Marking the 40th anniversary of the EDSA People Power this 2026, veteran journalist Howie Severino returns to the historic thoroughfare where history changed the course of the country in “I-Witness: EDSA@40.”
The episode airs this Saturday, February 21, at 10:15 p.m.
Severino revisits EDSA on a bicycle, retracing the very ground where millions once stood united for democracy. Along the way, he reconnects with key figures who witnessed and shaped the revolution, inviting them to reflect on the nation’s journey.
Beyond revisiting the past, he tries to confront the difficult questions that remain up to this date: What have we learned? How far have we come? And where have we fallen short?
Severino spends time with singer and songwriter Jim Paredes, who turned activist in the 1980s, and revisits the song that became the anthem of People Power.
Severino meets again with Judy Taguiwalo — first encountered decades ago as a political detainee in Camp Crame — to reflect on the costs of resistance and the meaning of freedom.
He accompanies Jaime Laya, now 87, former Cabinet member under President Ferdinand Marcos Sr., to the Cultural Center of the Philippines — a landmark of the Marcos era and an enduring symbol of its contradictions.
The “I-Witness” host bikes to the EDSA Shrine with Nicolas Torre, bike commuter and newly appointed MMDA general manager, now tasked with restoring order to the same highway once reclaimed by citizens. He was a teenager in Mindanao in 1986, on the periphery, wondering what the fuss in Manila was about.
Finally, Severino explores the uncertain future of the proposed martial law museum — mandated by law, yet still struggling to rise — raising questions about memory, accountability, and the preservation of history.
Drawing from GMA’s deep archive of rare footage, “EDSA@40” brings history vividly back to life. More than a commemoration, it is a reckoning — an invitation to reflect on the past, confront the present, and imagine the country’s future.
“I-Witness: EDSA@40” airs this Saturday, 10:15pm on GMA.
