: Edsa monument defaced with pro-Marcos graffiti
The Edsa People Power Commission (EPPC) condemned the incident, saying it was “regrettable that the monument, which is deeply valued by millions of Filipinos, has to be desecrated to convey the vandal’s own political thoughts.”
“We believe that the vandal should have resorted to alternative means of self-expression that respect both the rule of law and the viewpoints of others. For when we selfishly impinge our own political beliefs on other Filipinos, we go down on a slippery slope, we regress to the ways of authoritarianism and dictatorial rule,” it said in a separate statement.
The monument, located on the corner of Edsa and White Plains Avenue, was built in 1993 by award-winning sculptor Eduardo Castrillo. RC