MANILA, Philippines?Accusing the Arroyo administration of implementing authoritarian measures without a formal declaration of military rule, militant groups Monday held rallies in Manila and several other cities to commemorate the 37th anniversary of the declaration of martial law.
?Malacańang does not need to declare martial law. It is happening in its de facto form,? Fernando Hicap, chair of the fishers? group Pambansang Lakas ng Mamamalakaya sa Pilipinas (Pamalakaya), said in a statement.
Hicap cited as proofs the rampant extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances and all-out legal offensives against known leaders of underground and aboveground organizations.
On Sunday, Palace officials assured the public that there was no reason to declare martial law during the remaining months in office of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. They said the first automated elections would proceed as scheduled in May 2010.
Mendiola rally
Some 150 activists Monday trooped to the Don Chino Roces (formerly Mendiola) Bridge to mark the declaration of martial law by President Ferdinand Marcos on Sept. 21, 1972.
?The US-backed Arroyo regime does not differ much from the US-backed Marcos dictatorship. The only difference is that the latter openly declared martial law, while the former preferred treachery of an undeclared martial law,? said Elmer Labog, chair of the Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU).
In a statement, Labog said the reason the ghosts of martial law continued to hunt the people was because none of the human rights violators had been punished.
The Mendiola protesters belonged to KMU, Anakpawis, Alyansa ng Magdaragat sa Bacoor Bay Inc., Alliance of Progressive Labor (APL) and the Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino.
Iloilo march
In Iloilo City, around 400 people led by Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) marched from the provincial capitol to the main streets before holding a rally at the Plazoleta Gay intersection.
They denounced the continued killings and enforced disappearances of activists, blaming these on security forces.
?We condemn the atrocities of the Arroyo administration primarily aimed at political activists. Even if there is no martial law right now, the government is hell-bent on quelling the critics of the administration,? Bayan-Panay secretary general Edgar Pelayo said.
Pelayo said that since Ms Arroyo assumed office in 2001, cases of extrajudicial killings had reached 1,014 while enforced disappearances numbered 208, including Iloilo activists Nilo Arado and Ma. Luisa Dominado in 2007.
In Roxas City, around 50 Bayan members held a protest march along the main streets.
Cabanatuan assembly
In Cabanatuan City, more than 100 mothers and relatives of victims of human rights violations in Central Luzon since the martial law years met to renew their pledge to carry on with their fight for justice.
?Human rights violations are continuing to this day,? said Sr. Cecille Ruiz, chair of the human rights group Karapatan.
Ruiz said the assembly of the Mothers and Relatives Against Tyranny (Martyr) was held ?to remember the human rights violations during those days, which are continuing to this day, and for relatives of the victims to voice out more loudly their cry for justice and to contribute for a truly peaceful and democratic society.?
Edita Burgos, mother of missing activist Jonas Burgos and the main speaker, said: ?A mother cannot give up in seeking justice for her son. I will continue speaking to be the face of the disappeared.?
Jonas was abducted on April 28, 2007, by alleged military agents outside a shopping mall in Metro Manila.
Burgos urged Filipinos to help the fight against human rights violations in whatever way and opportunity possible. This could come in the form of giving food, water, prayers and moral support to human rights advocates or speaking against violations and violators, she said.
?But let?s do it in a nonviolent way,? she said. ?If we do our share [in this fight against human rights violations], in death we can say that we have done our share.?
Photos of victims
The organizers assembled the photographs of victims of summary executions and abductions in Central Luzon.
Some spoke of the pain and grief of losing their relatives while others spoke of what they said were harassment by government soldiers and agents against them.
Ruiz said Karapatan had documented 153 unsolved summary executions, 83 desaparecidos (missing), 31 frustrated killings, 51 abductions and 115 illegal arrests in Central Luzon since the 1970s.
Despite Malacańang?s assurance that martial law would not be imposed and that elections would push through next year, Pamalakaya?s Hicap said military rule had long been creeping all over the country.
He pointed at the ?rapid militarization? not only in the rural areas, but also in Metro Manila and other key cities and centers all over the country.
The military?s covert and overt operations, he said, aimed to sabotage the electoral bid of militant party-list groups in the 2010 elections.
Martial law lessons
In Eastern Visayas, the communist-led National Democratic Front (NDF) called on the people to remember the lessons of martial law.
?There are the political killings and other forms of terrorism committed by the present regime. The Arroyo ruling clique also conspicuously wallows in corruption with many unresolved scandals. Her family and cronies live in increasing wealth while the poorest in Eastern Visayas earn less than 50 pesos a day and eat once a day,? NDF regional spokesperson Fr. Santiago Salas said in a statement. With reports from Delfin T. Mallari Jr., Inquirer Southern Luzon; Nestor P. Burgos Jr. and Joey A. Gabieta, Inquirer Visayas; and Anselmo Roque, Inquirer Central Luzon
