P-noy leads Edsa rites

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IT’S A GOOD day to wear yellow and be seen with President Aquino.

Team PNoy candidates aren’t barred from joining today’s commemoration of the 1986 Edsa People Power Revolution, which did not end with strongman Ferdinand Marcos’ ouster but is kept alive by undertaking reforms in the government, Malacañang said yesterday.

Mr. Aquino will hoist the flag and sign into law a key legislation compensating martial law victims this morning at the Edsa People Power Monument to mark the 27th anniversary of the event that inspired peaceful uprisings elsewhere in the world.

“Edsa really is for everybody. You can’t stop whoever wants to go there,” Undersecretary Abigail Valte, the President’s deputy spokesperson, said over government-run radio. “One of the reasons why the Edsa revolt was successful [was] because people from all walks of life and people from all sections of the community came together to push for one singular aspiration.”

Given that the midterm elections are less than three months away, some candidates are expected to turn up at today’s celebration.

Reforms

“There is still the process for putting down the reforms that were generally envisioned by the Edsa revolt. We’re still doing that to this day. We’re still putting those reforms in place. It’s a continuation, so they’ll understand how democracy came about,” she said. “It’s better to look at it as the start of something new and not just the end of the dictatorship.”

Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr., head of the Edsa People Power Commission, said Mr. Aquino would continue his reforms to preserve the gains of Edsa I.

“We are building the foundation to attain these aspirations,” Ochoa said in a statement, citing the administration’s big strides in restoring investors’ confidence in the economy, guaranteeing food security and establishing a just and lasting peace.

“While our people today enjoy the rights and freedoms guaranteed by our Constitution, there are still freedoms we must continue to fight for: Freedom from poverty, freedom from hunger, freedom from want,” he said.

Today is a special holiday for all schools to encourage students from grade school to college to join the celebration.