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| Tens of thousands watched the Edsa kick-off concert |
Several Filipino celebrities led by Ogie Alcasid and
Janno Gibbs entertained tens of thousands of Filipinos at Quezon Memorial
Circle (QMC) on Saturday in a “kick-off concert” for the 40th
anniversary celebration of the Edsa People Power Revolution.
The six-hour show focused solely on fighting corruption,
and made no calls on ending oppression and abuse in the country, which were
what fueled People Power in February 1986.
A day-long series of prayer marches, programs and a concert will be held to commemorate the actual 40th anniversary of the Edsa revolt on Feb 25, across three sites in Quezon City, in a third installment of the Trillion Peso March against corruption.
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| Ending corruption was the theme of the QMC show |
The “Awit at Aksyon Kontra Korapsyon” at QMC was organized
by Mayors for Good Governance (M4GG) and Kaya Natin! Movement for Good
Governance and Ethical Leadership, and held four days before the actual
People Power revolt that ousted then President and dictator Ferdinand E.
Marcos, Sr.
Ironically, the celebration of four decades of People
Power is being held four years since the late dictator’s son, Ferdinand Marcos,
Jr. became the country’s president, and six months since he took the lid off the
massive corruption in the country’s flood control projects.
Likely because of the incongruous scenario organizers
of the QMC celebration made an obvious effort to steer the program away from
politics, and focused entirely on cracking down on corruption and getting the
culprits held to account.
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| Yellow was the dominant color |
Throughout the program, the hosts said it was a
gathering of people from different political persuasions and colors, but yellow
which was used by protesters during the Edsa revolt dominated, with a
smattering of whites, blues and red (a color identified with Marcos. Jr.)
Not one of the organizers’ shirts was colored pink,
which was identified with former Vice Prsident Leni Robredo when she campaigned
for the presidency against Marcos, Jr in 2022.
Neither was green used, the preferred color of
incumbent Vice President Sara Duterte, who has publicly severed her political alliance
with the president and has been heaping harsh verbal attacks on him since.
Most tellingly, guest singer Nica del Rosario did
not (or was not allowed) to sing her massive hit “Rosas” as it was used as a
theme song for the failed presidential bid of Leni Robredo, who has since been
elected mayor of Naga City.
But after a just a little nudge from host Ogie Diaz,
many in the audience gladly broke into singing the familiar refrain of the
song, which they obviously knew by heart.
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| The audience consisted largely of young people |
Politicians were also noticeably absent from the stage,
although the cameras focused on Senator Bam Aquino at one point, and hosts said
Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte had greeted them backstage.
But what was left unsaid subtly found its way to the
crowd through old footage from the Edsa revolt that was flashed intermittently
on the screen, and fiery speeches from some of the guest entertainers, notably actress
Iza Calzado.
Surprisingly, singer and actress Ice Seguerra who was
a known supporter of Marcos Jr’s predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte, opened the main part
of the program by singing the much-loved protest song, “Bayan Ko”, and taking a
strong stand against corruption and abuse.
Duterte, who is now imprisoned in The Hague after being
charged with crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court, had
appointed Seguerra chair of the National Youth Commission but he quit after two
years.
Also among those who took part in the show were Bea
Binene, Elmo and Arkin Magalona, Rivermaya, Ebe Dancel, Pio Balbuena, Amiel Sol,
Earl Agustin, Chelsea Alley, Over October, Femme MNL, Morobeats, Madeline, Hey
Moonshine, Stonefree, Chloe Redondo, Jkris Dantes, Crispin, Sisa and Bassilyo,
TSN Drag, DJ Jhaiho, Mz. Chronicles and Jasmine Dudley-Scales.
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