While the rest of the country will be commemorating the 32nd anniversary of the People Power Revolution, the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) confirmed today that Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte won’t be attending the annual celebration this Sunday.
“We invited the president and he wrote me and said that he won’t be able to attend because he has an important appointment in Mindanao,” NHCP chairman Dr. Rene Escalante said.
People Power Commission member Pastor “Boy” Saycon said on the ANC show Morning Edition today that the president will be in Davao City. “He is a very prudent person. He said, ‘I have nothing to do with that,’ and I want to spend it with my people in Davao,” he said of Duterte.
But some think Duterte’s decision to skip the festivities has more to do with his relationship with the Marcos family.
The 1986 People Power Revolution was a sereies of bloodless protests that led to the ousting of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, effectively restoring democracy in the Philippines.
Duterte, who also didn’t attend the same event last year, has been criticized for backing up the Marcos family even amidst the many human rights abuse cases linked with the Marcos regime.
Duterte has been vocal about his support for the Marcoses ever since his campaign for the presidency. Although his running mate was Alan Peter Cayetano, he also campaigned for Marcos’ son, Bongbong Marcos, who was also running for Vice President.
Duterte’s decision to allow the Marcos family to bury the former president in the Heroes’ Cemetery in 2016 was also met with criticism from those who believe that he does not deserve the honor.
While Duterte won’t be attending the event, people have started to demonstrate in the People Power Monument in Quezon City to rally against the administration. Last week, a group consisting of farmers, fishermen, and indigenous people started a nine-day hunger strike in protest of the administration’s plan to change the constitution.
One of Duterte’s main campaign promises is to turn the Philippines into a federal state, but while this could benefit underdeveloped provinces, some fear that this is Duterte’s way of holding on to power beyond his six-year term as president.
Some also fear that the continuing martial law in Mindanao, which has been under military rule since May 2017, could lead to a dictatorship similar to Marcos’.
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