EDSA body calls for 7-week fast

The EDSA People Power Commission (EPPC) asked Filipinos yesterday to forgo one meal a week for seven weeks as part of a campaign "to expel hard-to-cast-out demons."

The EPPC was a group formed by jailed President Joseph Estrada to institutionalize the celebration of the first people power uprising which ousted former President Ferdinand Marcos in 1986.

Ironically, the EPPC campaign, dubbed Daily Prayer for Peace and Justice, will commence on Jan. 16, the first day of people power II that led to Estrada’s ouster last year.

The daily prayers will begin tomorrow, when people are expected to converge at the EDSA Shrine, and end on Feb. 25, the day Marcos went into exile in Honolulu, Hawaii in February 1986.

"The EPPC is spearheading the commemoration of the two historical events in Philippine society when, ‘moved by the sprit of God’, people power freed the nation from the clutches of tyranny and unrighteousness in the highest office of the land," the EPPC said in a statement.

"However, it has also been observed that there is a ‘cancer’ in society today that dissipates the gains of EDSA I and II and the resolve to reform and renew," the group added.

The EPPC said such cancer is like a hard-to-cast out demon and the "daily prayers and fasting are to remind the people that Jesus promised in Matthew 17:14-21 that to expel really hard-to-cast out demons, one must pray and fast with faith."

"As the problems besetting the country are no longer merely rooted in sociological, juridical or political causes but is now a spiritual disease, the EPPC has opted to have an austere and spiritually based commemoration," the group said.

Aside from the fast, the EPPC is also asking Filipinos 15 to 65 years old to donate the cost of each meal, estimated at P30 per meal, to the non-profit, private Spirit of EDSA Foundation.

The foundation will use the accumulated funds to finance food production cooperatives in resettled squatter areas, soup kitchens for urban vagrants and street children, scholarships for needy children, volunteer private medical missions to indigent communities and other initiatives.

EPPC said fast offerings can be deposited in any branch of the Bank of the Philippine Islands, Metropolitan Bank and Trust Corp. and Equitable-PCI Bank under the account of the Spirit of Edsa Foundation.

Meanwhile, Sen. Manny Villar, who was Speaker when the House of Representatives impeached Estrada on Nov. 13, admitted there is still "a long way to go in achieving the goals of Edsa II."

"We cannot really expect much in a span of one year," said Villar, pointing out that it would take around five to 10 years for programs of governance to truly have an effect on people’s lives. "At present, the country is still hounded by numerous problems, foremost of which is widespread poverty. These cannot be solved in the wink of an eye," Villar said.

The senator said it is much too early to have any kind of expectation this far. "We have a long way to go in improving the lives of our countrymen," he said.

Villar agreed the people power celebrations should be simple and austere. "There is no need for grand celebrations. A simple marking of the event would be enough," he said.

On planned protest rallies by groups opposed to Edsa II, Villar said that is their right to express their opinion. "We should respect everyone’s right to free expression even if their views are contrary to ours," he stressed.

He added, however, that such demonstrations should be peaceful and limited to airing opinions and not involve inciting any unlawful actions.

At the same time, security precautions stepped up around Malacañang Palace yesterday as razor wires and other crowd-control structures were set up in Manila’s San Miguel district.

The Presidential Security Group (PSG) also checked the Palace’s gates which were electrified after the Labor Day riots last year. - Sandy Araneta, Marichu Villanueva