EDSA Is Not for the Dutertards
How Disinformation Hijacked People Power and Brought Marcos Back
The spirit of EDSA People Power is one of defiance—of standing against tyranny, corruption, and the erosion of democracy. In 1986, millions of Filipinos marched through Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA) not just to oust Ferdinand Marcos Sr., but to reclaim their freedoms from a dictator who plundered the nation and terrorized its people.
It was an uprising fueled by truth, by the collective will of a nation that had suffered under two decades of martial law, extrajudicial killings, and economic collapse. It was a moment when Filipinos proved that the power of the people is stronger than the people in power.
Yet today, EDSA’s meaning is under attack. It is being rewritten, twisted, and manipulated by the very forces it once defeated. EDSA was never meant for the Dutertards—the blind followers of Duterte who willingly handed the country back to the Marcoses.
The Duterte-Marcos Pact: A Betrayal of EDSA
The resurgence of the Marcos dynasty was not an accident—it was engineered. It was made possible by the complicit endorsement of Rodrigo Duterte, whose six years in power laid the groundwork for a revisionist narrative that deceived an entire generation.
Duterte—who masqueraded as an anti-elite, anti-corruption leader—paved the way for the return of the very family that EDSA overthrew. His presidency was marked by:
-
Rehabilitating the Marcos Name – From allowing Marcos Sr. to be buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani to outright praising the dictator’s leadership, Duterte systematically rewrote history to cleanse the Marcoses of their crimes.
-
A Weaponized Troll Army – Duterte’s disinformation machine spread propaganda on social media, glorifying Marcos’ regime and demonizing the EDSA Revolution as a failure. His army of trolls laid the foundation for historical revisionism, making it acceptable—even desirable—for Marcos Jr. to return to power.
-
Degrading Filipino Freedoms – Just as Marcos Sr. used martial law to silence dissent, Duterte weaponized the law against critics, with the Anti-Terrorism Act and the closure of ABS-CBN being prime examples. The spirit of EDSA’s freedom was systematically crushed, making way for an authoritarian resurgence.
-
Ensuring a Marcos Succession – Duterte’s support delivered the presidency to Bongbong Marcos. Without the Dutertards’ blind loyalty, Marcos Jr. would have never secured his electoral victory. The loyalists of Duterte are the very enablers of the Marcos return.
EDSA’s Greatest Irony: The People Who Betrayed It
The irony of EDSA today is that the very people who claim to be its protectors and benefactors—the masses who once stood against dictatorship—have been manipulated into welcoming it back.
The Dutertards, in their fanatic loyalty to Duterte, allowed themselves to become tools for the Marcoses. They justified the killings of the poor under Duterte’s drug war, they swallowed the lies of a golden Marcos era, and they actively smeared the legacy of EDSA as nothing more than an oligarch-backed event.
This betrayal is one of the greatest political tragedies of the Philippines.
Duterte and Marcos: The Twin Destroyers of Democracy
Neither Marcos Jr. nor Duterte could have achieved their tyrannical ambitions alone—they needed each other. Duterte whitewashed the Marcoses’ crimes, and Marcos continued Duterte’s legacy of eroding democracy.
EDSA was never meant for them, nor for their enablers.
The very ideals that People Power stood for—truth, justice, and democracy—have been trampled upon by a regime of trolls, historical distortion, and authoritarian nostalgia. The true spirit of EDSA is in resistance—resistance against the forces that twist history, undermine democracy, and sacrifice Filipino freedoms for power.
And so, on every anniversary of the People Power Revolution, we must remind ourselves:
EDSA is not for the Dutertards. EDSA is for those who still believe in the power of the people to rise above lies, above tyranny, and above betrayal.
