Palace on ‘simple, quiet’ Edsa celebration: Time to move on

Time to move on from merely celebrating the past.

This was how Malacañang responded on Thursday to questions about why the Duterte administration chose “a simple and quiet” commemoration of the 31st anniversary of the Edsa People Power Revolution on February 25.

“It’s time to move on from just celebrating the past, remembering the past, and to move on to the whole aspect of nation-building to give it a more positive outlook, and give it a more positive understanding,” Presidential Spokesman Ernesto Abella told reporters in a Palace briefing.

“The emphasis has shifted. It is no longer a celebration of the past. It is now a reflection on what can happen in the future. It is a moving on from those things,” he added.

The Edsa Revolution, commemorated since 1986, toppled the Marcos dictatorship and catapulted former President Corazon Aquino to power.

Asked if the simple and quiet celebration was because the event was usually associated with the Liberal Party, Abella said: “No. We think holistically. The whole nation is evolving. We can’t get stuck in the past.”

President Rodrigo Duterte earlier tasked Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea to lead the preparations for the 31st anniversary of the Edsa Revolution.

In a television report on Wednesday night, former President Fidel Ramos quoted Medialdea as saying the commemoration would be held inside Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City.

READ: FVR prods Duterte on Edsa memorial

Abella, however, said the Palace would also hold  separate rites where Duterte was expected to attend.

The theme of this year’s commemoration is “A Day of Reflection: Celebrating People Power for Nation Building.” RAM/rga