Panay rights victims, defenders renew pledge to resist repression

 From Panay News (Jul 18, 2022): Panay rights victims, defenders renew pledge to resist repression

ILOILO City – Martial law survivors in Panay Island, victims of human rights violations and their families renewed their commitment to resist tyranny and repression during a forum at St. Clement’s Church compound in La Paz district here over the weekend.

The gathering was organized by the Samahan ng mga Ex-Detainee Laban sa Detensyon at Aresto (Selda), Mothers and Relatives Against Tyranny (Martyr) and Panay Alliance Karapatan.

Veteran activists and victims in attendance recounted personal experiences and the history of suppression of civil and political rights in Panay Island.

They also urged human rights defenders and organizations to continue to fight authoritarian policies restricting civic space and avenues for dissent.

“It’s getting more obvious at each passing day that we are facing harder times with a Marcos and a Duterte in power,” said Atty. Elias Guiloreza, Selda-Panay chair. “It is the correct remembrance of the past that should guide us through.”

In September, the nation will mark the 50th anniversary of the declaration of martial law by the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, father of the current president, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.

Under the older Marcos’ draconian rule, an estimated 3,200 people were extrajudicially killed from 1972 to 1986 while thousands more were subjected to torture, enforced disappearance, rape and sexual violence, arbitrary arrest and detention and other forms of abuse.

Republic Act No. 10368 or the Human Rights Victims Reparation and Recognition Act of 2013 was passed to recognize the sacrifices of the countless victims of gross human rights violations under the first Marcos administration.

The Marcoses were ousted from power and fled the country following an uprising in 1986. However, over the next three decades, the Marcos family re-entrenched itself in the national government, benefiting from a pervasive campaign of disinformation and historical revisionism.

In 2016, the government of President Rodrigo Duterte – itself marred by human rights violations issues – authorized the burial of the remains of Ferdinand Marcos, Sr. at the Libingan ng mga Bayani, with full military honors.

https://www.panaynews.net/panay-rights-victims-defenders-renew-pledge-to-resist-repression/