Church, militants mark Martial Law anniversary

CHURCH groups joined militants and students at Luneta Park in Manila in show of solidarity against the “rising tyranny and dictatorship,” saying they were unable to “move on” when Filipinos remained “oppressed and suppressed.”

The Association of Major Religious Superiors in the Philippines, Sangguniang Laiko ng Pilipinas, Promotion of Church Peoples Response, Nicodemus and the Religious Discernment Group offered a Mass for “Dignity and Peace” at San Agustin Church as part of their commemoration of “the dark period of Martial Law" and celebration "with hope" of the International Day of Peace.

The Mass was also to “honor the legacy of our martyrs by sharing the relentless desire of the people for truth, righteousness, democracy, justice and lasting peace.”

Ma. Julieta Wasan, SLP president, said the misplaced priorities of the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte had led to the increasing prices of commodities, “regressive commodity taxes” that had resulted in “increased hunger, food insecurity and deepening poverty” and indebtedness, all resembling the “dark past” of Martial Law under the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos.

Wasan also said the church groups vowed to “uphold the dignity of life and strive for peace based on justice.”

“Our faith beseech us to firmly stand for and uphold the dignity of life. We cannot remain silent in the midst of exploitation, oppression, where majority are left to suffer in despair and poverty and, worst, killed brazenly with impunity,” Wasan added.

Militant groups later gathered in various areas of Manila, including Rizal Park, on Friday to conduct protest rallies and programs against what they dubbed was the “shadow of Martial Law” haunting the country.

The National Confederation of Labor staged a short dramatization of extrajudicial killings in the country, in which men wearing helmets aboard a motorcycle carried out killings.

Other militant groups, including Bayan, Gabriela and the Pinagkaisang Samahan ng Tsuper at Operator Nationwide, converged in front of the University of Santo Tomas before they marched to Rizal Park to also join the program.

The groups took with them a mural with the images of Duterte, Marcos and his son and namesake Ferdinand Jr., and former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

A small group of pro-Duterte rallyists also gathered at Rizal Park to counter the protest.