ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider De Lima: EDSA People Power remembrance also requires action

De Lima: EDSA People Power remembrance also requires action

Published Feb 25, 2026 12:39 pm

At A Glance

  • "Hindi sapat ang pag-alala. Kinakailangan ang pagkilos (Remembrance is not enough. Action is required)." Liberal Party (LP) Chairperson Mamamayang Liberal (ML) Party-list Rep. Leila de Lima had this to say Wednesday, Feb 25, as she reflected on the significance of the 40th anniversary of the bloodless revolution that led to the ouster of the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos Sr.
Mamamayang Liberal (ML) Party-list Rep. Leila de Lima (center) (Facebook)
Mamamayang Liberal (ML) Party-list Rep. Leila de Lima (center) (Facebook)


"Hindi sapat ang pag-alala. Kinakailangan ang pagkilos (Remembrance is not enough. Action is required)."
Liberal Party (LP) Chairperson Mamamayang Liberal (ML) Party-list Rep. Leila de Lima had this to say Wednesday, Feb 25, as she reflected on the significance of the 40th anniversary of the bloodless revolution that led to the ouster of the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos Sr.
"Ngayon, tila isang malayong alaala ang EDSA para sa ilan. Pinagtatalunan pa kung dapat pa itong ipagdiwang. Marcos muli ang apelyido ng pangulo. At may mga politikong naghahangad ng pinakamataas na posisyon sa bansa habang dala ang pulitikang taliwas sa diwa ng pananagutan at paggalang sa mga institusyon," De Lima said in a statement.
(Today, for some, EDSA feels like a distant memory. There are even debates on whether it should still be commemorated. Marcos is once again the surname of the president. And there are politicians aspiring for the highest office in the land while carrying a politics that runs counter to accountability and respect for institutions.)
De Lima said the current situation cannot be attributed to the "failure" of EDSA.
"Hindi alaala lamang ang diwa ng EDSA. Isa itong tungkulin (The spirit of EDSA is not just memory. It is a duty)," she stressed.
The former senator reckoned that the spirit of EDSA "is not just memory, It is a duty".
"Apatnapung taon matapos ang People Power, nananatiling hindi ganap ang hustisya. May mga institusyong kailangan pang paghilumin at patibayin. May mga puwang sa pananagutan na kailangan pang punan. At bawat taon, may bagong hamon sa kalayaan — mas sopistikado, mas maingay, mas tuso," she said.
Mamamayang Liberal (ML) Party-list Rep. Leila de Lima (Facebook)
Mamamayang Liberal (ML) Party-list Rep. Leila de Lima (Facebook)
(Forty years after People Power, justice remains incomplete. There are institutions that still need healing and strengthening. There are gaps in accountability that must be filled. And each year, new threats to freedom arise — more sophisticated, louder, more cunning.)
"Nagbabagong-anyo ang mga kalaban ng demokrasya. Kaya dapat ding magbagong-anyo ang ating paraan ng pagtugon (The enemies of democracy change form. So must our ways of responding to them)," reckoned De Lima.
"Para sa [LP], ang paggunita sa EDSA ay higit pa sa taunang ritwal. Isa itong panatang ipagtanggol ang pangingibabaw ng batas, palakasin ang mga demokratikong institusyon, at igiit ang pamahalaang may pananagutan. Hindi sapat ang pag-alala. Kinakailangan ang pagkilos," she said.
(For the LP, commemorating EDSA is more than an annual ritual. It is a pledge to defend the rule of law, to strengthen democratic institutions, and to demand accountable governance.)
De Lima says the fight for democracy in the country continues, and that it's up to the Filipinos to show their courage and unyielding spirit.
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.