They may be miles away from home but Filipinos abroad still celebrated the 26th anniversary of the 1986 EDSA People Power revolution, which is credited for restoring democracy in the Philippines.
From February 22 to 25, 1986, thousands of Filipinos gathered along EDSA to oust through peaceful means the late President Ferdinand Marcos. The event catapulted to the presidency Mrs. Corazon Aquino, the widow of slain Sen. Benigno Simeon "Ninoy" Aquino Jr. and mother of the incumbent President Benigno Simeon "Noynoy" Aquino III.
Yellow was the symbolic color used in the 1986 protest led by Mrs. Aquino, who rose to power after the 1986 peaceful revolution.
The people's revolution ended the 21-year reign of Marcos, the 10th President of the Philippines.
President Noynoy declared the day a special holiday through Proclamation No. 295.
In other countries, most Filipino communities marked the event with a flag ceremony and a short program, reports reaching the
Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said. In Bangladesh, some Filipinos wore yellow shirts at the Philippine Embassy grounds in Dhaka last February 25. Philippine Ambassador Bahnarim Guinomla urged them to support the reforms being undertaken by President Benigno Aquino III, whose late mother Corazon was catapulted to power by the 1986 revolt, to "achieve the ideals of the bloodless revolution." Lawyer Hector Soliman, husband of Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman, recalled that in 1986, his group prepared food and offered refuge to rallyists near Boni Serrano Street near Camp Aguinaldo. Atty. Soliman is now project team leader at the Community Legal Services, Maxwell Stamp Ltd. "Let us be examples of empowered individuals, who cherish their freedoms, who continually try to build their institutions, and who are upright and socially responsible. Let the spirit of EDSA inspire us in our work in the Philippines, in Bangladesh, and in many other parts of the world," he said.
Pretoria In
Pretoria, Ambassador Constancio Vingno Jr. said Filipinos should always be proud that they showed the world that a peaceful revolution could transform a nation. He noted how the 1986 EDSA Revolution became an inspiration for other peaceful incidences of regime-change that occurred worldwide.
Guam In Guam, the participants at a program on February 24 listened to a rendition of "Bayan Ko" by Shirley Trinidad. They also witnessed a turnover ceremony of an EDSA-themed painting donated to the Consulate General by Marcial Pontillas of the Guam Filipino Artists (GFA). Consul General Bayani Mangibin stressed that in 1986, Filipinos showed the world that a revolution can be "bloodless and peaceful" and that change can come when people unite. He challenged Filipinos to unite once more by taking an active role in contributing to change and development in the Philippines .
- VVP, GMA News 
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