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Wednesday, February 25, 2004
Arroyo leads 18th anniversary celebration of 'people power' (10:05 a.m.)
MANILA--President Arroyo led the country Wednesday in celebrating the 18th anniversary of the "people power" revolution that ousted dictator Ferdinand Marcos amid calls for peaceful elections in May.
Arroyo, former presidents Corazon Aquino and Fidel Ramos and other officials trooped to a historic shrine on Manila's main Edsa highway, where in 1986 millions of Filipinos defied tanks and troops to support government forces that had broken away from Marcos.
The dictator, who had ruled the Philippines for 20 years, was eventually forced to flee into exile in Hawaii, where he died in 1989. His family however was later allowed to return home and still face numerous civil and criminal cases.
Marcos was succeeded by Corazon Aquino, whose husband, Benigno Aquino, was the dictator's arch rival. The opposition leader was assassinated in August 1983 upon returning from exile in the United States, and his death galvanized public clamor for Marcos's fall.
President Arroyo on Wednesday signed a law officially making Benigno Aquino a national hero and his death anniversary a public holiday.
Corazon Aquino meanwhile urged the public to work towards preserving the democracy won by the revolution. She said she was leading a citizen's volunteer group to monitor the conduct of the upcoming May presidential vote.
"What is important is for us to have peaceful and credible elections," Aquino told reporters, but declined to endorse any candidate.
Arroyo, who herself was swept into office by a similar uprising that toppled Joseph Estrada in 2001, is running in the election.
Only a small crowd participated in Wednesday's celebrations however, compared with previous years when thousands joined daylong activities. (AFP) |
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