As the nation marks another anniversary of the People Power uprising, the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) calls on schools, students, and institutions to take part in the coordinated protests on Tuesday, February 25. The decision of several colleges and universities to suspend classes in commemoration of this historic event is a strong stand against the Marcos regime’s relentless attempts to erase and distort history. Malacanang has earlier declared February 25 as a special working holiday, in an obvious attempt to downplay the anniversary of the Marcos family’s downfall from power.
“Kaming mga magsasaka ay nananawagan sa mga eskwelahan at estudyante na isabuhay ang alaala at mga ipinaglaban ng People Power sa pagsama sa pagkilos sa Pebrero 25. Gawin ninyong isang malaking klasrum ang People Power Monument upang balikan ang kasaysayan at panghawakan ang aral ng sama-samang pagkilos ng taumbayan.” according to KMP.
“The suspension of classes is not just an academic break—it is a firm rejection of the Marcos family’s lies and historical revisionism,” KMP Chairperson Danilo Ramos said.
KMP said the struggle against dictatorship has always been related to the fight of farmers and rural communities. Under Ferdinand Marcos Sr., peasants bore the brunt of landlessness, Martial Law, and brutal human rights violations. The famine in Negros and the Escalante Massacre in 1985 exposed the horrors of state violence against farmers. It was during that time that KMP was founded, bringing together peasant organizations across the country to push for genuine land reform and democracy.
When Marcos Sr. was ousted by the people, the late Cory Aquino promised democracy and agrarian reform. Instead, farmers faced the Mendiola Massacre in 1987, where 13 protesters were killed for demanding free land distribution and social justice. A year later, the bogus Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) was enacted — not to dismantle land monopoly, but to suppress the growing peasant movement. Decades later and up until today, farmers remain among the poorest and most persecuted in the country.
The KMP leader said the protests on Tuesday will serve as a platform to demand accountability from the Marcos-Duterte regimes and push for urgent reforms—wage increases, genuine land reform, the removal of anti-poor taxes, support for local food producers, and the abolition of pork barrel funds.
“We also firmly demand that the Senate commence with the trial of impeached Vice President Sara Duterte and call for Rodrigo Duterte’s immediate prosecution at the International Criminal Court. Justice must be served for all victims of corruption, human rights violations, and state-sponsored violence,” Ramos added.
People Power was never just about toppling a despotic dictator. It was about fighting for a just and democratic society—one that millions of Filipinos are still demanding today. The fight against corrupt dynasties, imperialist intervention, and oppressive policies must continue. #
