Protests mark Martial Law’s 49th anniversary in Cebu City

By: Pegeen Maisie M. Sararaña - Multimedia Reporter - CDN Digital | September 21,2021 - 02:53 PM

Members of different peasant groups in Cebu City staged a rally on Tuesday, September 21, 2021, along Colon area, in line with the 49th anniversary of the declaration of Martial Law. CDN Digital photo | Pegeen Maisie Sararaña

CEBU CITY, Philippines — At least 50 individuals staged a protest along the Colon area in downtown Cebu City on Tuesday, September 21, 2021, the day the country commemorates the 49th anniversary of the declaration of Martial Law.

Peasant groups in Cebu City staged rallies to raise their grievances to the government.

BAYAN Central Visayas, Anakbayan, Anakpawis, and Kabataan Partylist are some of the groups that participated in the rally.

Jaime Paglinawan, head of BAYAN Central Visayas, said in an interview that corruption and human rights violations that happened during Martial Law era are again occurring under the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte.

The late President Ferdinand Marcos declared Martial Law on September 21, 1972.

“Karong adlawa, ang ika 49 nga tuig sa deklarasyon sa Martial Law sa paghinundum nato sa mangingit ug mangiob nga kasaysayan panahon sa diktatorya ni Marcos…karon pod sa panahon ni Duterte natala pod ang wala’g tuo nga corruption,” Paglinawan said.

(Today, we remember the declaration of Martial Law, the darkest time in the history under the dictatorship of Marcos…this time under Duterte, corruption is still rampant.)

Paglinawan cited at least 50,000 individuals who were arrested and tortured and around 100,000 whose rights were abused during the administration of Marcos.

He said that Duterte’s campaign against illegal drugs has killed more than 30,000 suspected drug personalities, adding that some lawyers and activists were also killed during his administration.

Red-alert status

The 30-minute-long protest was dispersed after police from the Carbon Police Station arrived the area.

Police Major Kenneth Paul Albotra, chief of the Carbon Police Station, said that they were in “red alert status” on Tuesday, anticipating rallies to be held in their area of jurisdiction.

Right after they were dispersed around 10:10 a.m., the groups transferred to Plaza Sugbo to stage another protest there.

Police Major Edgar Labe, chief of the Waterfront Police Station, said it was around 11:00 a.m. when the same protesters arrived in their area of jurisdiction.

Here are some photos taken during the rally.