Young boy was part of anti-Marcos rally in Cebu

A boy, carrying a Mickey Mouse knapsack, was among the participants of the anti-Marcos march and noise barrage held in Cebu on Wednesday.

Three-year-old Nicholas Ruffolo joined his mother, Cris Evert Lato-Ruffolo, to the protest rally at the Cebu Provincial Capitol building.

He also joined the one-kilometer walk from Capitol to Fuente Osmeña, where a noise barrage was held.

Nicholas was seen carrying a small placard that says,"If you change history, you are lying to me. #MarcosNOTahero."

Nicholas at his age already knows what Martial Law is about.

Lato-Ruffolo said she would read the book written by Augie Rivera to Nicholas, his twin sister Antoinette and Jeff Junior.

A children's book, Isang Harding Papel is about the time Martial Law was implemented by the late President Ferdinand Marcos in 1972.

In the book, the purpose of Martial Law was to impose discipline on the people. But to the main character, Jenny, it was the time that she was separated from her mother.

Lato-Ruffolo expressed hope, in her Facebook post, that Nicholas and his generation would no longer have to attend another protest rally.

"I hope one day, several years from now, you won't need to go to the streets to attend another protest rally because some people tried to change history," she said.

"But if that will happen in your time, I'd like you to look back to this day when you joined us in Cebu... when you asked me what a rally is and when you said 'Mom, Martial Law not good for Mommies'," she added.

Lato-Ruffolo was criticized in social media for bringing her young son to the event.

"I expected bashers when I decided to bring my child to the rally. I wouldn't have brought him to a public venue if I wasn't ready to face criticisms and bashing," she said in a separate Facebook post on the issue.

"I refer you to this link for information and enlightenment so you know why my child was there. It was definitely not born out of a 'bogo (stupid)' decision," she added. — Bernadette A. Parco, GMA News