Today marks the 38th anniversary of the EDSA People Power Revolution. A culmination of a decades long struggle and sacrifice of many Filipinos under an oppressive and violent rule and as such, acknowledging that the EDSA revolution was peaceful only diminishes their suffering. Balay Rehabilitation Center, being an institution built to usher in the healing of the numerous victims under the Marcos dictatorship, is one in commemorating this event as well as denouncing any effort of erasing it in our history.

Under the Marcos dictatorship, the people were subjected to tremendous amounts of suffering. Economic injustices swept the nation and let poverty run rampant. Families starved while the elite in Marcos’ oligarchy indulged at the hands of the state. It was even worse for the people who stood up and were critical of it. Families lost their loved ones due to enforced disappearances, torture, and extrajudicial killings. People received deep seated scars from the physical and psychological harassment they received from agents of the state.

While the EDSA revolution ended years ago and consequently freed the people from the dictatorship, the struggle remains. The aspiration of the revolution remains unrealized as the people are still saddled by impoverishment while the elite reap the fruits of their toil. Corruption remains at an all time high, and the disasters brought about by the destructive exploitation of natural resources is pushing our society deeper into an existential crisis. In times wherein our current situation remains a stark mirror of the Marcos dictatorship with consistent economic, social, cultural, environmental, and political injustices, we are urged to look back and remember the pain that served as the tipping point for the people to revolt and take to the streets.

The teachings of the EDSA revolution should not be left in vain as it keeps the government in check especially when impunity persists with those accountable for past and present assaults on human rights remain entrenched in power. The countless human rights abuses under the Marcos dictatorship will not be healed by simply forgetting about the experience of pain and suffering. Healing starts with acknowledging the pain and attaining justice from those accountable.