MANILA, Philippines — Catholic educators and Church leaders have urged schools to suspend classes on February 25 and use the day for reflection and civic formation, as they warned that the current 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 commemorate EDSA's 40th anniversary. Catholic schools are among several institutions that have continued to carry out 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 mark the EDSA anniversary, 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.

Source: Philippine Star February 06, 2026 07:03 UTC