MALACAÑANG on Thursday told the yellow forces to move on following its decision to tone down the commemoration of the 31st anniversary of the People Power Revolution on Feb. 25, 1986.
“It’s time to move on from just celebrating the past, remembering the past, and to move on to the whole aspect of nation-building to give it a more positive out-look and give it a more positive understanding,” Presidential Spokesman Ernesto Abella told reporters.
“The emphasis has shifted. It is no longer a celebration of the past. It is now a reflection on what can happen in the future. It is a moving on from those things.”
The Edsa Revolution led to the ouster of dictator Ferdinand Marcos and Corazon Aquino’s ascendance to power.
Asked if the simple celebration was because the event is usually associated with the Liberal Party, Abella said: “No. We think holistically. The whole nation is evolving. We can’t get stuck in the past.”
Former President Fidel V. Ramos, one of the prominent personalities that figured in the Edsa Revolution, said Wednesday that the administration’s point person, Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, was “not on top” of his job in preparing for the anniversary.
Ramos also quoted Medialdea as saying the commemoration would be held inside Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City.
But Abella said the Palace would also hold a separate commemoration where Duterte was expected to attend.
Duterte is known for his deep affinity with the Marcoses, particularly former Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Ilocos Norte Gov. Imee Marcos.
Duterte has credited Imee for supposedly being one of only three governors that supported his presidential bid in 2016.
Amid widespread criticism, Duterte last year made good his campaign promise to allow the dictator’s burial at the Heroes’ Cemetery.