The UPLB Department of Social Sciences held a webinar to commemorate the 37th anniversary of EDSA People Power last Feb. 24. Entitled “Pulitika ng Alaala at Paggunita sa EDSA People Power Revolution,” it was conducted via virtual conferencing and livestreamed on Facebook. It featured talks from special guests about remembering EDSA People Power, the Marcos dictatorship, and their relevance in current times.

The first speaker was the former PCGG commissioner and current director of the Reparative Justice Program of the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ), lawyer Ruben Carranza. His talk featured the importance of memory as it related to EDSA and the Marcoses. He said that memory was collective and remembering a shared social act, which meant that official ways of remembering past events could be distorted since “we are not the only ones who remember the past; fascists and ex-dictator families also remember too.”

Atty. Carranza stressed the importance of “remembering what went wrong and what went right, remembering not only the politics of memory but also the economics of memory.” Referring to the anti-Martial Law chant, he said it should not just be “Never Again” but also “Never Forget.”

After Atty. Carranza’s talk, there was a short video message from Atty. Jose Manuel “Chel” Diokno. The founding dean of DLSU’s College of Law and chair of the Free Legal Assistance Group talked about how the memory of EDSA continued to resonate even 37 years after the event. He reminded participants to remember those who fought for democracy and laid down their lives for freedom, never let history repeat itself, and be on guard against attempts to take away people’s rights and repeat what occurred during the Marcos dictatorship.

The second speaker was Dr. Judy Taguiwalo, former DSWD Secretary and noted social activist and educator. Dr. Taguiwalo gave a comprehensive lecture covering a retrospective of the 1986 EDSA revolution, facts about Martial Law and the Marcos dictatorship, a timeline and explanation of how the Marcoses returned to power, Marcos Jr.’s record since becoming president, and the continuing importance and meaning of the EDSA People Power Uprising.

Each speaker’s talk was followed by an in-depth open forum and discussion on the points raised during the lectures. The webinar may be viewed on the UPLB DSS Facebook page. (Albert Geoffred B. Peralta)