Youth Groups Protest , 44th Martial Law Anniversary
44th Martial Law Anniversary – Thousands of youth and students in the Philippines have joined together in the streets for protests in part of the “Youth Action Day for Education, Peace, and Human Rights” to mark the 44th anniversary of Martial Law.
According to a report by GMA News, the militant youth group Anakbayan said that there are thousands of university students who walked outside to join the protests.
The students from different universities came from Metro Manila, Pampanga, Baguio City, Laguna, Iloilo, Cebu, Tacloban, Cagayan de Oro, Davao, and other major regional centers.
The report added that the students have done the protests to declare their demand for free education, peace talks, and respect for human rights.
“We are here in the streets to urge President Rodrigo Duterte to bring his promised ‘change’ to the education sector by taking decisive actions against tuition hikes…,” said Anakbayan national chairperson Vencer Crisostomo as quoted in the report.
In the report, it said that Anakbayan condemned the dictatorship of Marcos for its alleged corruption and human rights violations and also the initiation of deregulation of the education sector resulting in about 7,000% hike in tuition fees.
According to the report, the Metro Manila campuses that joined the protests were the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) main campus, UP Diliman, UP Manila, and other private schools.
The said protest involved a caravan which assembled at the University of Santo Tomas, which will then proceed to the historic Mendiola Bridge near the Malacañan Palace.
Meanwhile, the Palace already announced that the President encouraged such activities as long as it won’t cause inconvenience to the public.
“We understand some groups would mark the anniversary through public assembly,” said Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar as quoted.
“The President encourages various activities to commemorate the occasion as long as they are peaceful and no public inconvenience or destruction of properties may ensue,” Andanar added.
Martial Law was first declared by the late President Ferdinand Marcos on Sept. 21, 1972.
