Si Maria at ang EDSA - The Pivotal Role of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the People Power Revolution of 1986

Our Lady of EDSA, Mary Queen of Peace at the top of her Shrine in Ortigas Avenue

EDSA (Stands for Epifanio Delos Santos Avenue) - the long road that connects the cities of Makati, San Juan, Pasig, Mandaluyong and Quezon City that is known for many things: the ire of commuters, drivers and motorists for it's infamous heavy traffic and the landmark of the historic People Power Revolution of 1986. The historic bloodless revolt became a pivotal point in Philippine history that is known for much bloodshed to gain freedom from foreign oppressors for centuries prior to this key event.

Over the years, numerous political figures of this bloodless revolt were hailed and despised over the years that were written in history books and in the press for decades after the event and sadly it is being overlooked and revised by some scrupulous parties at this present time. But looking on a more wider scope of this important event in our history, there is a key figure that is being obscured for decades yet she played a much important role in this turning point in our modern history - The Blessed Virgin Mary. Our Lady, as Mother and Protectress of our nation, under different titles and it's corresponding representations, became a unifying force of his revolt like what she did in the Battles of La Naval in 1646 and to other key important events in our history which would show how much she cared for her Filipino children.

But before we threw into this discourse, we should have glimpse to the series of events that led to this peaceful revolt.

A Dark Turn in Philippine Modern History

Former President Ferdinand Marcos
and former First Lady Imelda Marcos

We will begin the narrative in 1969 where Ferdinand Marcos was re-elected for Presidency by a landslide defeating Sergio Osmeña Jr. (The Constitution at that time was the Constitution of 1935, were the President can be re-elected for a second term.) During time, he and his wife, former First Lady Imelda Marcos gained much popular support because of how they managed the government during his first term as President. However during the election of 1969, this election was married with much controversy from violence and charges of fraud, and Marcos’s second term began with increasing civil disorder.

During the 1970's growing discontentment of his regime began with a series of riots that began the period of unprecedented chaos in years to come. On September 21, 1972, President Marcos declared Martial Law charging that a Communist rebellion threatened. The 1935 constitution was replaced with the 1973 Constitution that provided the president with direct powers. A plebiscite of that same year gave Marcos to remain in office beyond the expiration of his term. By 1973 some 3,000 people had been killed and hundreds of villages burned. Throughout the 1970s poverty and governmental corruption increased, numerous reports of violation of human rights increased, press freedom was limited and Imelda Marcos, Ferdinand’s wife, became more influential. Martial law remained in force until 1981, when Marcos was reelected, amid accusations of electoral fraud for his Third term for Presidency.

The mid 1980's would lead to a more series of events that will lead to 1986 Popular Revolt. It began on August 21, 1983, opposition leader Senator Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr. was assassinated at Manila Intermational Airport (now Ninoy Aquino International Airport), which incited a new, more powerful wave of anti-Marcos dissent.

Former President Corazon Aquino with
the National Pilgrim Image of Our Lady of Fatima

In 1986, President Marcos called for a Snap Election to show to other nations that the Filipino people still have their support to him and his opponent was the widow of the assassinated Senator Aquino, Mrs. Corazon "Cory" Cojuangco Aquino.

The February 1986 Presidential Snap election saw a discrepancy of results from the Commission of Elections (COMELEC) which declared Marcos as the winner while Cory Aquino won in the results from the National Movement for Free Election (NAMFREL).

The discrepancy and alleged cheating of the results sparked a national outrage with the COMELEC results due to charges of massive fraud and violence were leveled against the Marcos faction. This event would became the pinnacle of the national movement to depose the Marcos regime for good.


The People of God pleads to it's Mother

The Catholic faithful were also weary with the chaos of the Martial Law years. Numerous priests, seminarians and religious were also being held victims of the regime because of their help and support to the rebels and freedom advocates. Compelled by the horrors of the time and by the strong call from the faithful, the Catholic Bishop's Conference of the Philippines declared the National Marian Year, to celebrate the 2000th birthday of the Blessed Virgin Mary from December 8, 1984 - December 8, 1985. The declaration of Marian Year dedicated to her birth was unique for no other nation did this. During the last remaining months of the Marian Year from September 8 - December 8, 1985, the faithful, headed by the bishops, went into high gear - asking for prayer and fasting for peace for the country.  Our Lord and Our Lady did not turn a deaf ear to the pleadings of the Filipino faithful, What happenes next is unexpected that changed the course of Philippine history that awed the world.

The People Power Revolution

An army of prayers and flowers 

The saga of EDSA Revolution culminated in a four-day tension-filled event when the rebel group in the Armed Forces of the Philippines was discovered by the Marcos troops and was ordered to be arrested. The Archbishop of Manila, Jaime Cardinal Sin, enjoined the people to go out in the streets to protect the rebel leaders. The Catholic faithful heeded the call and massed along EDSA, fronting Camp Crame where the rebel leaders — headed by then Defense Secretary Juan Ponce Enrile and Armed Forces Vice Chief of Staff Fidel Ramos — were holed and thus escorted by the people against impending bombs from the Marcos loyal troops.

The people milled around the rebel leaders, bringing nothing with them but rosary beads, flowers, food and images of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Santo Niño, Crucifixes among others. Hundreds and thousands of religious priests and sisters, parish priests and their parishioners including onlookers and curiosity seekers stayed on the whole of EDSA, immobilizing the tanks sent out to crush the rebel leaders and, according to reports, even the people. The masses of people in the streets continued to pray the Rosary endlessly. Some offered garlands of flowers to the soldiers who stood guard. Some brave nuns climbed up on the tanks that were approaching. Those who stayed in their homes sent supplies of food and drinks to the streets.

Wary of the situation, President Marcos had sent a full army — with tanks and armored vehicles — to Manila in order to control the seemingly unstoppable public demonstrations against his administration. He planned to stop at nothing in order to gain control – even if that meant massacring the crowds on the streets. The civilians continued their protests, notwithstanding the danger when they would lie down in front of the tanks to stop them from penetrating the crowd.

The callejera image of the Virgin of La Naval de Manila
arriving at EDSA for the popular revolt

The Intervention of the Nation's Mother and Queen

In the early days of the revolt, the callejera image of Nuestra Señora del Santisimo Rosario - La Naval de Manila came out from Sto. Domingo Church, escorted by the Dominican friars, seminarians, religious and devotees, making her way to the revolution grounds to give strength and hope for the Filipinos who gathered to fight for their freedom by praying the rosary.

Soon after, on February 23, 1986, the National Pilgrim image of Our Lady of Fatima emerged from the crowds that was being carried by Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile, later became a Senator, and Lt. Gen. Fidel V. Ramos, who would became President of the Fourth Republic as they addressed the crowd on EDSA following their defection from the Marcos regime.

The National Pilgrim image of Our Lady of Fatima
arriving to the peaceful revolt

As the soldiers tried to advance, they saw up in the sky what appeared to be a cross-like figure, but this did not hinder them from pursuing their goal, and they continued to press on toward the crowd. The Rosary was recited continuously; the melody of Ave Maria sounded after each decade.

What would happen next will left a deep impression to the soldiers that will lead to a change in their hearts. While preparing for an assault, all of a sudden, the soldiers were awestruck, stopping dead in their tracks. The soldiers saw a “beautiful woman encased in immense bright light and dressed as a nun” became clearly visible, standing in front of the tanks. The light was dazzling as the crowds saw her appear. According to these soldiers, the beautiful lady dressed in blue with heavenly eyes appeared in front of them, extended her arms outward and spoke in a voice that was clearly audible to everyone,

The appearance of Our Lady during
the EDSA Revolution

“Dear soldiers, stop! Do not proceed. Do not harm my children. I am the queen of this land.”

The soldiers then dropped their weapons, withdrew from pressing forward and joined the throngs of people to turn and fight with them against the Marcos regime. The soldiers claimed that the woman who appeared to them was the Virgin Mary. A television station was covering the event which prompted thousands of residents of the Philippines to run out of their homes in celebration: “Mother Mary is with us!”

In his recollections, Cardinal Sin vouches for the veracity of the apparition and said:

“Yes, my heart was telling me that this was indeed Mary. And since they obeyed this woman who appeared to them – and did not follow orders to fire upon the people, then President Marcos had nobody to give him any power or support. This is when he fled from the Philippines. That was the end of him.”

The Cardinal added that he did not know the soldiers – but that they came in tears to him, awestruck by the “beautiful heavenly lady.” The Cardinal also revealed that he met with Sister Lucia, the only living visionary from Fatima, just before he was about to travel to the United States to first tell of the Virgin’s visit at a press conference. Although Sister Lucia had no access to newspapers, radio, television, or magazines, he was amazed that she knew and recounted every detail to him of what had happened.

The End of the dark times

On February 25, 1986, Cory Aquino sworn her oath of Presidency at Club Filipino that morning amidst the immense crowd. In the afternoon of that same day, Ferdinand Marcos also sworn his oath at the balcony of Malacañang palace in front of his loyal supporters and cronies. However, Marcos’s domestic and international support eroded, and he fled the country on Feb. 25, 1986, eventually obtaining asylum in the United States. Once the news of his departure was announced by the late June Keithley-Castro on national television, the whole nation rejoiced and thanked God and Our Lady for the freedom they obtained without any bloodshed.

The successful and landmark revolution shocked the world and gained much admiration that it became the springboard of other key revolutions in world history from the fall of the Berlin Wall that divided Germany in 1989 and the Velvet Revolution in Prague, Czech Republic that same year.

The Shrine

The Shrine of Our Lady of EDSA, Mary, Queen of Peace

The idea of a shrine of peace to serve as a memorial of the People Power Revolution came as an inspired thought to His Eminence Jaime Cardinal Sin two days after the dictator fled to exile in Hawaii. Cardinal Sin was riding in the car together with Bishop Gabriel Reyes, then Auxiliary Bishop of Manila, en route to Camp Aguinaldo to celebrate a Thanksgiving Mass. They came upon the intersection of EDSA and Ortigas, and Bishop Reyes pointed it out to the Cardinal as the spot where intrepid but gentle nuns and young men and women stood in front of the tanks and offered flowers to the soldiers.

At that corner, on an empty lot had stood two huge billboards of the Family Rosary Crusade, featuring the image of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the slogans, "The family that prays together stays together" and "A world at prayer is a world at peace." This coincidence could not but evoke the reality of Our Lady's presence at the Popular Revolution.

Original sketch of Our Lady of EDSA
bronze monument

Realizing this, the two could not help but recall the story of the "La Naval de Manila" of 1646 and the Battle of Lepanto, which was fought on October 7, 1751. They would later realize that there should be a memorial shrine to thank the Lord and the Blessed Mother for the peaceful EDSA Revolution.

Cardinal Sin then set into motion a series of steps to turn his idea into reality. The owners of the land, the Ortigas and Gokongwei families, were approached and they donated the prime corner lot. The architectural and structural design for the church was undertaken by Architect Francisco Mañosa with preparatory work from National Artist Architect Leandro Locsin and Architect William Coscolluela.

Architect Mañosa designed the Shrine to evoke the freedom of movement and celebratory spirit of the original EDSA Revolution. The Shrine is to open out to the streets with the image of Our Lady of Queen of Peace, as sculpted in bronze by the late artist Virginia Ty-Navarro, forming the apex of the structure. The promenade is accessible through cascading stairs and ramps from EDSA and Ortigas Avenue.

The center of this plaza faces the convergence of the two main roads and has become the site of the Eucharistic celebration held each year to commemorate the People Power Revolution.

The iconic image by Virginia Ty-Navarro and the
altar and processional image by Willy Layug

The Image of Our Lady of EDSA

The iconography of the Virgin of EDSA in art holding a dove and an olive branch – both traditional symbols of peace. The patronal image for this particular shrine is unique, as its design follows that of the statue atop the shrine roof. The Blessed Virgin Mary, crowned and clad in golden robes, has her arms outstretched and her Immaculate Heart exposed, while two or three white doves rest at her hands and feet.

There were three images of Our Lady of EDSA can be seen and venerated by the faithful, the now iconic bronze image of Virginia Ty-Navarro, and the altar and processional image carved by Willy Tadeo Layug of Pampanga that can be venerated closely by the faithful who would flock her shrine.

The Shrine complex at present

The completion and later history 

The construction of the original Shrine was near completion by late November of 1989 and preparations were underway to have it inaugurated on December 8, 1989, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception.

But once again the country was rocked by threats to its democracy. An attempted coup d'etat broke out on November 29, 1989. The inauguration had to be postponed as the government thwarted the rebellion of a military reformist group. At the height of the uprising, some of the military rebels entered the Shrine, but did not do any damage to the unfinished structure.

EDSA Shrine during the so-called "EDSA Dos"

His Eminence did not postpone the set inauguration certain that, with prayers to the Blessed Mother, the Shrine would be completed by December 8. The putschists finally surrendered on December 7. Amid the somber aftermath of the failed coup, but with quiet rejoicing among the faithful, the Shrine of Mary Queen of Peace (Our Lady of EDSA) Shrine was formally consecrated to God and dedicated to the Blessed Mother on December 15, 1989.

The shrine would later be the stage of another Popular Revolt in 2001, the so-called "EDSA Dos" and the reactionary
"EDSA Tres" where the people ended the regime of former President Joseph Estrada due to grounds of corruption and sworn the second woman President of the Republic, former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. The Erap loyalist were upset of the turn around that they staged the so-called "EDSA Tres" which it failed the attempt to have former President Estrada reclaim his Presidency through the same popular movement.

As of present time, the shrine became a solace in the middle of the busy streets of Ortigas were people from all walks of life flock her shrine to have their moment of inner peace in the Shrine of the Queen of Peace.

The iconic statue after it's recent
restoration work at present

Reflection

As we gazed upon the iconic bronze statue of Our Lady of EDSA, she reminds us that she is indeed our Mother that looks over her children and keep them hopeful of a more joyous and peaceful life now and in the future.

The EDSA Revolt was a shining moment for the faith of the people in a God who listens. It was also the people’s faith and trust in the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Queen and Mother of the Philippines, which gave the people persistence in patiently waiting for the freedom that they fought for years and for the end of the oppressive regime.

Despite the recent ridicule and revisionism of some scrupulous parties who tried to erase the great memory of the revolt, let us keep in mind that it is for us, the Filipino people that we did this landmark revolution for the sake of our future and this also proves how Our Blessed Mother cared for us that she joined us in this journey for our freedom that we enjoy now as what she did in the Naval battles of 1646 as if she is saying: "As I saved your people from the Dutch centuries ago, so I will save them now."

In these dark times in our church and our country, let us once again implore her intercession to grant us true peace and deliver us from the impending dangers that might come, if we do not return back to God.

Our Lady of EDSA, Mary Queen of Peace, Pray for us and our country!

References:

"A Marian Pilgrimage, A Guide to Marian Churches in Metro Manila", Sinag-Tala Publishers Inc., Makati City, 2000.
"Apparition in Manila, 1986," Retrieved from http://www.divinemysteries.info/manila-philippines-1986/ on February 25, 2019.
Reyes, Gabriel &  Mañosa, Francisco, "EDSA Shrine: God’s Gift, Our Mission", Retrieved from http://www.edsashrine.org/2016/08/the-story-of-edsa-shrine.htm on February 25, 2019.
"La Naval de Manila and the EDSA Revolution", Retrieved from https://youtu.be/xMpI02Pe_pQ on February 25, 2019.
Tesoro, Salud, (1988), "Mary conceived without sin, Mary, Mother of God", Intramuros, Manila,.

Credits to the owners of the photos that were used for this blogpost.
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