Angeles commemorates 30th Edsa anniversary

• Source:http://www.sunstar.com.ph/pampanga/local-news/2016/02/24/angeles-commemorates-30th-edsa-anniversary-459114
• Wednesday, February 24, 2016

(AC-CIO with reports from Abigail Lavarias and Ashley Singh)

ANGELES CITY -- “Yes, Edsa was worth it. And yes, as Ninoy Aquino said it, Filipinos are worth dying for.”

Thus said Mayor Edgardo Pamintuan in his keynote address during the commemoration of the 30th Edsa People Power Revolution held at the City Hall, Tuesday.

The celebration, with a theme "Pagbabago Sinimulan Ko, Ituloy Mo!" asks the present generation to take part in moving towards the change that the Edsa Revolution started.

According to local government chief-of-staff Alex Cauguiran, a prominent activist and a martial law victim himself, the 1986 Edsa People Power holds a very strong calling and enlightenment to the present generation who are, unfortunately, lacking the knowledge of the dreadful history of Martial Law under the dictatorship of the late president Ferdinand Marcos in 1972. Cauguiran was a student-activist in his youth, and was the Chairman of the University Student Council in Holy Angel University.

“The youth of today don’t seem to understand the things that transpired under the Marcos dictatorship. They seemingly embrace the son of the dictator, which is indicative in the surveys conducted by SWS. They have forgotten the Martial Law era,” Cauguiran said.

A recent survey done at a local university saw Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos topping the list of vice presidential candidates from the 5,000 student-respondents.

He then asked the questions: “Was it worth it if we sacrificed our lives then? Was Edsa worth it at all?”

As a response to the lingering question asked by Cauguiran, Pamintuan categorically stated that Edsa was worth it, and in the words of Ninoy Aquino, “the Filipinos are worth dying for.”

Pamintuan, who as a young student of Law in San Beda during the Martial Law years, was himself a victim of the harsh and despotic regime of Marcos. He shared the frustration of many who thought Edsa was the beginning of liberation not only from the clutches of a dictator and tyrant but, more importantly, from the many problems that beset the country.

Even though the generation today has slowly forgotten the values and beliefs Edsa has started, many of those who fought for freedom and democracy, continue to live to those ideals in the interest of the country and its citizens.

"Naririto at nagtipon-tipon muli ang mga noon ay mapangaraping kabataan rebolusyonaryo na handang magpakamatay at pumatay para sa bayan; na ngayon ay abuhin at nakakalbo na ang buhok, mahina at masasakit na ang kasukasuan; malalabo na ang mata - ngunit kahit kailan ay di nawala sa puso ang interes ng bayan at mamamayan at ngayon ay aktibong tumutulong sa atin," the mayor added.

The commemoration featured performances from the City College of College Performing Arts, the Angeles City Local Government Choir and Rheign Ponce.