Robredo: Edsa anniversary deserves ‘more dignified treatment’

Vice President Leni Robredo. GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE/INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

Vice President Leni Robredo on Tuesday called for a “more dignified treatment” of the 31st anniversary of the Edsa People Power Revolution on Feb. 25, an apparent stab at the low-key commemoration being organized by Malacañang.

“This anniversary is an event that to me deserves a more dignified treatment than a ‘quiet celebration’ in the guise of moving on. I believe that the truth of our past will ensure clarity of direction in our future. Moving on and forgetting may leave us in danger of making the same mistakes all over again,” Robredo said in a speech at a forum at the Ateneo de Manila University.

READ: Palace on Edsa: Don’t get stuck in the past

Over 400 students packed the Leong Hall, where Robredo spoke on social justice, human rights, and the 1987 Constitution.

It was a speech where Robredo laid out what to her were lamentable realities taking place in the country today—from human rights becoming “an area of debate;” dictators and plunderers “are revered”; and “bloodshed and executions are celebrated.”

Robredo lamented that with one of the “human-rights centric constitutions in the world,” the issue of human rights has become “an area of debate.”

“What are we to make of the abundance of fake news, of every deliberate attempt to blind the public with misinformation? Is this really what the Filipino people really are?” she asked.

READ: Robredo: Fight disinformation

“No, this is not what we are. Time and again, I have borne witness to the Filipino spirit and what it is made of. It is made of courage. It is made of passion and commitment. But above all, it is made of integrity and empathy, of a desire to help those who truly need it, of a love for country that runs deep and strong in our blood. Even now I see it in you,” Robredo said.

Amid all these, Robredo urged the students to be “discerning,” “brave,” and “vigilant.”

“It has been 31 years since the EDSA revolution and 30 years since the 1987 (Constitution) was ratified. But the challenges for our people remain. And you dear students will help steer this country to its rightful course of progress. But remember, there are no saviors in nation building. There is no single leader who can claim that he has all the solutions to our problems. Instead, the assurance of positive change and the future of our democracy are entirely ours to make,” she said.

“So let us be discerning when the differences between right and wrong are forcibly blurred. Be vigilant when they try to lie and deceive. Most of all, be brave where they try to sow fear, and be fearless for those who have been silenced,” the Vice President said./rga

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