Filipinos fondly recall "people power"

“We were set back by 10 years with that event alone,” he said, referring perhaps to economic gains the country could have had if the regime had remained stable, though oppressive.

If there was any consolation for the economic costs of a democratic transition, Enrile said at least “the skyline of the country’s center of power was changed.”

“The biggest reform is the restoration of the electoral process and the freedom of the people and a more liberal type of governance,” he stressed. 

Those liberalizing reforms were well worth any costs, Enrile said.

And while Enrile said he has never regretted anything he has done in life, he also believes it is time for Filipinos to begin forgiving former President Marcos. One way they can do this, he said, is to allow the former dictator to be buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani (Heroes’ Cemetery), one of the nation's highest honors.
 
“Let him rest in peace out there in that cemetery where our heroes are supposed to be buried. I think one of the things we must not forget as a people is the ability to forgive. We have to forgive even those that hurt us," Enrile said.

"You can get hurt any moment in your life but I think it is the mark of a real man to be able to forgive without forgetting what happened because we draw lessons from experience,” he observed.

Enrile however stressed seeking forgiveness or being forgiven is an act of faith and is an individual decision.

Joining Enrile for the anniversary and launch of the museum were President Benigno Aquino III, former President Ramos and Senator Gregorio Honasan, who had served as Enrile's lieutenant colonel and a key figure in his security.

The image of all three together and surrounded by mementos of People Power was striking also because Enrile and Hanason had profound disagreements with President Aquino’s mother, former President Corazon Aquino, who led the country’s fragile democracy. 

Honasan, a leader of the Reform the Armed Forces Movement had actively plotted against Marcos, and Honasan also launched a number of coup attempts against Corazon Aquino

In one of the Honasan-led coup attempts led in 1987, current President Benigno Aquino was nearly killed, as he took five bullets when the rebel soldiers attacked Malacañang. One of the bullets remains embedded in Aquino's neck.