Duterte reminds Filipinos of right to vote

Credit to Author: CATHERINE S. VALENTE, TMT| Date: Mon, 25 Feb 2019 05:15:40 +0000

CARTOON BY EUNICE LOGRO

PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte reminded Filipinos of their right to vote as the country commemorated the 33rd anniversary of the EDSA People Power Revolution on Monday.

In his message, the President said that just like in the first People Power Revolution, the electorate has the power to chart the course of the country.

“As the entire nation prepares for the upcoming midterm elections this May, let us always remember how this historic revolution restored our power to collectively chart our future through the ballot,” the President said.

“May we all have a profound sense of appreciation and understanding of what we lost and what we reclaimed,” he added.

Duterte also said the revolution showed to the world that “history can be rewritten without the need to resort to violent means.”

“I am hopeful that this occasion will inspire all of us, especially the younger generation, to deeply value the freedom and liberty that we won in EDSA,” Duterte said.

“Let us never forget the sacrifice of those who came before us so that we may always be motivated to preserve and protect the democratic way of life that we enjoy today,” he said.

The President has previously skipped the commemoration rites, and his spokesman Salvador Panelo said that he was not attending it for the third time due to “more pressing matters.”

Panelo said Duterte would be joining barangay leaders for their 1st National Assembly of Liga ng mga Barangay sa Pilipinas in Pasay City on Monday.

“While the President has to attend to more pressing matters of the State and may not be physically present during the commemoration of the People Power Revolution, he will however be there in union with the celebrators as well as in recognition and reminder to all that our government is a fruit of democracy and our sovereignty resides in the people and all authority emanates from them,” Panelo said in a statement.

“The lesson learned in EDSA is unmistakable. Power is transitional as life is ephemeral. You abuse either and it will be taken away from you.  As a wise sage says: Those whom the Gods wish to destroy they first make mad,” he added.

Last year, Duterte skipped the EDSA anniversary celebration as he was in Mindanao for an “important event.”

In 2017, the President was also in Davao City during the anniversary to lead a turnover of a drug rehabilitation center as well as the launch of the Bangsamoro Transition Commission.

Duterte, who has been vocal about his admiration for former president Ferdinand Marcos, allowed the late strongman’s burial at the Libingan ng mga Bayani in 2016 after a final go-signal from the Supreme Court.

The President has also repeatedly thanked Marcos’ daughter, Ilocos Norte Gov. Maria Imelda Josefa “Imee” Marcos, for supporting his presidential bid in 2016.

Panelo, however, said that Duterte skipping the EDSA People Power rites for the past three years has nothing to do with his closeness to the Marcoses, the family ousted by the revolution symbolized by former president Corazon Aquino.

“No connection, whatsoever,” Panelo told reporters in an interview on Wednesday. “Marami lang trabaho si Presidente eh (The President just has a lot of work to do). He’d rather spend time reading documents concerning the government, reading books to enhance his intellect some more.”

Duterte’s father used to be a member of Marcos’ Cabinet, while his mother, Soledad, led the Yellow Friday movement against the regime in Davao.

It was Aquino who appointed Duterte vice mayor officer-in-charge when she stripped local officials of their posts shortly after the EDSA Revolution installed her president in 1986.

The People Power Revolution in 1986 was a civil resistance against the iron-fist rule of Marcos. The popular movement led to the ouster of the late strongman.

 

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