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February 25, 2025 | 5:18pm
MANILA, Philippines — On the 39th anniversary of the EDSA People Power Revolution, church leaders across various Christian denominations are condemning silence in the face of injustice, declaring it "complicity" and urging Filipinos to actively embody the revolution's spirit of resistance against oppression.
In a statement on Tuesday, February 25, Roman Catholic and Aglipayan bishops, along with other Christian clergies, urged Filipinos to live out the spirit of the EDSA revolution, saying that its victory was not just a political triumph but a “moral and spiritual awakening.”
“As a Church, we cannot be neutral. Silence in the face of injustice is complicity. The prophetic tradition of our faith calls us to be the voice of the voiceless, to expose lies with truth, and to resist evil with love. Living out the spirit of EDSA means more than remembering history—it means embracing a continuing commitment to social transformation,” the church leaders’ statement read.
The church leaders also emphasized that the struggle for justice requires collective action, stressing that faith without action is meaningless.
"Will we remain passive in the face of oppression, or will we rise as a prophetic voice for justice and righteousness?" the church leaders' statement read.
"The spirit of EDSA is alive whenever we choose to act in faith, speak truth to power, and build a nation where justice and peace reign,” they added.
Not just people power, but prayer power
Newly ordained Balanga, Bataan Bishop Rufino Sescon, speaking at his ordination on Tuesday at the Manila Cathedral, stressed that EDSA 1 was proof of the inextricable link between faith and patriotism.
“The EDSA spirit continues because our faith impels us to be generous, as to become the conscience and prophets of society. Tayo ay dapat makabayan dahil tayo ay maka-Diyos (We ought to be patriotic, because we are godly)," Sescon, the former aide of EDSA icon Jaime Cardinal Sin, said
“It was not only People's Power, but prayer power. When genuine faith, patriotism, selflessness, common good, unity, genuine unity, pervade among us against tyranny, dishonesty, corruption, and injustice, miracles will happen,” he added.
In a separate statement, one of Sin’s protegès, Archbishop Socrates Villegas, urged students to “be involved” in social issues and resist wrongdoings, to commemorate EDSA.
“Be involved and be engaged in matters that affect the nation and the world. For us Christians, it is a sin to live only for yourself. Be men and women for others,” Villegas said.
“Do not tolerate wrongdoing. Resist what is wrong. Choose right even if no one is watching. That is integrity,” he added.
Tuesday marks the 39th anniversary of the EDSA People Power Revolution, popularly known as “EDSA 1.”
Sin, who was then the Manila archbishop, called on Filipino citizens to EDSA to support then-defense minister Juan Ponce Enrile and former Philippine Constabulary chief Fidel Ramos, following the loss of the late President Corazon Aquino to the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr. in a snap election.
The “bloodless revolution” revolution resulted in the ouster of Marcos Sr., whose son is the current president.
