25/02/2026
𝐂𝐌𝐒𝐏 𝐌𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟒𝟎𝐭𝐡 𝐀𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐃𝐒𝐀 𝐏𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧
As we commemorate the 40th Anniversary of the EDSA People Power Revolution, we remember a moment of grace in our nation’s history — a peaceful uprising that reopened democratic space and rekindled hope in a wounded land.
EDSA was not merely a political event; it was a moral awakening born of years of quiet courage, sacrifice, prayer, and solidarity. Long before February 1986, many Filipinos had already been working steadfastly for justice, human dignity, and freedom.
As religious men and women, through the Association of Major Religious Superiors in the Philippines (AMRSP) — now CMSP — we discerned not only a pastoral responsibility but a prophetic mission: to stand where God stands — on the side of the poor and the oppressed. We sought not political power, but fidelity to Christ present among those who suffer.
Through our mission partners, we lived this prophetic witness:
• The Task Force Detainees of the Philippines (TFDP) documented human rights violations and exposed torture, disappearances, and killings when silence would have been safer.
• Urban and Rural Missionaries stood with workers and farmers in their struggle for justice, land, and dignity.
• The Task Force Urban Conscientization (TFUC) defended urban poor communities facing demolition and militarization.
We recall with deep reverence those historic days of February 1986, when many religious sisters and brothers physically stood at EDSA — marching with the people, praying the rosary, linking arms, placing flowers before soldiers, and facing tanks and armed forces without weapons except faith. In praying the rosary together, we recognized the maternal presence of the Blessed Virgin Mary, who gathered her children in a moment of national crisis and guided a people toward peace. Before tanks and bullets, they stood ready to offer their lives so that bloodshed might be averted. Their presence proclaimed that conscience is stronger than coercion, and that faith can disarm violence.
We remember, too, that many religious endured harassment, detention, salvaging, enforced disappearance, threats, and suffering during those dark years. Their witness was evangelical, not ideological — rooted in the conviction that God hears the cry of the poor and that silence before injustice is complicity.
Forty years later, our nation still struggles with poverty that wounds families, corruption that steals from the poor, political dynasties that entrench power, and disinformation that distorts truth. The spirit of EDSA confronts us anew. It does not allow us the comfort of indifference. It calls us to moral accountability.
We say with clarity: when public office becomes an instrument of self-interest, it betrays its sacred trust. When corruption becomes normalized, society becomes numb to the suffering of the poor. When truth is manipulated, democracy is weakened at its roots.
Prophetic ministry demands that we speak — not in anger, but in truth; not in partisanship, but in fidelity to the Gospel. We cannot be neutral when the dignity of the poor is trampled. We cannot remain silent when democratic institutions are eroded. To follow Christ is to make God’s justice visible in history and to stand where the Crucified stands — among the wounded of our land.
As CMSP, we renew our commitment:
• To form consciences capable of discerning truth from distortion;
• To stand firmly with the poor and marginalized without fear or favoritism;
• To challenge systems that perpetuate greed and injustice;
• To help build a culture of integrity, participation, and the common good.
This anniversary must not be reduced to nostalgia. It must become conversion. The courage shown at EDSA must be reborn in every generation — not only in moments of crisis, but in daily choices for honesty, solidarity, and responsible citizenship.
We entrust our nation once more to the maternal care of the Blessed Virgin Mary, whom we invoked at EDSA as Queen of Peace. As she stood at the foot of the Cross, may she teach us to stand with courage in difficult times. May her constant intercession protect our people, awaken our leaders to genuine service, and guide our nation toward justice that heals and peace that endures.
May God bless our nation.
May justice and mercy embrace in our land.
Signed in the name of the CMSP Board
Rev. Fr. Lino Gregorio V. Redoblado, OFM
CMSP Chairperson
Mo. Cecilia Espenilla, OP
CMSP Vice Chairperson
