Readers of this piece must be resting at home right now or hanging out in a coffee shop wondering how 25 February ended up being a special non-working holiday when it has always been a holiday for students only. We have President Rodrigo Duterte to thank with his signing of a proclamation last year that included 25 February on the list of special non-working holidays.

“If there is anything that 25 February should remind us, it is not to elect weak, feeble and easily swayed candidates into high positions of power.

Then again, it is ironic to thank President Duterte for this short respite, allowing families to go on quick vacations and spend extra time at the malls, considering that the President, as well as a majority of the Philippines, couldn’t care any less about People Power anymore. In fact, we expect him to skip today’s supposed festivities for the third time in a row.

Today’s holiday is a waste, as it makes us remember and honor past mistakes that seek to make a repeat in our country, to which we genuinely say “never again.” It was a revolution meant to bring the country to prosperity, but we ended up in financial ruin. Now we have candidates in the midterm elections still pushing for the purported achievements marked by today’s holiday — a fluke in the still young history of our country.

People Power was heralded as democratic innovation, a humane feat, where millions came together to topple a dictator. But what was once a historic achievement is now a sorry and miniscule footnote to the significant leaps and bounds this country has made and will continue to do so under the strong leadership of President Duterte. With his no-nonsense mindset of looking to the future, building more friendships among political families and world leaders, previously untouched and ignored, not dwelling on the past, the Philippines is set to break economic and developmental records and be an influential player in the global market.

The truth is that former President Noynoy Aquino tarnished the yellow brand with all his failures that cost so many lives and billions in taxpayers’ money. From the “Yolanda” blunders to the SAF 44 miscues and the plundered and stolen funds in fabricated projects the legislators have been unravelling in their congressional inquiries, such as Dengvaxia, passports and MRT scam, it is clear that PNoy fell quite far from the tree that is his father, Sen. Ninoy Aquino. If it is any consolation, PNoy cannot outdo his sister Kris Aquino when it comes to national scandals, but he sure is catching up.

President Duterte is correct in skipping all the celebrations on 25 February, including today. He surely has better things to do. Former Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile supported this move with his recent statement that the purpose of People Power has already been achieved when former President Ferdinand Marcos stepped down. This perhaps can be interpreted that there is no point in annually celebrating an overthrow of a past President when it is clear that the people have forgiven his political family by nearly electing former Sen. Bongbong Marcos to be vice president and soon electing Imee Marcos to the Senate this year.

Vice President Leni Robredo, on the other hand, said People Power is a reminder that power remains with the people, not with one leader. She is correct, though a leader massively and convincingly supported by the people deserves the respect of all. Robredo added it may be unfair to politicize the People Power revolution, marking it as yellow, stating the dilawans are just a small segment of society. This admission is likewise correct, since this “small segment” shall fail to elect any of the dilawan candidates in the Otso Diretso slate, the members of which have been grasping for straws to make any dent in the senatorial campaigns being done all over the country. The attention-seeking Otso Diretso candidates have been resorting to mudslinging to the point of being confrontational.

But the harsh truth is that 25 February is used as a political tool. PNoy even attended the pre-festivities on EDSA recently to raise the hands of his Otso Diretso candidates. We can see on social media how the would-be senators have been capitalizing on People Power, yet to no avail. If there is anything that 25 February should remind us, it is not to elect weak, feeble and easily swayed candidates into high positions of power — something that we should remember come May of this year.