With each passing year, it certainly feels like the memory of the EDSA People Power Revolution is fading away, and never has that felt more palpable than on its 40th year. What should have been a milestone instead ends up being just another day, especially since it stopped being a holiday.

In 2026, EDSA still matters. And it’s not just because of the last name of who’s running the country right now.

8. Because the world that made EDSA iconic no longer exists

Remember 1986? Remember how big a deal it was that we had a “bloodless revolution” to topple a dictator? Remember when fighting fascism was the point, not happily welcoming it and duckwalking in its general direction?

EDSA still matters precisely because we are forgetting what led us there in the first place: the slow, inch-by-inch destruction of our institutions until the powers that be took over everything by force. All in the name of the so-called greater good. The playbook hasn’t changed.

It’s simply just as effective as it ever has been because, for one reason or another, people are enamored with authoritarianism all over again after years of fighting for liberty.

7. Because disinformation has made it possible to rehabilitate any legacy

And it’s not just about the Marcoses. Never has it been clearer that the Philippines has been a hotbed for misinformation than in the last decade or so. We now live in a society where even the most reprehensible among us can take their infamy and parlay it into political success. 

Let’s be honest: what happened prior to the EDSA revolution are matters of public record. And even half the people who tried to deny it now have to begrudgingly admit it because they realized it was true all along. Remembering EDSA means we will become more vigilant at any attempts to whitewash history and paint a rosier picture than what really happened.

Just because “things were more peaceful” in your neck of the woods does not negate the fact that people were disappearing in the middle of the night under the flimsiest of reasons. And just because it didn’t happen to you doesn’t mean it never could have.

6. Because we need to remind people where the power really belongs

It’s in the title: People. Power. 

It’s wrestling the conglomeration of power from the top of the pyramid towards where it should instead be: the people. Leaders are not royalty. Leaders are supposed to serve the public. We’ve reverted to political feudalism so much that we’re forgetting that and thinking these people in power are owed their stature and unquestioning respect, even hero worship.

That’s not how any of this is supposed to work. EDSA reminded us that when people unite for a just cause instead of “uniting” just ‘cause, they can break down anything.

5. Because we still have yet to get justice

From the victims who were affected by the atrocities of a dictatorship, to the money taken from our coffers that has turned this country from what should have been a budding force to be reckoned with into a recurring joke, EDSA reminds us that the fight is far from over, and we deserve justice. All of us do. Of course, we’ve all heard the arguments against this, and none of them hold water. None.

The truth is, it doesn’t matter if they were communists; it does not excuse the inhumane treatment they received at the hands of a brutal regime. Nothing does. Not being an immigrant. Not being a drug addict or pusher.

4. Because we’ve always been fed up

People think that we’ll just get tired and move on to the next issue. The reality is, while we make space for other things in our daily life, we’re like the Hulk: secretly, we’re always angry.

EDSA’s point was simple and pretty black and white: when corruption stares us in the face, we need to say “no more” and “never again.” But here’s the secret: saying that doesn’t end at EDSA.

3. Because there will be a next time

And we don’t mean an EDSA 3/4/5 or whatever number. We mean that at some point, there will be another reckoning. And this time, we need to get it right, or else we’ll be going ‘round in circles. Aren’t we all tired of getting mad at someone getting caught in their cookie jar, only for some random fall guy to take the blame for it? 

There will come a point where there will be another explosion of public sentiment, and things will change. The only way to keep that change permanent is follow through. Remembering EDSA today is a harsh reminder that if we don’t make good on every opportunity we get to make this last, we might not live to see the next one. So even before it happens, we need to know how to make it different.

2. Because we still haven’t fixed the conditions that continue to make EDSA relevant

Our institutions are still weak. The widening gap between the haves and have nots increase by the day. EDSA addressed a symptom, but not the disease, and it was on us to take the next logical step. But we didn’t.

1. Because EDSA didn’t fail us – we failed EDSA

We’ve said this before: EDSA is just a street. The promise of a better life for our next generations was not made by EDSA. It was made by each and everyone of us who fought for that future. Ultimately, we fell short of that ideal, and now, it’s too late to point fingers. We failed. And what do we do when we fail?

We get right back up.

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