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| Candle light protest 20 Sept 2022 |
Militant workers are joining activities
to commemorate the “dark days” of martial law. Today is the 50th
anniversary of the declaration of martial law by the former dictator Ferdinand
Marcos Sr. The labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM) asserted that the
dictatorship era was a period of labor militancy not a golden age for workers.
Labor and other sectoral groups
are having a rally at the grounds of the Commission on Human Rights this
morning before marching in the afternoon to the Bantayog ng mga Bayani. Last
night, delegations of workers students, women and other sectors held a
candle-lighting activity at the Boy Scout rotunda in Timog Ave., Quezon City.
“We call on our kababayans to
hold candle-lighting activities in our homes and communities tonight to shine a
light on the darkness of authoritarianism and revisionism. Let us remember the
sacrifices and struggles of workers and other sectors during the dictatorship,”
announced Judy Ann Miranda, PM secretary general.
“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 Miranda.
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.”
Photos of the candle lighting
protest last night are here: https://www.facebook.com/partidomanggagawa/posts/pfbid0JwF9cF6C9hdfFnpQVF4ppRR4wTF7FVJy3vddvYnjR8LXiAM9TVfsZ2Nso3e9SqPWl
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