Remembering EDSA: Cebu gathers for 40th year

CEBU CITY — Forty years after the historic EDSA People Power Revolution, the Archdiocese of Cebu is calling on all Cebuanos to join the 40th-anniversary commemoration on 25 February 2026. About 60 religious, academic and civic groups are backing the call, urging citizens to remember the uprising that restored democracy in the Philippines.

Archbishop Alberto “Abet” Uy said the event is about more than history. “Our participation will affirm that truth matters, even four decades after the uprising,” he said.

Uy explained that EDSA is part of the Filipino moral identity. “EDSA wasn’t just a political event; it was a moral stand,” he said. “It showed that Filipinos, guided by conscience, prayer, and unity, could reject dictatorship and corruption without violence. Joining the commemoration is a way of saying we still believe in what is right — that truth, integrity and human dignity matter.”

He also reminded the public that freedom must be protected every day. “Forty years later, corruption and abuse of power remain real. Poverty persists, and trust in institutions is fragile,” Uy noted. “EDSA was not the end — it was the beginning of a responsibility. By participating, Cebuanos declare that we refuse to be indifferent. Democracy must be protected, renewed, and lived every day.”

Finally, Uy emphasized that the commemoration sends a powerful lesson to the younger generation. “By celebrating EDSA, we teach that freedom has a price, values must be defended, and ordinary people united can shape our nation’s future. To join EDSA is to choose memory over forgetfulness, courage over indifference, and hope over cynicism.”

The day’s activities start with a 1:45 p.m. Mass at the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño.

At 3 p.m., all churches in the Archdiocese will toll their bells for one minute, echoing the historic simultaneous bell tolling of 25 February 1986.