Abstract:
Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino could have been elected for a number of reasons, and
EDSA1 is attributed to be one of them. If EDSA is considered, however, the entry of
Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos into the Senate could not be discounted. The question of
how intact the remembrance of people about EDSA came to fore.
This study delved into the concept of collective memory: of how societies
remember and reinterpret the past through symbols and sources that will be carried forth
to the new generation. It aimed to find out whether the memory of the first EDSA
continued to shape critical dimensions in current political settings, in this case, the 2010
National Elections.
To gauge the collective memory of people on EDSA1. the research made use of
triangulation of Key Informant Interviews, secondary data, and survey, and then the
combination of the same methods to determine if it influenced voter perception of the
younger Marcos and Aquino who ran during the national elections. Media, as a fecund
transmitter of the values of EDSA1 to the public and in framing the 2010 National
Elections, was explored thoroughly. The data resulted in contradictions: how EDSA
catapulted a former underdog into the presidency, and how it could have served as a curse
to Marcos, and yet did not. EDSA was personified by Cory Aquino, in neglect of the
people's genuine uprisings beyond 1986. which was utilized by the Aquino camp last
election with the help of media biases. The theoretical foundations set by the study posits
that people tend to forget vile events of the past, thus providing a positive outlook for
both young Aquino and Marcos, consequently setting them both up for victory.
