Anti-Marcos students threatened with arrest over Cebu rally

Student protesters are stopped by police and barangay officials, security aides, and supporters of Sen. Bongbong Marcos who is visiting Cebu City Hall on Thursday.

CEBU CITY—Six millennials got a lesson on what martial law was when at least 20 barangay officials, policemen and security aides of Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos ganged up on them and threatened to arrest them for holding a rally against the vice presidential candidate during his visit to city hall on Thursday afternoon.

Justine Balane of Akbayan Youth Visayas and his group were holding copies of a photograph of a young Marcos partying when his father was president at the Plaza Sugbo grounds fronting city hall when police and village officials threatened them with arrest for failing to secure a rally permit.

“This was not 1972. It happened in a day when we are supposed to be free to say what we want. It’s scary when we have a candidate who inspires a rabid mob to silence us, especially when we feel that our voices are the only things that can save us now,” said Balane who took to Facebook to narrate their experience.

As of 5:20 p.m. on Friday, Balane’s post reached 374 likes and around 1,300 shares.

“This election has become very personal to me. I’m out on the streets not because I have a different opinion. I’m out on the streets because I’m actually scared,” he said.

Balane and his friends gathered outside city hall around 3 p.m. shortly before Marcos arrived to pay a courtesy call to Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella and some city councilors. Mayor Michael Rama was in Manila.

Balane, chair of the University of Philippines Cebu student council and member of Akbayan Youth Visayas, said at least five men wearing red shirts with prints that read “Bongbong 2016” circled them to prevent them from getting near the entrance of the city hall where the dictator’s son was welcomed by the city officials.

The students—aged 18 to 20—were clad in plain white shirts and crimson bow ties in reference to the viral video on Facebook that showed the young Marcos wearing white shorts, a shirt and bow tie and partying in the presidential yacht when his father was president.

Each student held printed copies of the snapshot of the young Marcos during that party.

The vice presidential candidate shortly arrived with a convoy of three vehicles and his campaign jingle blaring from the speakers.

“Bongbong Marcos arrived but as we were about to advance, his staff pushed us away saying that we had ‘no respect for the sitting senator.’ He told us to go away as we did not know what we were talking about. We stood our ground. We knew it was our right,” Balane said.

A public safety officer of Barangay Sto. Niño blocks the students staging their protest against Marcos at Cebu City Hall.

His companion, Isaac Saguit, called out Marcos’ name using a megaphone, but it was pushed down by one of the senator’s staff members. The students were then pushed away.

Balane said he saw Marcos glance at them and even wave while climbing the stairs of the city hall.

He said they only wanted to convey the message that the Marcoses could not be trusted to hold a high elective office again after what happened during the martial law era.

“Dapat siya moangkon nga daghang bilyones nga gipangkawat ang mga Marcos. Dili pwede makalimot ang mga batan-on sa nahitabo (He should admit to the billions of pesos that the Marcos stole. The youth should not forget),” he said in an interview during the protest.

Some Marcos supporters mocked them, saying they were too young to have their money stolen by the Marcoses since they were not even born during martial law.

“Kahibaw inyong mga mama ug papa nga nag-aktibista mo (Do your mother and father know that you are an activist)?” another supporter said.

But they continued explaining how people should not forget what happened during the dictatorship which included students being kidnapped and killed for holding public protests.

The students started to chant but before they could complete a sentence, a tanod of Barangay Sto. Niño shouted at them and told them to keep quiet.

Afraid they might be harmed since they were outnumbered, the students just stood in front of the city hall building holding their small posters.

They stayed for 30 minutes as the music of Marcos’ campaign jingle filled up the streets and drowned the noise of vehicles passing by.

“The police and the security team threatened us with arrest as we did not have a permit. Never mind that we were on a Freedom Park. Take note that in the martial law era, the police can conjure up criminal charges never heard of in law books to arrest a person arbitrarily,” Balane said in his post.

Balane said they may not have experienced the dictatorship of Marcos in the 1970s, but last Thursday’s incident gave the students a glimpse of what it would have been like during martial law. RC