Yellow ribbons adorn trees in parts of Metro Manila

Yellow ribbons and streamers were tied to trees and posts in parts of Metro Manila on the weekend marking the 26th anniversary of the EDSA-1 People Power revolt. In Pasay City, the ribbons were seen Friday on trees and plants along Jalandoni Street leading to the Cultural Center of the Philippines complex.

Yellow is the symbolic color of the EDSA-1 revolt, which catapulted the late former President Corazon "Cory" Aquino to power. Mrs. Aquino had used yellow as her campaign color in the 1986 snap elections. The custom of tying a yellow ribbon around a tree symbolizes a waiting love and seems to date back to the first century during Nero's rule. In August 1983, when late opposition Sen. Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr. (father of imcumbent Presiden Benigno Aquino III) was returning home from self-exile in the United States, yellow ribbons were tied by his allies in Metro Manila as a sign that they still believed in him as their leader to oppose then President Ferdinand Marcos. This sign was taken from the song "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Old Oak Tree." After Ninoy's assassination on August 21, 1983, yellow was adopted by the opposition as their color. Thereafter, Ninoy's widow Cory, used yellow as her standard color. President Aquino, who ran for president in 2010, adopted yellow as his campaign color as well. In Manila, yellow streamers featuring the images of the late former President Cory and Ninoy were placed on the center island of Roxas Boulevard. — LBG, GMA News