Akbayan party-list representatives Chel Diokno, Percival Cendaña, and Dadah Ismula, alongside Dinagat Islands Rep. Arlene Bag-ao filed a bill in the House of Representatives declaring Wednesday, 25 February, every year as a regular holiday to commemorate the EDSA People Power.
House Bill 7911 was filed by the congressmen Monday morning, saying that the mentioned date should be declared to observe “the peaceful 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution that ousted President Ferdinand E. Marcos, Sr., toppled the authoritarian regime that he established, and restored democracy in the Philippines.”
“Over the past few years, the treatment of this day has fluctuated. From a non-working holiday, to a regular working day to a special working holiday. It’s time to set this right,” Diokno said in a statement.
Looking back, classes were usually suspended and most employees were not required to work during the EDSA People Power Anniversary, but this changed after Ferdinand Marcos Jr. took office in 2022.
Last 2023, Marcos cited holiday economics as a reason to change the 25 February special non-working day to 24 February.
In the last two years, 25 February has not been marked as a holiday—whether regular or special.
“The EDSA People Power Revolution demonstrated to the world the sovereign will of a united people committed to freedom, constitutional government, and the rule of law,” the lawmakers mentioned in the explanatory note.
"Given its profound impact on the nation's democratic life, the State has the duty to preserve historical truth and honor the collective courage of the Filipino people,” they added.