UP Manila students pay tribute to revolutionaries, vow to continue struggle against Marcos-Duterte admin

One day before the 52nd anniversary of the declaration of martial law, students of UP Manila held a Black Friday protest in front of the College of Arts and Sciences building to remember the grim horrors and tragic fate of the Filipino people under the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos Sr.

The youth also put up banners and streamers bearing the call “Never Again, Never Forget” inside the CAS at UP Manila.

“The events during the Marcos Sr. regime are no different from what is happening under the Marcos-Duterte administration today. We are witnessing thousands of human rights violations, rampant killings, red-tagging, and other forms of violence carried out by this administration,” said UP Manila Student Council vice chairperson Ysabelle Briones.

Like father, like son

“We live in a society that is trying to distort history, attempting to make the Filipino people forget the grim history of martial law,” said League of Filipino Students – National Capital Region coordinator Kyla Benedicto.

Benedicto recalled the history of the youth’s struggle in the 1970s.

“The Filipino people’s resistance culminated in the First Quarter Storm, where Marcos Sr.’s subservience to U.S. imperialism was exposed when he sought to pass the oil deregulation law,” Benedicto shared.

One of the seven key demands based on the Provisional Directorate of the Demokratikong Komunidad ng Diliman is to push for the rollback of oil prices in the 1970s.

Youth students from the University of the Philippines were also among those who joined the struggle of affected small drivers and operators, especially during the historic Diliman Commune in February 1971.

The historic Diliman Commune is a symbol of militant resistance by various sectors at the university against the continued military intervention and repression during the tenure of the dictator Marcos Sr.

“Today, we are facing the relentless push of the Marcos Jr. regime for the Public Transport Modernization Program (PTMP). It is important to remember that before they spread their lies that more than the majority of jeepney drivers have consolidated, the past regimes—now continued by Marcos Jr.—have been spreading decades of lies and subservience to U.S. imperialism,” Benedicto said.

Marcos Sr. had the longest tenure as president, spanning two decades. The dictator also attempted for charter change (chacha) to extend his term from 1965. He was re-elected in 1969 for a second term, which should have been his last according to the 1935 Constitution of the Philippines.

However, Marcos Sr. declared martial law to intensify repression against progressives and so-called subversives. Through Martial law, Marcos Sr. made an authoritarian government where he holds the power to enact laws without passing through Congress. He further suspended the existing constitution and even dissolved Congress itself.

In 1973, Marcos Sr. introduced a new constitution that shifted the system of government from presidential to parliamentary, allowing him to stay in power beyond the limits of presidential terms.

Benedicto sees that, like Marcos Sr., this is also the push of the current Marcos Jr. administration.

“Bongbong Marcos wants to replicate how Marcos Sr. trampled on the constitution of our country. And we, the Filipino people, must resist this and not allow the changes and term extensions, especially for Marcos Jr.,” Benedicto said.

Earlier this year, the issue of pushing for charter change or cha-cha through the People’s Initiative emerged. In this process, financial aid programs like the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation’s Initiative (AICS) and TUPAD were used to launch the People’s Initiative, aiming to gather signatures from individuals to push for cha-cha.

Meanwhile, on March 28, the House of Representatives passed the Resolution of Both Houses (RBH) 7, which seeks to convene Congress as a constitutional assembly (con-Ass) to push for cha-cha.

“Instead of extending Marcos Jr.’s term, what should happen is for him to step down, as the people will topple him again just like what happened in the People Power movement where Marcos Sr. was ousted,” Benedicto said.

“Marcos Jr., just wait, because what the Filipino people achieved before, we will do it again,” she added.

Tribute to revolutionaries and martyrs

The youth students also paid tribute to the revolutionaries and martyrs of the nation during the protest.

“The Marcos-Duterte administration can expect that, just like the movements launched by the youth during the time of his dictator father, we will do it again and strengthen it even more to bring down this regime,” Briones said.

Briones also recognized the historic struggle of the Kabataang Makabayan during martial law.

In her speech, Briones carried a photo of Josephine Anne “Jo” Lapira. Jo was a youth student of UP Manila who became a red fighter and was among the 14 slain by the AFP in Nasugbu, Batangas in November 2017.

“The Marcos-Duterte administration should hear this: the youth following Jo Lapira’s path, one of the martyrs of UP Manila who was brutally killed by the AFP, will not stop. This is what the police and military are doing today. You are giving us more reasons to fight, to take to the streets and topple this oppressive regime,” Briones said.

Benedicto also remembered Lean Alejandro, an activist who also led the struggle and organizing efforts among the youth under the Marcos Sr. administration.

“From another militant youth who died during Marcos Sr.’s time, Lean Alejandro said that the Filipino youth will always come back to fight for the people’s rights. We believe that the “Bagong Pilipinas” can only be achieved through the unity of the collective struggle of the Filipino people,” Benedicto said.

“Since the 1970s, we, the youth, have continuously been part of the people’s struggle, and we are here to continue the fight to achieve our democratic freedom,” she added.