Martial Law survivors hold protest vs Marcos, Duterte

MANILA — Martial law survivors on the 49th anniversary of the declaration of the martial rule urged Filipinos to reject the return of the Marcoses to Malacañang and to prevent the Dutertes from staying in power.

In a statement on Tuesday, Samahan ng Ex-Detainees Laban sa Detensyon at Aresto cautioned the public against the “monstrous” Duterte-Marcos tandem being floated in the runup to the 2022 elections.

Bongbong Marcos, son of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr., earlier said he was eyeing a national post next year, after losing by a slim margin to Vice President Leni Robredo in 2016.

This led to speculations that he might run in tandem with the president or with his daughter Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte.

“We refuse to let out country plummet to a deeper abyss of terror, deceit and incompetence. We cannot allow the monstrous troika of a despicable son of an ousted dictator and the cold-blooded fascist Dutertes to rule the nation,” SELDA said.

Rights group Karapatan called on Filipinos to “rise against forgetting and simply remembering.”

“In the same way that the struggle of the people did not end with the downfall of the Marcos dictatorship, the campaign to stop Marcos and Duterte from returning to and staying in Malacañang continues, as a way to do justice for the Filipino people of the martial law generation and all other generations after Duterte,” Karapatan said.

The faction of the ruling Partido Demokratiko Pilipinas-Lakas ng Bayan supported by the chief executive said there have been no negotiations for an alliance with Marcos, who belongs to Nacionalista Party.

The Duterte-backed PDP-Laban faction nominated Duterte’s long-time aide, Sen. Bong Go, as its presidential candidate and Duterte as vice presidential candidate.

‘DARKER’ UNDER DUTERTE

For SELDA, “the nation is again living in such dark times, even darker to what we endured during the Marcos’ rule” under the leadership of Duterte.

“Innocent blood is continuously spilled due to Duterte’s war on drugs and extrajudicial killings of critics and activists. Just like Marcos, Duterte made sure to implement draconian laws such as the Anti Terror Law and ensured to gain control of the legislature,” it said. —

AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE A child walks past a mural depicting former Philippine presidents during a protest to commemorate the 46th anniversary of the declaration of martial law by the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos in Manila.