Martial Law Rallies, then and now

During last week’s 51st anniversary of the declaration of Martial Law, rallies were held and progressive groups denounced alleged attacks against activists as well as supposed disappearances and other human rights violations all of which, activists claim, are reminiscent of the Marcos dictatorship years, especially since the former dictator’s son is currently the President. The protests also reflect the continued rise in the prices of basic commodities and the controversies surrounding the intelligence and confidential funds allocated to various government agencies. As a member of the group Karapatan said, “the struggle of the people continue to shine from the Marcos dictatorship until the current Marcos administration.”

Around 1,000 protesters joined the Manila rally while several hundred joined rallies elsewhere. These figures are small compared to previous years’ Martial law commemoration rallies. In the 25th anniversary rallies in 1997, for instance, more than half a million joined the Manila rally while mass actions were also staged in many areas all over the country. In Mindanao, an estimated 250,000 rallied in Davao City, General Santos, Cagayan de Oro, Bukidnon, and Iligan. Throughout the Visayas, about 300,000 staged demonstrations in Cebu, Iloilo, Bacolod, Tagbilaran, Dumaguete, Calbayog, Roxas, and Kalibo. In Luzon, about 35,000 joined the protests in Legaspi City, Ilocos Sur, Laoag, Baguio, Tuguegarao, Cagayan, and Angeles, Pampanga.

An interesting account of another rally happened thirty-nine years ago today, a detailed narrative of what transpired during the September 27, 1984 rally and its resulting events is found in the records of the House of Representatives. While the rally was not massive compared to later rallies leading to EDSA I in 1986, with only around 6,000-8,000 participants estimated, this event was still troubling because of the damages and casualties it caused.

The September 27 rally was organized by the Coalition for the Realization of Democracy (CORD), headed by Agapito "Butz" Aquino and Lorenzo Tañada, to protest the alleged violent dispersal of the rally held on September 21-22 at Mendiola, and what they perceived to be the country’s militarization. Aquino applied for a permit with the Office of the Mayor of Manila to hold the rally at Mendiola Street from 1:00 to 6:00 PM. The violence that later happened centered on what was allowed and disallowed as stated in the permit and where they were permitted to stage the demonstrations. Also, no application for a permit to march was filed by CORD as they believed that walking to the rally site in organized groups and assembling there is understood to be part of the application to hold a rally and needed no separate permit. Police authorities, however, insisted that a separate permit to march was required. Thus, the demonstrators were stopped even before the start of the march with the police dispersing the rallyists, which had become unruly and in several instances started pelting the police with stones, causing traffic jams and for business establishments in the area to close.

The protesters allegedly threw a hail of stones at the police, causing fire trucks to use water cannons to disperse the crowd. Despite this, the protesters held fast, forcing the police to throw smoke bombs which were kicked or thrown back at the police units while, simultaneously, stones continued to be thrown. Pillboxes were lobbed against the police, causing injury to several of their men. The continued throwing of stones, pillboxes, and tear gas canisters forced the police to engage the crowd. Fifty-five demonstrators were reported injured, with 15 hospitalized and with one demonstrator, Osias Alcala, dying later from a gunshot wound. Sixty-four police casualties were reported, with one, PFC George Angeles, getting hit in the abdomen by a .45 -caliber bullet. Six bystanders were also injured and damage to properties and business establishments were also reported.

Activists have started sounding the alarm of a “possible return to the dark days of Martial law,” but these warnings are nothing new and have surfaced in all administrations since President Cory Aquino. However, we should continue to monitor the events in the country today. We have history on our side, and thus we must be vigilant enough to recognize patterns of events today that also happened in the past.