MANILA – Catholic educators and Church leaders have urged schools to suspend classes on February 25 and instead dedicate the day to reflection and civic formation, warning that the erosion of democratic norms threatens the freedoms won by the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution.

In a joint statement shared Friday, February 6, the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP) and the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines’ Episcopal Commission on Catholic Education (CBCP-ECCE) called on Catholic schools to declare February 25 an academic holiday to mark the 40th anniversary of EDSA.

“Democracy is never self-sustaining. It demands vigilance, active participation, and fidelity to truth,” the groups said in the statement.

CEAP and CBCP-ECCE said schools should use the day to hold Masses, youth forums, and other activities aimed at strengthening ethical discernment, critical thinking, and active citizenship.

The groups stressed the role of students and young people in defending democratic values, saying they must be equipped to challenge injustice, misinformation, and authoritarian tendencies as the “heirs of democratic space.”

“EDSA was a ‘Rosary miracle,’ a triumph of peaceful resistance over dictatorship, and a defining moment when ordinary citizens and families, religious leaders, members of civil society, students and youth leaders stood between tanks and violence, armed with a collective will,” the statement read.

“Its memory is sacred not only for what it regained but because it reminds us that the great power of the people surpasses any force of oppression,” it added.

The statement also addressed public institutions, calling for governance anchored in accountability, respect for human rights, transparency, and service to the common good.

CEAP and CBCP-ECCE urged government leaders to ensure that institutions protect freedoms rather than erode them, and said public service must be carried out with “prudence and unstained integrity.”

Describing EDSA as “an unfinished movement,” the groups said the 40th anniversary should go beyond remembrance and include active resistance to historical revisionism and continued defense of democratic principles.

Catholic schools were cited as among the institutions that have continued strong EDSA commemorations, particularly as the government under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. scaled back the official status of the anniversary.

In 2025, several Catholic institutions suspended classes or held alternative learning activities to commemorate EDSA, even as February 25 was classified by the Marcos administration as a special working day rather than a non-working holiday.

February 25 this year falls on a Wednesday and remains a special working day.