Religious leaders including Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo join the protest rally to commemorate the 29th anniversary of the People Power Revolution, 25 February 2015.
QUEZON City, Feb. 25, 2015–A member of the clergy believes there is something one-of-a-kind in the first People Power Revolution that can never be duplicated, however vainly many afterwards have sought to copy it.
Looking back to the events which unfolded on Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (Edsa) in Feb. 22-25, 1986–exactly 29 years ago—Fr. Larry Faraon agrees the few days leading to the ouster of a dictator were nothing short of a miracle.
“The magic of Edsa People Power Revolution is one of a kind. That’s the reason why many consider it a miracle. There is a certain uniqueness to Edsa Uno that it alone possesses,” he said in an interview over Church-run Radyo Veritas.
“Subsequent ‘revolutions’ claiming to have been inspired by the original such as Edsa Dos and Tres are mere imitations,” he added.
Faraon, who formerly managed the Catholic radio station, credited the success of Edsa Uno in large part to the local Church hierarchy led by then Manila Archbishop Jaime L. Cardinal Sin, which essentially echoed the conscience of a nation reeling under the weight of martial rule, giving the moral compass it needed.
According to him, the prelate’s resounding appeal to a disgruntled Filipino public became the rallying cry that paved the way to what has become the “People Power” and the restoration of the country’s democratic institutions.
For Rep. Lito Atienza of Buhay Party-list, Edsa should be celebrated because it showed the world what Filipinos could do to fight oppression, calling it an accomplishment by “People Power” and by Divine Providence. (Raymond A. Sebastián/CBCP News)
