Protesters liken Du30 to Marcos

RESIST RETURN TO TYRANNY. Protesters in Iloilo City rally the public to resist a return to dictatorship during a march to commemorate a dark chapter in Philippine history – dictator Ferdinand Marcos’ declaration of martial law on Sept. 21, 1972.

ILOILO City – Yesterday’s commemoration of the declaration of martial law 46 years ago during the Marcos dictatorship turned into an anti-Duterte protest.

Protesters demanded that President Rodrigo Duterte stop the following:

* extrajudicial killings

* persecution of government critics

* policies bordering on tyranny

“Wala sang kinalain sa administrasyon ni Marcos ang adminsitrasyon ni Duterte,” said Reyland Vergara, secretary-general of the Panay human rights alliance Karapatan.

Then President Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law on Sept. 21, 1972. He suspended civil rights and imposed military authority on the pretext of the need to quell the rising wave of violence allegedly caused by communists. But Marcos’ exercise of absolute power over the military and the police resulted to 3,257 persons killed, 35,000 tortured, 70,000 incarcerated, the 737 involuntary disappearances.

According to the Police Regional Office 6, around 700 protesters showed up on Bonifacio Drive here yesterday.

Their rally ran for two hours – from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

THEY HAVE NOT FORGOTTEN. Protesters in Iloilo City prepare a poster hours before staging a rally to commemorate a dark chapter in Philippine history – dictator Ferdinand Marcos’ declaration of martial law on Sept. 21, 1972.

Joining Karapatan were victims of martial law that banded under the group SELDA or Samahan ng mga Ex-Detainees Laban sa Detensyon at Aresto, the militant women’s group Gabriela, Bayan Muna, Anakbayan, Pinagkaisang Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Operators Nationwide, and students from various schools.

The gathering had the backing of the Archdiocese of Jaro. Archbishop Romeo O. Lazo, in a letter he issued to mark the occasion, called for “vigilance in defending basic human rights and authentic human development.”

“Contemplating on our historical experiences, we have all the more learned the meaning of the words of the Holy Mother Church on building our society based on ‘truly humane basis by fostering inward sense of justice and kindliness, and of service to the common good, and by strengthening basic convictions as to the true nature of the political community and the aim, right exercise, and sphere of public authority,’” according to Lazo.

A special guest at the Iloilo City rally was Sen. Risa Hontiveros, an activist before she was elected senator in 2016.

“Kung hindi pinapatay ang ating mga kababayan sa extrajudicial killings, tayo na mga kababaihan binabastos, at binabawian ng dignidad,” said Hontiveros.

She also lamented the inaction of the government to address the rising inflation.

“Tuloy-tuloy ang pagtaas ng presyo ng bilihin. Ang bigas binu-bokbok. Tumataas ang buhis sa mga mamayan,” said Hontiveros. “Tama na ang patayan. Tama na ang kabastusan. Tama na ang kapalpakan. Tama na ang dagdag hirap."

SOURCE: Panay News

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