The glow of phone screens now flickers where candles once burned along Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA). In classrooms, young Filipinos convene in ways their predecessors could scarcely have imagined; debating policies, fact-checking claims, and questioning leaders. The setting might have changed, but the impulse feels familiar. The feeling of gathering and speaking to take part in molding the nation’s direction.
The People Power Revolution marked a historic event when Filipinos filled the streets of EDSA in 1986 and peacefully ended the rule of former president Ferdinand Marcos Sr. Nearly four decades later, methods of participation have shifted from the bustling streets to glowing rectangles, but the revolution’s deeper implication stands firm: democracy survives when citizens, especially younger generations, choose to be involved. Under the presidency of Bongbong Marcos, however, conversations about governance, accountability, and historical memory show that the meaning of EDSA is still actively negotiated.
Historical records from the National Historical Commission of the Philippines note that martial law was formally declared in September 1972, welcoming in a period of curtailed civil liberties, widespread arrests, and centralized power. The declaration changed the lives of the Filipinos, creating consequences that scholars dispute extended years of authoritarian reign. The 1986 revolution, therefore, did not surface in isolation, but rather a response to years of political suppression.
Analyses published by Rappler and Reporting ASEAN suggest that the economic disruptions and debt burdens incurred during martial law cast an enormous shadow over subsequent administrations. Commentaries concerns that economic challenges, from inflationary pressures to institutional distrust, cannot be severed from that historical period. Such assessments reinforced why EDSA is often deemed not merely as a political turning point, but as a corrective event in the nation’s democratic and economic trajectory.
The recent commemoration in 2025 further undermined that history remains entangled with the present. Multiple media outlets, including Philstar and ABS-CBN News, reported varied reactions after Malacañang designated February 25, 2025, as a special working holiday. Civic groups, educators, and netizens alike expressed concern that the change might diminish the day’s symbolic weight, while the Palace assured there was no intent to downplay its importance. The discussion reflected how memory and politics intersect in contemporary discourse.
Student-led activities added the cherry on the cake. Rappler and Inquirer documented how student councils in universities such as Ateneo de Manila and De La Salle University, alonhgside campus media organizations, organized assemblies and alternative classes marking the anniversary. These institutional decisions suggested that commemoration resides in how communities choose to observe and interpret national milestones.
Online, the discourse rippled outward. A Capstone-Intel report published in February 2025, a day after the 39th anniversary commemoration of EDSA, indicated that over 46% of Filipino social media users expressed belief in the essence of People Power. It garnered substantial online conversations across major platforms, recording a 14-million reach within 24 hours, spanning audiences in the Philippines and overseas.
International observers have also weighed in. An Asia Times analysis warned of the ‘risk of forgetting,’ underscoring how collective memory buttresses democratic resilience. If memory is a nation’s compass, then neglecting its poses the risk of losing one’s bearings. EDSA’s relevance accounts to the global discussions of nonviolent civic action.
At the center of these currents stand the youth. Research published in Journal of Public and Private Management in 2025 examining youth political awareness in Southeast Asia indicates a marked rise in civic engagement among young people, specifically through digital literacy practices and issue-based discussions online. Campus journalism, policy roundtables, and community initiatives reveal a generation that refuses to sit on the sidelines and remain silent. They may not march en masse down a highway, but they parade evidence, scrutinize claims, and convene conversations.
The spirit of People Power Revolution has not dissipated; it has metamorphosed. 1986 proved that bodies gathered could bend the arc of power; today shows that minds connected can sustain it. Hashtags and hearings, op-eds and open forums are tools of generations z (gen z) in negotiating what democracy demands in its own time.
To commemorate EDSA, therefore, is not to reminisce in nostalgia. It is to reaffirm a civic covenant that freedom is neither ornamental nor automatic, but exercised and defended. The discussions surrounding the 2025 designation do not signal indifference; they exercise civic power over how the nation narrates its history and itself.
Nearly four decades after citizens converged on EDSA, the avenue is no longer a landmark but a redefining milestone. And, the glow of phone screens is not a departure from the candles of 1986, but their continuation. Where once wax dripped onto asphalt, now pixels irradiate timelines; where once voices revolt in unison, now they resonate across digital platforms.
The avenue remains etched in history, but its spirit has taken residence elsewhere, somewhere in the vigilance of the youth, in their insistence on accountability, and in their refusal to let memory fade into mere ceremony. In this continuum is a reliving flame, passed from highway to handheld screen, carrying its democratic promise forward for each generation who dares to embody it anew, to defend it, and to relive it.
Written by Christelle Degamo, Insight PH
Christelle Degamo, Insight PH is a dedicated campus journalist and contributor. Their insightful writing sparks meaningful conversations and keeps the community informed.
