Quezon City officials, representatives from the National Historical Commission of the Philippines, and the EDSA People Power Commission lead the wreath-laying ceremony at the EDSA People Power Monument on February 25, 2025. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News

MANILA — Groups on Tuesday vowed to keep the spirit of the EDSA People Power Revolution alive despite what they called attempts to water down the bloodless uprising that led to the fall of the late president Ferdinand Marcos Sr.

Many schools have announced that they are making February 25, 2025, a holiday or shifting to alternative modes of learning on that day — widely seen as an act of defiance against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s decision to declare the date only as a special working day.

Student activists in the state-run Polytechnic University of the Philippines even announced that they are walking out of their lessons on February 25 to commemorate EDSA, despite the lack of an official class suspension.

In a statement released Tuesday, Sen. Risa Hontiveros, who joined the uprising when she was only turning 20, said she was "happy and proud" to see students, teachers, schools, universities, and youth organizations taking the lead in commemorating the 39th anniversary of EDSA revolt "even without a state holiday."

"Kahit ilang holiday pa ang i-cancel ng Malakanyang, mananatiling buhay ang diwa at mensahe ng People Power — lalo na sa kabataang Pilipino na naninindigan at nagsasalita para sa kalayaan, hustisya at sama-samang pag-asenso," she said.

(No matter how many holidays Malacañang cancels, the spirit and message of People Power will remain alive — especially among young Filipinos who stand and speak up for freedom, justice, and collective progress.)

Thousands of demonstrators are expected to troop to the EDSA People Power monument Tuesday to commemorate the uprising and remember the people who sacrificed their lives to fight for the restoration of democracy under the brutal martial rule, said Maria Sol Taule of the human rights group Karapatan.

Taule told TeleRadyo Serbisyo that there is an intense disinformation campaign targeting young people seeking to whitewash the abuses and atrocities under Marcos Sr.'s rule. She said there should be a pushback against these attempts while speaking the truth about the dictatorship.

Former Sen. Leila de Lima in a statement Tuesday stressed that the "EDSA Revolution was not a myth" and "not a mistake," urging Filipinos not to simply remember the event but rather "recognize that our fight is not over."

"It was a moment of collective courage, a moment when Filipinos proved that democracy is not just an idea—it is a fight. A fight that must be waged again and again, in every generation, because tyranny never truly disappears. It merely waits, repackages itself, and returns," said De Lima, the first nominee of the Mamamayang Liberal (ML) Party-List group.

"The spirit of EDSA is alive in every Filipino who refuses to bow to oppression. As long as there are those who stand, those who speak, and those who march, EDSA is not just history—it is the future we will claim, together."

Labor leader Luke Espiritu meanwhile said in a statement that "EDSA is an unfinished revolution" and that people "have to finish it by toppling the current forces of Kasamaan and Kadiliman (evil and darkness)."

"Despite the efforts of workers and mass movements to topple the Marcos dictatorship, elite rule was restored after EDSA. The dictator and his minions would not have survived it, even physically (because of revolutionary justice), if a political and social revolution of the working class prevailed," said Espiritu, a senatorial candidate in the midterm polls.

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