[New from the Press] Digital Edition of People Power: An Eyewitness History

In commemoration of the 37th anniversary of the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution, the Ateneo University Press released the digital edition of the iconic book, People Power: An Eyewitness History. 

The book is an eyewitness account of the revolution. It is different from the usual such account in that it is not one, but several witnesses speaking. It also speaks of a different sort of revolution, one that is nonviolent, fought not with arms but with what has since been not the strength of an army nor a political grouping, but the power of prayer. They feel they have been called “people power.”

Events are shown and described chronologically, beginning with Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino's return to Manila in August 1983, his assassination and funeral (the latter turning into the first major anti-Marcos demonstration), and ending with a photo of Corazon Aquino addressing an ecstatic throng. The 247 pictures collected here, many taken by amateurs, are alternately scary, touching, and inspiring. Included are shots of citizens guarding ballot boxes against government goons, crowds shielding reformist soldiers against loyalist task forces, and people attempting to disarm the Marcos troops with flowers.

Revolutions tend to be ugly, even when successful. This is an exception; it is a “beautiful revolution.” Its “combatants” include men, women, and children who had more fun than fear during the event, and who like to think of what they went through as a religious experience. Their triumph confirms for them part of a miracle. The revolution took place in Manila on February 22-25, 1986. It came as a dramatic sequel to an electoral contest waged between President Ferdinand Marcos, in power for 20 years, and Mrs. Corazon Aquino, widow of the assassinated political leader Benigno Aquino, Jr. Many had predicted that Aquino would get the votes, but that Marcos would claim power, and that the Filipinos would simply accept it as they had in the past accepted corrupt elections.

The digital edition of People Power: An Eyewitness History edited by Monina A. Mercado is published by Ateneo de Manila University Press.

Category: Politics & Society
Language: English
Price: P220.00
Get your copy: website | Lazada