While Manila Marches, Marawi Learns: Muslim Students Hold EDSA Seminar During Ramadan — 'We View People Power Through the Bangsamoro Lens'

While thousands marched on EDSA in Manila, students at Mindanao State University in Marawi City chose a different way to mark the 40th anniversary of the People Power Revolution — a seminar. And there's a beautiful reason why: it's Ramadan, and the Muslim students are fasting.

The event, titled "EDSA Kwarenta: Paggunita at Pagpupugay," was organized as an exercise in academic freedom, allowing students to examine the 1986 uprising through a Bangsamoro lens. It's a perspective rarely highlighted in mainstream EDSA commemorations, which tend to center on the Manila experience. Marawi has its own complicated history with martial law and dictatorship.

Organizers emphasized that the seminar was held without police or military presence — a deliberate choice that underscores the academic nature of the commemoration. In a city that was virtually destroyed during the 2017 Marawi siege and has been under martial law conditions, the absence of security forces at an EDSA event carries significant symbolism.

The Bangsamoro experience of the Marcos dictatorship was particularly harsh — the Jabidah Massacre of 1968, the displacement of Moro communities, and decades of armed conflict all trace roots to that era. For these students, EDSA isn't just about toppling a dictator; it's about understanding how that dictatorship's legacy continues to shape Mindanao politics and Bangsamoro identity.

It's a reminder that People Power meant different things to different Filipinos. While the EDSA crowds in QC focused on corruption and politics, these Marawi students were asking deeper questions about history, justice, and what democracy actually looks like from Mindanao. Iba ang EDSA pag tinignan mo mula sa ibang anggulo.

Source: Rappler