HR victims lead martial law protests

MANILA, Philippines — Victims of human rights violations during martial law are set to gather today to commemorate the 47th anniversary of the declaration of dictatorial rule under the late president Ferdinand Marcos.

Rights advocacy group Karapatan said the survivors and members of the Campaign Against the Return of the Marcoses and Martial Law (CARMMA) will hold a commemorative gathering at the Bahay ni Maria Chapel of the Christ the King Mission Seminary in Quezon City at 10 a.m. today.

It said the survivors would bring their memorabilia from the martial law regime and share stories about their painful experiences. A short play, directed by filmmaker and playwright Bonifacio Ilagan, will also be presented.

Sandugo, a Moro and indigenous people’s alliance, also vowed to continue the fight for ancestral domain and against the supposed intimidation and harassment by state forces.

“It has been 47 years since Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law, but we, the national minorities, are still suffering the same issues: state violence, displacement from our ancestral lands and discrimination. The democratic spaces our elders have fought to expand are continuously being narrowed,” it said in a statement.

It added that, just like during the martial law regime, the Duterte administration is targeting the lumads and other indigenous and environmental groups by displacing them through the counter-insurgency program and by filing trumped-up charges.

Sandugo claimed that the Kaliwa and Chico dam projects north of Manila will “displace thousands of Dumagat and peasants of Rizal and Quezon province.”

“Despite the lack of genuine free, prior and informed consent, or even the proper disclosure of the details of the loan agreement between China and Philippine governments, the construction is nonetheless ongoing,” Sandugo said.

Catholic Bishop Arturo Bastes of Sorsogon and retired bishop Teodoro Bacani Jr. of Novaliches also asked Filipinos, especially the youth, to not forget the darkest times of the Marcos regime. 

Bastes said the Filipino people should always be reminded of the horrors of martial law as loyalists of former president Marcos are attempting to institutionalize historical revisionism. 

Balanga Bishop Ruperto Santos also urged the Filipino people to be vigilant to make sure that this kind of rule will never happen again. 

Yesterday, close to 300 militants, led by the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, started massing at the Welcome Rotonda to march to Mendiola to decry what they claimed as similarities between the dictator Marcos and President Duterte.

Sen. Imee Marcos remained unfazed by calls of student leaders to ban her and other members of the Marcos family from the University of the Philippines and Mapua University campuses. 

“Hay naku day, dedma na. Nakailang dekada na (Oh, I’ll just ignore it. It’s been decades),” Marcos said when asked to comment. 

The student councils of UP and Mapua on Thursday issued a resolution declaring the widow and children of the late strongman as persona non grata in their campuses.  – With Paolo Romero, Robertzon Ramirez, Rey Galupo, Artemio Dumlao, Raymund Catindig, Sheila Crisostomo