Pulling no punches: A protester hitting an effigy of Marcos Jr during the rally in Quezon city. — AP
Protesters rallied to mark the 37th anniversary of the “People Power” revolution, which ousted President Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s dictator father and sent the family into exile.
It was the first commemoration of the uprising since Marcos Jr took office in June 2022. He has praised his father’s 20-year regime, which critics describe as a dark period of human rights abuses and graft that left the country impoverished.
As leftist rock music blared over a loudspeaker yesterday, hundreds of protesters, including survivors of the elder Marcos’ martial law crackdown that led to the killing, torture and imprisonment of thousands of political foes and critics, marched on the “People Power” monument in Manila in memory of the brutal era.
Some chanted “Marcos, Duterte all the same, fascist dictators”, in reference to former president Rodrigo Duterte and his successor Marcos Jr, as about 200 police with shields stood by.
Organisers said “at least 1,500” people attended the rally, but an AFP reporter at the site estimated around 700 people were there.
Veteran rights activist Sister Mary John Mananzan urged protesters to “remain vigilant” following the return of the Marcoses to power.
Nearly four decades on from the toppling of Marcos Sr, Julio Montinola, 53, said the challenge was to keep the “message and spirit” of the uprising alive.
“Unfortunately, it did not resonate with the next generation,” said Montinola. “The bottom line is he (Marcos Jr) was elected by the people.”
Marcos Jr sent a large wreath of white flowers to the monument, which is near the city’s main thoroughfare where the bloodless uprising against his father had been held.
In a statement, Marcos Jr recalled “those times of tribulation and how we came out of them united and stronger as a nation”.
“I once again offer my hand of reconciliation to those with different political persuasions to come together as one in forging a better society,” Marcos Jr said. — AFP
