Groups chided President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. as he dropped a public holiday marking the anniversary of the ouster of his father, according to Proclamation No. 368 issued on Friday, sparking accusations of whitewashing his family’s past.

In a statement, Project Gunita deplores the removal of the February 25 commemoration of the People Power uprising.

“This year, the EDSA commemoration was marred with the confusion when President Marcos, invoking the concept of holiday economics, transferred the holiday to Feb. 24. For next year the regime chose to tread the path of EDSA holiday’s complete eradication,” the statement said.

“We pose these questions to Malacañang: is the president still afraid of the ghosts of the past? Are we walking to an Orwellian future under the late dictator’s son, where memory is deemed insignificant, if not criminal? Will the holiday on Ninoy Aquino’s murder be stricken off the calendar next in 2025?” The statement added.

The Campaign Against the Return of the Marcoses and Martial Law (CARMMA), led by Martial Law survivor Judy Taguiwalo, condemned the Palace’s move, calling it an attempt to erase all of the president’s father’s atrocities.

“Hindi papayag ang mga mamamayan na kalimutan ang madilim at madugong diktadurang Marcos. Patuloy naming sisingilin ang pamilyang Marcos sa mga krimen nila laban sa bayan,” Taguiwalo said.

Taguiwalo also highlighted additional attempts by the Marcos administration to rewrite history. This includes changing “Diktadurang Marcos” to “Diktadura” in the grade 6 Araling Panlipunan curriculum within the new Matatag program.

The Philippine Alliance of Human Rights Advocates (PAHRA) expressed disappointment with Malacañang’s proclamation, which they viewed as disregarding historical facts.

“By removing the commemoration of EDSA People Power as a regular holiday, we risk diminishing the historical significance of this momentous event and the sacrifices made by countless Filipinos who yearned for a brighter, just future. And that the government’s justification that it falls on a weekend is a feeble attempt to conceal its real intentions and avoid potential political consequences.” PAHRA said in a statement.

Solons deplore the “historical distortion”

Liberal Party President and Albay 1st District Representative Edcel Lagman criticized Malacañang’s decision to exclude the EDSA People Power Revolution commemoration from the list of holidays.

“The inordinate arrogance of the second Marcos administration in failing to celebrate February 25 as a regular public holiday is a continuing distortion of the verities about the evils and repression of the Marcos martial era,” Lagman said in a statement on Saturday, October 14.

“Ever since the Philippines has marked February 25 as a day of national celebration, irrespective of whether or not it falls on a Sunday. The more Marcos Jr. would sweep under the rug of historical perfidy the profligacy and oppression of his father’s dictatorship, the more unreachable reconciliation and justice will be,” the lawmaker added.

Senator Risa Hontiveros and former Deputy Speaker and Quezon Rep. Lorenzo Tañada III also criticized President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for excluding the Edsa People Power Revolution from regular holidays and special days in Proclamation No. 368.

Hontiveros described the removal of the February 25 event — the ouster and exile of the elder Marcos to Hawaii in 1986 — as part of a “historical distortion” occurring alongside the “rehabilitation of the memory of the dictator.”

Hontiveros said in Filipino that President Marcos would “forever bury into oblivion the courageous battle of Filipinos to restore democracy, their struggle against human rights violations and corruption, which are among the most serious crimes under the martial law dictatorship.”

“The anniversary of Edsa People Power Revolution should not be removed from among the significant days of Filipinos. Whatever the day is, regardless of it being a Sunday, it is a very important date in our history. We should continue retelling it,” Hontiveros said.

Former Congressman Tañada also deplored Malacañang’s proclamation as a step to “erase the ouster of the late strongman from power.”

“It should not be erased because it is historical fact,” he said. He also pointed out that not extending the 25th of February to the next day went against holiday economics.

“I don’t understand why it would be removed,” he said, adding that the Edsa People Power Revolution was the beginning of the country’s restoration of democracy.

Feb 25 falls on a Sunday – Malacañang

The Palace issued Proclamation No. 368 on October 13, listing the special non-working days and regular holidays for 2024. However, February 25 was not on the list of special non-working days.

Malacañang reasoned that declaring this day a special non-working holiday would have “minimal socioeconomic impact because it coincides with the rest day for most workers and laborers.”

They justified the move by citing “holiday economics” as February 25 falls on a Sunday.

Photo: Mark Saludes