President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has declared February 24 as a special non-working day in observance of the EDSA People Power anniversary, moving its celebration from a Saturday to today (Friday) to support the government’s holiday economics thrust.
This developed as about 6 in 10 Filipinos believe the spirit of the EDSA Revolution is alive, according to a Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey released Thursday.
The Office of the Executive Secretary (OES) released Presidential Proclamation Number 167 signed by President Marcos declaring the special non-working day.
According to the Palace, the declaration of the non-working day is “to enable Filipinos to avail the benefits of a long weekend.”
Furthermore, the memo stressed that the celebration of the EDSA People Power anniversary – normally marked every Feb. 25 – “may be moved from its original date as long as the historical significance is maintained.”
The Office of the President also directed the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to issue the appropriate circular to implement the proclamation for the private sector.
The SWS survey, meanwhile, said out of 1,200 adults polled from Dec. 10 to 14 last year, 62 percent said the spirit of the People Power revolution was alive, while 37 percent said it was not.
The survey said 57 percent of respondents said the date was still important to commemorate the February 1986 uprising, while 47 percent said the commemoration was no longer important.
Asked about how many EDSA Revolution promises were fulfilled, 47 percent of respondents said “a few”, 28 percent answered “almost none or none,” 19 percent said “most,” and 5 percent believed “all or nearly all.” Vince Lopez
The four-day uprising ousted President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. from Malacañang, but his son and namesake won a landslide victory in the 2022 presidential elections.
The SWS face-to-face national survey had a sampling error margin of ±2.8 percent.
