Never Again. Never Forget. 51st Anniversary of Martial Law

51 years ago on September 21, 1972, President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. declared Martial Law and imposed fascist rule on the Filipino people–70,000 imprisoned, 34,000 tortured, and more than 3,240 summarily killed or disappeared. This was Martial Law, contrary to the current  Marcos Jr- Sara Duterte Administration’s claim that Martial Law period  was the “golden era of the Philippines”. During his rule, Marcos Sr.  plunged our homeland into deeper poverty when he implemented the IMF structural adjustment programs –privatization of basic services, deregulation and trade liberalization to tighten the control of US imperialism.

To quell the rising mass protests against poverty, unemployment and fascism, Marcos Sr. launched the Philippine Labor Expot Program in 1972, pushing the massive forced migration of over 10% of our people. To this day, the remittances of Filipino migrant workers, majority are undocumented women domestic workers, is the largest resource that props the Philippine government.

The Marcos political dynasty is back in Malacanang, together with Sara Duterte, the daughter of President Rodrigo Duterte who surpassed Marcos Sr.’ record by executing 30,000 extrajudicial killings.

On the 51st anniversary against Martial Law, Damayan joins the Filipinos’ call for justice and accountability: Fight the historical revisionism and disinformation by the Marcoses and Dutertes. Support the struggle for genuine democracy, human rights, and sovereignty in the Philippines. Never Again! Never Forget!