No backing down vs. Marcos, protesters say

Militant groups on Thursday underscored that they will not back down against President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., stressing that they will continue to fight for nationalism and democracy.

Former Bayan Muna Representative Satur Ocampo said they are ready to hold protest actions if policies of the Marcos administration “are not acceptable.”

"We will be watching and responding or reacting whenever the President of the government [makes] any pronouncement [or] decision that might not be acceptable. We are ready to protest every step of the way,” Ocampo said in an ambush interview at the Plaza Miranda in Quiapo, Manila.

Ocampo also pointed out that he did not consider the return of the Marcoses to Malacañang as the end of post-EDSA chapter in Philippine history.

“I don’t want this to consider as the post-EDSA because the post-EDSA is the continuation of the effects of what was during Martial Law,” he said.

“As far as the leadership of government, the leadership of the military, the security forces, and the problems of human rights, it’s the continuation of oppression and corruption,” he continued. 

Marcos took his oath of office before Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo at the National Museum in Manila as the Philippines’ 17th president.

His father, Ferdinand Marcos Sr., led the country from 1965 until 1986, when the elder Marcos was removed by a people power uprising.

Historical revisionism

Meanwhile, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) secretary general Renato Reyes claimed that the inauguration ceremony was the culmination of nearly three decades of systematic efforts “to bring about a Marcos restoration.”

“In the words of Imee Marcos, her brother’s presidential run was intended to “clean” the Marcos name, which also means erasing the crimes of the late dictator and his family,” Reyes said.

“Marcos Jr.’s return to Malacañang does not extinguish the crimes and abuses of the Marcos dictatorship. No amount of repetitive playing of Bagong Lipunan will change this bloody record. These will remain historical facts,” he added.

Mody Floranda, a victim of Martial Law, expressed concern that the Filipino people would lose access to records of history and accounts of human rights abuses during the first Marcos presidency. 

“Ang pamilya ko mismo ay biktima ng Martial Law. Dineklara ang Martial Law ng September 21 (1972). Pero September 29, inaresto kami at sinama sa kampo ng militar,” Floranda said.

(My family was a victim of Martial Law. Martial Law was declared on September 21, 1972. But on September 29, we were arrested and brought to a military camp.)

“Kaya nangangamba tayo na pwedeng bumalik (ang martial law)… isa lang ang gusto niya (Marcos Jr.) na baguhin—ang kasaysayan ng kanyang pamilya,” he added.

(We are worried because it might happen again. Marcos Jr. only wanted to change the facts about his family.)

The Akbayan party-list said it expects Marcos "to adhere to a low-intensity form of democracy.”

“Constitutional limits to power will be bypassed, civil liberties further curtailed, institutions hijacked, and citizens cut off from any real knowledge of government activities,” it said.

“All this while retaining only the vaguest semblance of democracy from severely hampered checks to the abuse of power. We will have a democracy without liberty and an honest reckoning of memory," the group added. 

Akbayan then vowed to hold the Marcos administration accountable if it broke its campaign promises.

“We will hold Marcos Jr. and his administration to their promise of 'unity,' that so many ordinary Filipinos pinned their hopes and dreams upon,” it said in a statement.

“And should this promise prove to be another of the Marcos family's many lies, we will take him and his enablers to task and hold them all accountable,” it added.

Peaceful protest

Police Colonel Julius Domingo, chief district community affairs and development of Manila Police District, said the protest action at Plaza Miranda was “overall peaceful.”

“Naging matahimik naman. Yung naging usapan kaninang umaga, yung both sides—PNP at sa mga militanteng grupo—they will be allowed to have a demonstration at Plaza Miranda and have a peaceful dispersal at Recto Avenue,” Domingo said.

(The protest was peaceful. What we have talked about this morning—between the PNP and militant groups—they will be allowed to have a demonstration at Plaza Miranda and have a peaceful dispersal at Recto Avenue.)

Originally, progressive groups were supposed to hold a rally at Liwasang Bonifacio.

However, after a dialogue with the MPD, the groups decided to change the venue to have a peaceful assembly.

Organizers of the protest claimed to have gathered a crowd of around 2,000. 

However, MPD spokesperson Police Major Phillip Ines said only around 1,000 people participated in the anti-Marcos rally at the Plaza Miranda. 

The MPD said the following groups joined the protest:

Karapatan

Courage

Kilusang Mayo Uno

Bayan Muna

Anakpawis

Kilusang Magbubukid

Piston

Health Action for Human Rights

National Council of Churches in the Philippines

Alliance of Health Workers

International League of Peoples' Struggle

Kabataan

Gabriela

Artista ng Rebolusyong Pangkultura

People's Coalition on Food Sovereignty

Unyon ng Manggagawa

Alliance of Concerned Teachers

Concerned Teachers of the Philippines

Southern Tagalog Cultural Alliance

— with Joviland Rita/RSJ/VBL, GMA News