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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Majority, minority solons seek declaration of EDSA People Power Revolution Day as non-working holiday

Majority, minority solons seek declaration of EDSA People Power Revolution Day as non-working holiday

Published Feb 24, 2026 01:41 pm

At A Glance

  • Majority and minority bloc members from the House of Representatives have jointly filed a measure that seeks to declare Feb. 25 of every year as a regular national public non-working holiday in commemoration of the first EDSA People Power Revolution.
Mamamayang Liberal (ML) Party-list Rep. Leila de Lima (Rep. De Lima's office)
Mamamayang Liberal (ML) Party-list Rep. Leila de Lima (Rep. De Lima's office)


Majority and minority bloc members from the House of Representatives have jointly filed a measure that seeks to declare Feb. 25 of every year as a regular national public non-working holiday in commemoration of the first EDSA People Power Revolution.
Mamamayang Liberal (ML) Party-list Rep. Leila de Lima, a deputy minority leader, led the filing of House Bill (HB) No.8028 on Tuesday, Feb. 24, or on the eve of this year's EDSA People Power Revolution commemoration.
Serving as authors aside from De Lima were Caloocan City 2nd district Rep. Edgar "Egay" Erice, Zamboanga del Norte 3rd district Rep. Adrian Michael Amatong, Muntinlupa City lone district Rep. Jaime Fresnedi, and Oriental Mindoro 2nd district Rep. Alfonso Umali Jr.
"Forty years ago, on February 25, 1986, the Filipino people triumphed in their decades-long struggle against the dictatorship of former President Ferdinand E. Marcos, Sr. After four (4) days of massive and nationwide protests -- with millions of Filipinos filling up the Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA) in Metro Manila Marcos, Sr. and his family fled Malacañang," read the bill's explanatory note.
"The February 1986 protests are known today as the 'EDSA People Power Revolution', also known as the 'EDSA Revolution' or 'People Power Revolution'," it noted.
De Lima and the other authors said the event "marked the restoration of Philippine democracy". They said the promise of EDSA also gave "impetus to the framing and ratification of the 1987 Constitution, now the longest prevailing Constitution in Philippine history".
They said that for decades since and under various administrations, Feb. 25 was celebrated as a special non-working holiday to commemorate the EDSA People Power Revolution.
"However, in 2024, under the administration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., February 25 was removed from the list of regular and special holidays. Since 2024, February 25 has not been declared a non-working holiday, diminishing the significance of the EDSA People Power Revolution amidst the rise of disinformation aimed at distorting its memory and discrediting its meaning," the authors claimed.
They said that by declaring Feb. 25 of every year as a regular public non-working holiday, "This bill seeks to institutionalize the commemoration of the Filipinos' victory against tyranny and oppression in one of the darkest eras in Philippine history."
"It also seeks to memorialize the heroism, sacrifices, and sufferings of the thousands of victims and survivors of Martial Law. Likewise, by institutionalizing the nationwide observance of EDSA People Power Revolution, the bill aims to uphold historical truth in an era of disinformation and historical revisionism, so that the Filipino people, as a nation, may move towards the future with a clear understanding of its past," they added.
Also by declaring Feb. 25 of every year as a regular national public non-working holiday, "The bill asserts the fitting degree of celebration of a nationally significant historical event from the potential ambivalence, indifference and even negation of any Philippine President."
Similar bills have been filed in the previous 19th Congress and in the current 20th Congress.
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