By National Union of Students of the Philippines
The 40th anniversary of the EDSA uprising comes at a tragic scene where history seems to rhyme again: another Marcos is in power, government corruption and plunder runs rampant with impunity, while economic crises plague ordinary Filipinos under threat of authoritarian attacks. Amid this situation, educators bear a higher responsibility of helping a new generation not only recognize this pattern but also empower them to break this cycle.
February 25 must neither be treated as another normal working day or a detached calendar holiday. It’s best to develop historical consciousness and action by rising above the boom and bust routine of work and vacation.
The National Union of Students of the Philippines calls on schools and universities to declare February 25 as a Day of Remembrance and Action, endorse student activities related to the EDSA People Power Commemoration, and encourage the students to join the protests leading up to and on February 25.
In line with this, we call on administrators to foster an environment where students can freely organize and mobilize for their advocacies without fear of retribution from the state or their own schools. This is an essential aspect of academic freedom and part of the basic constitutional right of all Filipinos that must be upheld in or out of campus grounds. In the past months, students have reported increased state-sponsored redtagging and black propaganda on top of repressive handbook policies which curb free speech and assembly, particularly banning students from freely joining and forming organizations. We must reject any attempt by the state to turn our Universities into a tool for repression. The activism of students is part of education and should be embraced with pride by schools, not treated as a danger to their reputation.
Nevertheless, we call on our fellow students to always bravely take a stand, no matter the occasion. Contrary to the narrative peddled by the state that the youth are brainwashed, students have the agency to act at a time when our present and future are on the line. The heroes of Martial Law did not wait for class suspensions or directives from their universities to take action. The spirit of EDSA, in the end, is not defined by institutional declarations, but by the collective will of the people. We are all called to be proactive in forwarding genuine social change, from our schools to our communities and towards the streets.