Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman has sought to declare February 25 of every year as a regular national public non-working holiday to commemorate the EDSA People Power Revolution.
Lagman filed House Bill 9405 to protest President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s Proclamation 368 which excludes February 25 from the list of holidays and special non-working days for 2024.
“There must be a law institutionalizing the celebration as a regular national public non-working holiday of the EDSA People Power Revolution which started on February 22, 1986 and culminated on February 25, 1986,” Lagman, president of the Liberal Party, said in his bill.
Lagman’s bill also seeks to reconstitute the EDSA Commission, created pursuant to Executive Order 82 series of 1999, to plan and implement appropriate nationwide ceremonies for the observance of February 25 as the culmination day of the peaceful EDSA People Power Revolution.
“It has often been said that Filipinos have a short memory. This is unsurprising since we as a country have failed to institutionalize memorialization compared with other States,” the veteran lawmaker said.
Lagman appealed to President Marcos urged and his allies to support the enactment of his proposed law.
He said the exclusion of the February 25 EDSA People Power from the list of public holidays “is a continuing distortion of the verities about the evils and repression of the Marcos martial era.”
Lagman pointed out that “Ever since the Philippines has marked February 25 as a day of national celebration, irrespective of whether or not it falls on a Sunday.”
Under the measure, the EDSA Commission will be headed by the Executive Secretary. An amount of P10 million annually shall be appropriated in the national budget and allocated to the EDSA Commission for its operations, together with private donations.