The spirit of Edsa is still vibrant and very much alive, as was proved during the celebrations spread over last week, culminating in the event at the People Power Monument on Edsa on Friday.
On Thursday Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) Chairman Margarita Juico and I, along with directors, officers and employees, staged a “Walk the Talk” event in which people from the PCSO walked from our offices at the PICC Complex all the way to the Ninoy-Cory Aquino Park across Manila Hotel.
With us were members of the Yellow Ribbon Movement, people from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and students. There were around 300 people there, dressed in yellow and waving yellow flags. As a brass band from the AFP played patriotic songs, we offered yellow flowers and wreaths and lit candles in front of the memorial statues of Sen. Ninoy Aquino and President Cory Aquino.
Another statue is located a few meters behind theirs—that of the late Jaime Cardinal Sin, at the time covered with a checkered cloth and yet unveiled. The presence of the three statues reminded all that the park was dedicated to the heroes of Edsa, to the three personalities who played direct roles to bring about the freedom from dictatorship that we enjoy today.
On Friday, upon the request of the AFP, the PCSO sent a medical mission team to a location near the Edsa Shrine, composed of doctors, dentists, nurses and support staff, bringing medicines, and arranging tents, tables and chairs to accommodate nearly 100 people who were able to avail themselves of their services in the few hours given to the PCSO’s team.
The patients, most of whom were people from the streets, received basic medical services, such as blood-pressure readings and dental checkups.
Last week was a busy one. Apart from the two major activities I’ve mentioned, on Tuesday afternoon I was one of the guests at an executive dialog held for members of Club 33, a group of mayors from all over the country, in cooperation with the Department of the Interior and Local Government.
The other guests were Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo, himself a former mayor; Social Welfare Undersecretary Celia Yangco; and Dr. Steve Godilano, senior technical adviser of the Department of Agriculture.
The mayors took the opportunity to present their concerns and ask the officials from these government agencies questions in connection with the challenges they face in their cities and towns.
One point raised was the need for government services to be made more accessible to citizens, especially those in remote areas who have to spend a lot of money to travel to the nearest bayan to reach the national agency’s district offices.
The PCSO has always been cognizant of this need, and I assured the members of Club 33 that our agency had already, since last year, been planning to put more provincial district offices (PDOs) in underserved areas of the country, and will be able to do so once the PCSO’s rationalization plan is finalized.
It was good to hear that the mayors were satisfied with the performance of the PCSO PDOs and the assistance that their constituents were obtaining there. I am proud of the personnel at our PDOs who do their best to meet the medical needs of the needy all over the country.
Some of the mayors also asked about the PCSO’s ambulance-donation scheme. This is a 60-40 sharing plan that qualified local government units (LGUs) and other health-care-related entities may avail themselves of. Any LGU may submit a request, which will be considered once they have complied with the requirements. Requests for medical missions and medicine supplies may also be made.
That morning, before the open forum took place, the mayors listened to talks about climate- change adaptation for local economic development, or CCA4LED.
Experts predict that climate change will severely affect weather patterns, and countries whose economies rely heavily on agriculture and fisheries will feel the impact. When the weather alters drastically, causing drought or typhoons, are we prepared to make the necessary adjustments? Is our food security assured? Do we have contingency measures for the natural disasters that will strike?
These and other related concerns are already being addressed by the government, and awareness campaigns are among the most important ways to disseminate information. The CCA4LED dialog was one such opportunity for mayors to gather data on climate change, which will directly impact on those at the local level—their constituents.
Reflecting on all these activities last week, if the Edsa People Power peaceful revolution had not taken place, we might still now be under the dictator’s yoke, having nothing to celebrate freely about in the streets. Because we are free, political oppression is one less problem for us to worry about so that we may concentrate our people power of valuable energy and resources on things that really matter, like climate change and medical help for our needy countrymen.
The spirit of Edsa remains alive as we stand together to face these challenges. Thank you, Senator Ninoy, President Cory and Cardinal Sin, for helping bring us to where we are now. We will never forget what you have done for our country.
To my fellow Filipinos, let us always keep alight in our hearts the flame of Edsa and all it stands for.
Attorney Rojas is the general manager of the PCSO. E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
