Edsa cannot be changed

Echoes From

BY JOHNNY DAYANG

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) expressed its lament that through the years, the spirit of the 1986 People Power Revolution has been manipulated, abused, raped and prostituted, and nothing has changed after 28 years.

Archbishop Socrates Villegas, CBCP president, said he chose to celebrate the anniversary of the revolution at the Edsa Shrine in Mandaluyong City because it was a holy place were heroes bended their knees and stopped the tanks.

In a statement Archbishop Villegas said: “If they want to celebrate Edsa in Cebu, if they want to celebrate Edsa in Mindanao, let it be. But for you, the Edsa Shrine community, stand on this ground, you and God had a brief loving encounter for four days and history cannot be changed any more.”

I was in Cebu assisting a media contingent covering Cory Aquino and Doy Laurel as UNIDO deputy secretary-general for information when the Edsa revolt started. I was instructed by Doy to leave for Manila immediately to closely observe the developments.

History tells us now that it was the defection of the Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile and Gen. Fidel V. Ramos that sparked the military revolt against the Marcos regime.

History also tells us that it was the call of Cardinal Jaime L. Sin, representing the influential Catholic Church, that people from all walks of life gathered to protect the military rebels. They constituted a massive force that forced the ouster of Marcos.

A lot of people are now wondering why Enrile and Ramos were shunted out of Edsa anniversary rites in Cebu while Cardinal Sin was not even mentioned.

* * * The first Visayan forum on Asean Integration 2015, sponsored by the Northern Visayas Colleges (NVC) headed by lawyer Allen Salas Quimpo was successfully held in Kalibo, Aklan. 

Some business, NGO leaders, and educators attended the event. Aklan’s lone district Rep. Nonong Haresco, AseanTimes publisher Louie T. Arriola, president of the Publishers Association of the Philippines, Inc. (PAPI), Aklan State University (ASU) president Dr. DaniloAbayon, and DTI-BOI director Ron Astillas composed the battery of speakers.

Our chairman in the Boracay Foundation, Inc. (BFI), Dr. Henry O. Chusuey, turned over another two school buildings to the Ramon Avancena National School in Iloilo City