The declaration of a special non-working day to honor former Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. 's 105th birth anniversary is an insult to all the victims of Martial Law, said Alliance of Filipino Women, Gabriela, on Sunday, Sept. 11.
Under Proclamation No. 53 s. 2022, Malacañang declared Sep. 12, 2022 as a special non-working day in the province of Ilocos Norte. As stated in the Proclamation, Sangguniang Panlalawigan requested that Sept. 12 be declared a special non-working day as Sept. 11 – Marcos Sr.’s birth date - falls on a Sunday.
Malacanang said the declaration aims to enable the people of the province to “celebrate the occasion.” This, however, did not sit well with various groups including Gabriela who reiterated that a special day meriting celebration of the late president’s birth anniversary is a “spit on the graves of those who were killed during Marcos Sr.’s regime.”
“History has been the judge of Filipino people’s will to put an end to their misery under Marcos Sr., with our struggles culminating in the ouster of the dictator in the 1986 EDSA uprising,”
Several of those who participated were women activists, many of which have faced torture and abuse during former president Marcos Sr.’s administration, the group added.
“ latest proclamation is a shameless insult to all victims of Martial Law, most of all to the women who came before us – our mothers and sisters who, even in a time when women were expected to be silent, defied expectations and chose to fight for justice freedom,” it added.