STATEMENT OF LIBERAL PARTY PRESIDENT SEN. FRANCIS PANGILINAN ON MARCOS 100TH BIRTHDAY

Today is the 100th birth anniversary of the dictator, former President Ferdinand Marcos. He left a lasting legacy of tyranny, oppression, and corruption in the Philippines that is remembered the world over.

We must never forget how much the country has suffered while he catered to the interests of the few, how his family lived in extravagance as they plundered resources that should have otherwise gone to better the lives of the Filipino, and how his cronies exercised powers so extraordinary that their traces can still be felt in the shadows of our bureaucracy.

We as a people demonstrated the might of a citizenry united and invested in one goal. As the song inspired by the four-day People Power Revolt goes, this was our gift to the world: a non-violent protest that ousted even the most ruthless dictator.

We must also remember that our People Power Uprising inspired nations in many parts of the world, such as Poland, South Africa, and South Korea, to likewise rise up peacefully to effect change in their respective nations.

But even more is required of us now in these trying times. We must, once again, rise up and go against tyranny, abuse of power, and the return of dictatorship.

Never forget the dictator.