Universities and schools across the Philippines are fighting to keep EDSA’s memory alive.
Ahead of the 39th anniversary of the People Power Revolution on February 25, educational institutions nationwide have announced the suspension of classes or alternative working days to honor EDSA’s pivotal role in the country’s history. Despite the Marcos administration removing the commemoration from the list of special non-working holidays in 2025 and declaring it a “special working day,” these Philippine institutions remain steadfast in remembering the revolution’s legacy.
On February 25, 1986, after four days of peaceful protests that mainly took place on EDSA avenue, millions of Filipinos succeeded in ousting former President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. and ending his 21-year dictatorship. The revolution, marked by nonviolent resistance, restored democracy and led to the rise of Corazon Aquino as the country’s first female president.
However, Philippine universities had long been hotbeds of activism against the Marcos regime, particularly in the late 1970s when student protests grew in response to the ongoing repression under martial law. In July 1977, nearly 200,000 students across ten universities — including the University of the Philippines (UP), University of Santo Tomas (UST), and Araneta University Foundation — walked out of their classes to demand the demilitarization of campuses, the reinstatement of student-run newspapers, and an end to tuition hikes.
Now, almost forty years later, the country’s universities find themselves once again in a struggle to preserve the memory of EDSA itself.
“We will continue to commemorate this shining moment in history,” wrote the Catholic educational institution De La Salle Philippines (DLSP) in its official announcement. “When the collective power of the people prevailed over corruption, abuse, lack of accountability among public officials, and social injustice.”
Likewise, UST, UP Cebu and Diliman, and the area-specific EDSA-Ortigas Consortium of Schools, among others, have declared a suspension of classes and work on February 25.
While UP President Angelo Jimenez declared February 25 an “alternative learning day,” a group of UP system students, faculty, and staff appealed to the president on February 18 to declare it a non-working holiday.
“As a historically declared Non-Working Holiday, this is a clear attempt to distort our history and diminish the long struggle of the Filipino people against the Marcos Sr. dictatorship,” wrote the UP regents. “Thirty-nine years has passed since the Filipino people have collectively toppled a dictator, yet we still see threats to our democracy today. In our commitment to honor and excellence in service of the people, we must make a stand as a University.”
