25/02/2026
Today, we mark 40 years since the EDSA People Power Revolution. Forty years have passed since the Filipino people challenged a system that did not serve them, a system that bound many into the clutches of starvation, repression, and death. On that day, the resolve of the Filipino people brought forth victory when they decided that enough was enough.
On February 25, 1986, millions gathered along Epifanio de los Santos Avenue. From young student activists to workers, parents, clergy, and soldiers who defected, they were people who had reached their limit after two decades of dictatorship under Ferdinand Marcos Sr., a regime defined by plunder, repression, economic collapse, and grave human rights violations. They stood unarmed but resolute, choosing solidarity over fear.
And that day, the Filipino people achived victory.
A dictatorship fell, democratic institutions reopened, civil liberties were restored, and the world witnessed the power of peaceful, collective action. That was not an accident of history; it was earned through unity.
Forty years later, remembrance carries pride for what was achieved, but also a responsibility to act on the promise of a better future. With Bongbong Marcos, the son of the same man who plundered this country, now in office, narratives about the past are contested, and the meaning of February 25 is being questioned. At the same time, we face familiar challenges: persistent corruption, concerns about transparency in massive public spending such as flood-control funds, rising costs of living, and political rivalries that sow division and often overshadows public welfare. These realities do not diminish EDSA’s meaning; they make it all the more important. EDSA was not only about removing a dictator from power; it was about asserting that sovereignty belongs to the people and that governance must answer to them. It proved that when Filipinos unite across differences, entrenched power can be challenged and corrected.
The victory of 1986 was not perfect, nor was it permanent, but it was real. It showed that apathy is not our destiny and that fear does not have the final word. If unity once restored our democracy, unity can defend and strengthen it again. We have done it before. And if the Filipino people unite once more, putting aside petty squabbles, seeing the bigger picture, and committing themselves courageously to the common good, the same victory they achieved 40 years ago will surely come again.
But victory does not come to those who cower; it comes to those who turn conviction into action and resist the seeds of division. A people divided is a people controlled. The UP Alpha Sigma Fraternity stands with the Filipino people in commemorating this monumental event in our nation's history. We implore Filipinos to find it in their hearts to answer the call of those who cry out for unity against all forms of injustice: the forgotten, the downtrodden, the victims, and the martyrs who gave their lives out of love for this country.
It all starts with a single act of courage, driven by love for the people of this land we call home. We have done it before. And if we must, let us do it again. Fight for what is right, what is just, and what is good.
Enough is enough.
