EDSA - Past or History

Way back in the 90s, when I was still in Grade 3, there was a film starred by Lito Lapid entitled “Aguinaldo – Ang Agila ng Cagayan”1 based on the life of an army officer of the same name (Col. Rodolfo Aguinaldo). It was a story about the EDSA version in our province. If I am not mistaken, the events that transpired then were simultaneous with what was happening in Manila – top brass local military officials deflected from the chain of command and instead rallied with the people.

I think this was my first "encounter" of EDSA. Nope, I was just barely 2 months old when the 1986 revolution erupted. By encounter I mean: the shooting of the film.
(My mother and I were on our way to the market when there was this fleet of tanks mobbed by people. No wonder there were lots of extras, Lito Lapid was on top of one of the tanks. And of course cameras were all over.)

My mother would explain to me later the story of Aguinaldo, and then the story of the bigger picture that is EDSA.



Since that time, I would always anticipate when we would be talking about that part of the country’s history. In Grade School and even in High School we dealt a lot about pre-colonial Philippines, WWII Philippines, and some World History but, to my dismay, only a few topics had been said about that great moment in our history. EDSA is not just something that is part of the past; it speaks of our History as a people that ought to be remembered and made part of our consciousness.

That I attended a public school should never be an excuse. On the contrary, that should be a mandatory part of basic education’s curriculum for both public and private schools. I only learned most about EDSA when I was already in college and from my own readings. I just really wish this lesson could be inculcated in the mind of our youth – with that, may be adding EDSA DOS and “TRES” should also already be a part.


PS.
I just remembered, may be the reason my teachers never taught us that in our history classes was because most of them are Ilocanos. I am from the North after all.



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1 Well, I don’t really remember watching the film, I just heard the story because that same soldier later became our provincial Governor who, however, was later assassinated. That same governor is the same guy we find more than three times in most of our Local Government Class Syllabi.





by Vann dela Cruz #14