Makati unveils 7-foot People Power sculpture

Makati City now has its own People Power sculpture: a life-size statue with raised hands flashing the "Laban" sign. City Mayor Jejomar Erwin Binay Jr. led the unveiling of the statue by multi-awarded sculptor Juan Sajid Imao during the city's flag-raising ceremony on Monday. The seven-foot statue is made of resin fibreglass, and is now on display at City Hall’s ground floor lobby, said an article posted on the city web portal. It served as a canvas for a painting done by another award-winning Filipino artist, painter Roderick Macutay, showing a scene reminiscent of the People Power at EDSA in 1986. The “Art of People Power" project is part of the commemoration of the 25th Anniversary of the People Power Revolution at EDSA. The statue is the first in a series of artworks called the “Art of People Power" by Imao. In the news article, Binay said Makati is proud to be the home to the maiden artwork of a noble project that seeks to keep the spirit of EDSA alive especially among the youth. "According to Imao, the succeeding life-size human figures will be in his distinctive abstract forms and will depict different individuals and commonfolk in various poses and scenes associated with People Power, nationalism and freedom," the article said. "Each of them will be painted over by different artists, who will be given a free hand to apply their own personal style and perception of People Power and its historical significance, he said," the article added. He said this will imbue them with a deep sense of history and a keen appreciation of the nation’s hard-won democracy. The nation marked the 25th anniversary of the EDSA 1 People Power revolt on February 25. The mayor's father, now Vice President Jejomar Binay, had led anti-Marcos rallies in Makati City in the 1980s. "Makati is known for history-making events, such as the Yellow Confetti Days that helped catalyze the People Power uprising in 1986, which ended the Marcos dictatorship and paved the way to the restoration of democracy in the Philippines," the article said. – VVP, GMA News