Why progress has been slow despite EDSA

'Gov't reforms should institutionalize gains of revolution' People Power advocates said government should continue to pursue reforms in order to institutionalize the gains of the 1986 EDSA Revolution. Speaking to ANC on Tuesday, Sister Mary John Mananzan said that while EDSA Revolution was a success in itself, flaws in the country's institutions still need to be corrected. "There was really no fundamental change. That's why the system goes on up to now. For me, to have a change, you have to have a change of consciousness and a change of structure and system," she said. Social reform advocate Chito Gascon added that systems should be made responsive to the times. "It's important to pursue reforms that will institutionalize People Power... That's one of the mistakes: what we call the impunity, the failure to make our leaders to account or answer for their crimes. That's why we keep repeating our mistakes," he said. Meanwhile, artists who joined the People Power Revolution said the new generation should continue the struggle that began in EDSA. Leah Navarro and UP Professor Edru Abraham said the youth should be taught about the excesses of the past by holding accountable those responsible for the crimes of martial law. "It's very important to keep reminding Filipinos that this freedom that we enjoy now was actually hard fought... It's not just revolution, it's also evolution," Navarro said. ANC Dateline Philippines, February 25, 2014