Marking EDSA at 37
/The week of the anniversary was a rollercoaster of emotions, spent shuttling between multiple screenings of our film 11,103, a documentary about Martial Law victims, and finishing the Handog video. We screened at St. Scholastica’s College, De La Salle University and at the micro cinema SinePop, to grade school and college students, professionals and friends.
EDSA Revolution icon Sister Mary John Mananzan leads the pledge to protect democracy with representatives of the youth, military and The Spirit of EDSA Foundation, Inc. board member, Maan Hontiveros (right).
Members of the EDSA veterans group ATOM (August Twenty One Movement) have been consistently participating in the annual celebration.
The day of the anniversary was also packed with a full schedule beginning at the People Power monument. The ceremony, the first under the dictator’s son, lasted only about an hour without any government official higher than the Quezon City mayor present. That wasn’t totally unexpected to be honest. A small representation of EDSA veterans was at the event, which ended with the blasting of confetti into the air while guests posed for their traditional photo. The confetti though weren’t yellow anymore but carried the colors red, white and blue. I guess, to echo the Marcos Jr. campaign slogan “Unity.” What was more significant though was the sparse crowd at the official celebration. There were more police and military than EDSA celebrants occupying the stretch of White Plains Avenue. Is the spirit of EDSA waning?
Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte was the highest ranked government representative to join the wreath-laying.
The traditional photo op taken at the monument with fewer EDSA People Power veterans present.
The ceremonies end with the playing of the People Power anthem,“Handog ng Pilipino Sa Mundo”.
I, together with my co-filmmakers, still had two more film screenings of 11,103 to attend to. The first was at the Bantayog ng Mga Bayani and later in the afternoon at SinePop. Bantayog felt a bit more hopeful. It probably is the last safe space for those who choose to remember the heroes not only of EDSA, but also those who resisted the dictatorship by other means. We stayed only to introduce the film before rushing to Cubao for the next screening and our final activity of the day. The crowd here were mostly people we knew. The rest were students from the University of Santo Tomas. By this time, the physical and emotional exhaustion had kicked in.
As the film rolled to its end, the house lights switched on, and we made our way to the front for our standard talk back; we were not expecting what would come. It was typical for the audience to tell us that this was the first time they heard such horrific stories, but I suppose the significance of watching a documentary about those who suffered under the Marcos dictatorship on the day we were supposed to celebrate his ouster laid heavy on many in the audience.
Two guests admitted that they had avoided the invite to watch the film because they may not be prepared to confront the hard reality of what had happened, not just in the recent elections but also in the past six years. Gang Capati, a mental care expert, mentioned, while trying to compose herself, that perhaps hearing the stories, no matter how horrific they were, was necessary to start some form of healing process. Not only for herself, but also or the country. Rapa Lopa, Cory Aquino’s nephew, also confessed not having much cause for celebrating the day, but after seeing how many ordinary Filipinos had suffered in relative anonymity compared to what happened to his famous aunt and uncle, gave him a gut check in the battle of memory. Fake news vs. historical fact. Truth versus lies.
It seemed like a grief session as many of us present had been at EDSA and were trying to reconcile how we got here, allowing the son of a dictator a second chance at power when tens of thousands of victims were not given any chance at all. It was a heavy end to the day, well, the week, but we were also hopeful that it may have strengthened the resolve of some to continue the fight to preserve democracy.
I went home late, and as we drove past the now empty stretch of White Plains Avenue leading to the EDSA monument, then past the malls teeming with people enjoying their weekend, I couldn’t help feeling like we had come from a wake. There was profound loss, but the rest of the world goes on, and you too must soldier on whether the next person cares or not, to do what is right. For the future of the next generation.
Mike Alcazaren is a veteran advertising director and filmmaker whose independently produced film Puti (2013) competed at the 32nd Brussels International Festival of Fantastic film. He is also a Carlos Palanca award-winning screenwriter. He is co-director and writer of the new film “11,103”, a documentary about Martial Law victims of the Marcos regime.
