Bantawan, rallies

The Labor Day (May 1) protest actions in various parts of the country had me reminiscing the early days of the struggle against the Marcos dictatorship in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s. Because that seems to be the stage we are in now as the people confront the condemnable policies of the Duterte administration. Rallies last May 1 were not as gigantic as during the heydays of the struggle that led to the 1986 Edsa People Power uprising. But the potential of getting big was there.

In the late ‘70s and early ‘80s in Cebu, raising people’s awareness on the excesses of the Marcos dictatorship was the goal. That, we thought then was the only way to break the climate of fear that still pervaded even during the waning years of military rule. People with a high level of awareness will not only act, they would do so with resolve and daring. Without those awareness-raising and the perseverance in the holding of protest actions, there wouldn’t have been an Edsa 1.

Incidentally, I recently saw on Facebook photos of former activists in theater in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s posing in what looked like reunion gatherings. Some of the faces were familiar, but they have gotten old. What caught my attention were the women, already mothers and even grandmothers, whose participation in the protest actions of old partly “inspired” us males.

Okay, I will rephrase that. Theater groups, also called cultural groups, played an important role in the raising of our awareness of the abuse and exploitation of peoples and of the need to change the status quo. I particularly remember Bantawan of St. Theresa’s College (STC) because of the proximity of STC to the community where I grew up and to the Redemptorist parish, our old parish.

But frankly, the women activists of STC did catch our attention considering that the exclusive nature of the school didn’t deter the students’ participation in protest actions. But I say it was the theater productions that they mounted that was crucial because it helped fuel the growth of the youth movement in Cebu.

The most celebrated at that time, if I remember it right, was the bringing to STC the local production of “Juan Tamban,” a play about a street urchin who ate lizards and cockroaches to attract attention. It mirrored urban poor life, the life that many young activists grew in. Our community in Sambag 2 got drawn to it because a friend, Dondon, who is now a barangay councilor, snagged the lead role.

Plays and other cultural activities thus became an integral part of the struggle against the Marcos dictatorship. Rallies weren’t complete without those street plays that precede the burning of effigies. Soon, some of the youths in our community joined the theater group DKR (Dulaang Kabataang Redemptorista).

It has been the practice of the protectors of the status quo to denigrate the holding of rallies. But those activities are not just about numbers. They are also about the raising of awareness of those who are ignorant of what really is happening to their surrounding and showing them how and where to vent their grievances—and eventually effect change.

When President Duterte signed the Executive Order ending “endo,” he actually did so because he recognized the power of those May 1 protest actions.