THE DUTERTES positioning themselves as defenders of the EDSA legacy — while another Marcos sits in the presidency — is nothing short of an ironic and opportunistic move, political scientists from UST said.
As tensions escalate between the Marcoses and the Dutertes, two of the country’s most powerful political dynasties, experts argued that the essence of EDSA is being reduced to a “political tool.”
“I find it a bit hypocritical, the use of the EDSA spirit when they (Dutertes) are the ones responsible for initially creating a crack in the lore of EDSA,” Amr Sison, a former UST political science professor, said.
The Marcoses and Dutertes were once allies, joining forces in the 2022 elections when Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Sara Duterte-Carpio, both scions of former presidents, formed the “UniTeam” alliance.
That alliance has since fractured, with the president’s allies now calling for Duterte-Carpio’s impeachment. In response, the vice president’s supporters staged protests at the EDSA Shrine from November to December, rallying behind her after she unveiled a plot targeting the first couple and House Speaker Martin Romualdez if she were killed.
Duterte-Carpio has also publicly accused the Marcos family of being behind the assassination of former senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr., whose death was one of the key grievances of the 1986 People Power protesters, after she was asked in November to comment on the president’s remark that he would prevent any “criminal attempts” on his life.
Political science professor Paul Francisco said the Dutertes were clearly trying to stir public anger toward the Marcos.
“It is very ironic that they are using this now na parang binabalik nila ‘yong dati. Kumbaga, ‘yong nasira, na sila mismo ang sumira, ginagamit nila ngayon para bumalik sa dati — para magalit na naman ang mga tao sa mga Marcoses,” Francisco said.
When they were still political allies, both the Marcos and Duterte camps took steps to downplay the EDSA narrative.
Former president Rodrigo Duterte ordered the burial of the late president Ferdinand Marcos Sr. — who was overthrown in the EDSA revolution — at the Libingan ng mga Bayani, while the late dictator’s son, who succeeded him as president, did not declare the EDSA People Power Anniversary a holiday in 2024 when it fell on a Sunday and designated it a “special working day” this year.
Sen. Imee Marcos also took on the role of “creative producer” for “Maid in Malacañang,” a 2022 film that offered a fictionalized retelling of the Marcos family’s final three days in Malacañang before they were forced into exile in Hawaii during the People Power Revolution. The film has been widely criticized as an attempt to whitewash history and reshape the Marcoses’ image.
UST political science department chair Dennis Coronacion called the Dutertes’ shift in stance “pure opportunism,” noting that they were the first to undermine the EDSA legacy.
“Sila ‘yong number one enemy ng EDSA at that time when former president (Duterte) was still in power. They were doing everything to repudiate itong mga memories and traditions of EDSA,” Coronacion said.
Despite the Dutertes’ apparent repositioning, political analyst Ronald Llamas, an alumnus of the Faculty of Arts and Letters, argued that the EDSA narrative simply does not fit them.
“Hindi bagay ‘yong EDSA narrative sa mga Duterte kahit pilitin nila, it won’t work as a cloak to hide their own impunity. Because EDSA is exactly the opposite of what the Dutertes stand for,” said Llamas, former presidential political affairs adviser to Benigno Aquino III.
Volt Bohol, president of the August Twenty-One Movement (ATOM), expressed disappointment over the Duterte camp’s shift in stance toward EDSA, noting that they were once part of its narrative.
He pointed out that the former president’s mother, Soledad Duterte, played a key role in the movement by organizing weekly “yellow rallies” in Davao from 1983 to 1986.
“It was Rodrigo who facilitated the biggest lie [and] the biggest distortion of history when he allowed the burial of the dictator’s body [at the Libingan ng mga Bayani] in 2016,” Bohol said. “This practically gave way to the election of the son of the dictator six years later.”
“Now that they are at odds with the Marcoses, they’re trying to get back that narrative in order to win public opinion, I guess, kasi they’re now being exposed, and they want more allies on their side.”
Remembering EDSA
This year, as the 39th anniversary of the EDSA People Power Revolution was downgraded to a special working day, Catholic schools, including UST, took a stand by suspending classes and office work.
According to data from the Philippine Institute for Student Democracy, more than 400 schools across the country either suspended classes or shifted to alternative learning arrangements in observance of the revolution’s anniversary.
The Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP), which represents over 1,500 member schools, also said the 1986 revolution would remain a fundamental part of students’ education in a statement issued on Feb. 20.
“The 1986 EDSA People Power revolution shall always be a constitutive dimension of learning of our students. Philippine and Catholic education shall never be without it,” CEAP said.
“CEAP shall push back all attempts to deny, distort, downgrade, and devalue it in our schools, in our communities, and in our life as a nation.”
For Llamas, the spirit of EDSA should be seen as an ongoing movement rather than a moment frozen in time. He said one of its most significant fruits was the 1987 Constitution, which included an anti-dynasty provision.
“Diyan dapat mag-exert ng pressure ang mamamayan, at among their ranks, maghanap ng alternative politicians na kahit members ng dynasties,” he said.
“Iyan ang mga unfinished revolution ng EDSA. ‘Yan dapat ang mensahe.”
Coronacion said EDSA was only the starting point in the country’s journey toward rediscovering democracy.
“‘Yong democracy, ushered in by EDSA, is not perfect. Ganoon naman talaga ang demokrasya. It is trial and error. It’s not efficient. But it also involves a process of discovering ourselves,” Coronacion said.
Amid the rift between the country’s two highest officials, Kabataan Partylist Rep. Raoul Manuel suggested that the public should critically assess their leadership.
“Ang sukatan kung genuine ang iba’t ibang mga force sa pag-invoke ng EDSA ay kung paano talaga nagiging consistent doon sa hindi pag-enable sa mga Marcos at hindi kinukunsinti ang iba’t ibang forms ng korapsyon at authoritarian na tipo ng pamumuno,” Manuel told the Varsitarian.
Manuel added that the resurgence of interest in EDSA only exposes the weak commitment of political leaders to its legacy.
“Walang malinis between the Marcoses and the Dutertes. And for the Dutertes to use the EDSA narrative against the Marcoses, doon talaga nagpapakita na hindi sila consistent sa kanilang values.”
Kiko Dee, executive director of the Ninoy and Cory Aquino Foundation, said the renewed relevance of EDSA today reflects widespread disillusionment with both the Marcos and Duterte administrations.
“It reflects that EDSA is the enduring narrative, and when there is, as there rightly is, dissatisfaction against the current administration, then EDSA becomes all the more prominent,” said Dee, grandson of Ninoy and Cory Aquino. Carl Dominic G. Macatangay, Miguel Angelo B. Marco, and Justin Jacob S. Urag with reports from Kaela Patricia B. Gabriel
