2025-2026-069
COMMEMORATION OF EDSA @40:
STEWARDING PEOPLE POWER,
FROM MEMORY TO MISSION

In faithful commitment to our Jesuit and Catholic mission, Ateneo de Naga University strives to form persons who serve God, commit to the common good, and live with integrity. We recognize that God is present and active in our history, calling us to discern, witness, and act.

With the theme “EDSA @40: Stewarding People Power, from Memory to Mission,” we mark this year the 40th anniversary of the People Power Revolution. We thank God for the enduring faith and hope of the Filipino people whose prayers, solidarity, and sacrifices became instruments of His grace in the restoration of democracy.

Their witness invites us not only to remember, but to reflect and to act: to ensure that the dark chapter of Martial Law is never repeated. It urges us to stand firmly for truth, to safeguard human dignity and rights, to strengthen our institutions, to combat corruption, and to walk in solidarity with those on the margins.

To honor this anniversary, the university will observe an “academic holiday” as recommended by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines. It will be a regular school day, highlighted by the following activities:

• Higher Education will host Memories in Motion: People Power Then and Now video-making contest and arts festival (February 24, 3:00pm, Gym), Lideratos photo walk, booth and focus group discussion, and Art Appreciation Class Exhibits in the days leading up to the anniversary. On February 25, the community is invited to join Songs of EDSA: Music that Moved a Nation mini-concert and From Memory to Mission conversation-talk (9:00am, Covered Courts) a Special Mass (5:15pm, CC), and a culminating Candlelighting Ritual (6:00pm, Four Pillars). The Social Sciences Department, and the College Ignatian Formation Program and the National Service Training Program will facilitate guided classroom discussions on the significance of EDSA.

• Basic Education units will have their own commemorative activities, including informative and prayerful sessions, as well as seminars and workshops.

• Wear Yellow or White on February 25. Yellow was the uniting color of the EDSA movement that helped restore democracy. White, on the other hand, represents ADNU’s continuing call to action and commitment to uphold integrity and promote freedom from corruption.

I enjoin all ADNU members to participate actively in the said efforts, and support initiatives of the local Church and civil society. May this commemoration deepen our prayer, strengthen our commitment to truth and justice, and move us from memory to mission, for the good of our beloved Bikol and nation, and above all, for the greater glory of God.