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Martial Law victims hold Voltes V protest against Bongbong Marcos


 

 
 
 
 
 
 

 

Marie Hilao Enriquez, 62, has been fighting against the injustices of Martial Law for more than 40 years.

Days before the elections, she was once again in battle.

As chairperson of SELDA, a group of former Martial Law detainees, Enriquez led a Voltes V-themed rally with members of the Campaign Against the Return of the Marcoses to Malacañang (CARMMA) in Araneta Center Cubao on Wednesday.

The group protested the candidacy of Senator Bongbong Marcos, who is running to become the next vice president.

"Paano naman yung mangyayari ngayon kung isa na namang diktador ang nakaupo...kung si Marcos ang umupo," Enriquez said.

She added that Marcos was involved in his father's dictatorship, during which many human rights abuses were recorded. 

"Hindi naman siya yung unconscious son eh. Noong pinaalis yung buong pamilya nung 1986, ay naka full-battle gear pa siya. Nandoon siya sa balcony ng Malacañang. Dapat sana sinabihan niya yung tatay niya na huwag mangdukot ng tao, huwag mampatay," Enriquez said.

Enriquez, along with four other family members, had been imprisoned for a year and nine months during the Martial Law.

Their imprisonment cost them the life of his 23-year-old brother.

"Namatay ang kapatid ko sa loob ng detensyon. Kaya ako ay galit na galit at talagang nangangampanya ako na huwag iboto yang si Bongbong Marcos," she said.

Asked why they chose Voltes V to be the rally's theme, CARMM youth volunteer Christina Guevarra said that the anime series' plot was an effective parallel to their battle.

Banned by Marcos in 1979, Voltes V had revolutionary undertones as it told the story of rebel forces overthrowing an empire.

"Si Voltes V ay naging iconic doon sa Martial Law generation. Napaka-clear ang message sa Voltes V na the people are revolting against a super power. During that time, it seemed that the Marcoses were the Boazanian Empire," Guevarra said.

"Isa lang siyang symbol...we can do away with Voltes V but we cannot do away with freedom of speech, our freedom to assemble, our freedom to speak against abuses like what happened during the Martial Law," she added.

The protesters said that they will not stop trying to raise awareness no matter the outcome of the May 9 elections.

"Hindi pa tapos ang laban. Tuloy-tuloy ang laban na ito, kahit manalo o matalo siya. We have to do more to educate the voters and the millennials. Kaya ngayon tinatry namin na kahit na malapit na mag-eleksyon, todo bigay kami," Enriquez said.

CARMMA will also hold a motorcade against Marcos on Thursday, and a play on Martial Law on Friday. —JST, GMA News

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