 |
| Globe Steel strike in the 1980's. Photo from Rappler |
On the eve of the 50th
anniversary of the declaration of martial law, the labor group Partido
Manggagawa (PM) asserted that the dictatorship era was a period of labor militancy
not a golden age for workers.
“There was massive discontent
by workers during the martial period over low wages, high prices, insecure jobs
and employer abuse. In fact, despite repression by police and soldiers under
the dictatorship, workers led protests and strikes that broke the white terror
of martial law. The struggles of the labor movement would open the way for
multi-sectoral rallies that culminated in the ouster of Ferdinand Marcos Sr. in
the EDSA people’s uprising. This period is well documented if not well remembered
by the present generation,” explained Judy Ann Miranda, PM secretary-general.
PM is joining activities by
various groups today and tomorrow to commemorate the dark days of martial law
and to remember the sacrifices and struggles of workers and other sectors during
the dictatorship.
“Workers will join students,
women and other sectors to a candle-lighting activity at 6:00 p.m. today at the
Boy Scout rotunda in Timog Ave., Quezon City. Tomorrow, groups will have a rally
at the grounds of the Commission on Human Rights at 9:00 am before marching in
the afternoon to the Bantayog ng mga Bayani. We call on our kababayans to hold
candle-lighting activities in our homes and communities tomorrow to shine a
light on the darkness of authoritarianism and revisionism,” Miranda elaborated.
She added that “Immediately
after martial law was declared, then President Ferdinand Marcos, Sr. signed
General Order No. 5 prohibiting strikes by workers. The American chamber of
commerce was one of the first groups to congratulate Marcos on the declaration
of martial law. All these reveal the class character of martial law—it was not
just to outflank the liberal opposition rivals of Marcos but also to suppress the
resistance of the working class to plunder and exploitation.”
Miranda insisted that “Contrary
to the fake news peddled by social media influencers and amplified by a paid
army of trolls, martial law was not a time of happiness for Filipinos nor a period
of economic prosperity. A case in point, nutribuns were a response to widespread
hunger and malnutrition. However, plunder of the public treasury, theft of debt-financed
development projects and crony control of key industries indeed resulted in a
golden age for the Marcoses.”
September 20, 2022
No comments:
Post a Comment