A group of education workers on Saturday, Sept. 21, called for a nationwide observance and a “collective awakening to our shared history” in light of the 52nd anniversary of the declaration of martial law under the Marcos dictatorship.

In a statement, the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Philippines said that Sept. 21 should be a "day of remembrance" to emphasize a “resolute stand against historical distortion and a sustained resistance against the ongoing repression of our people's rights.”

On Sept. 21, 1972, former president Ferdinand Marcos Sr. signed Proclamation No. 1081 which placed the country under martial law.

ACT said the martial law period “plunged the Filipino people into a dark era of fascist dictatorship, characterized by widespread human rights violations and political repression.”

“Under this regime, Marcos Sr. unlawfully extended his term, plundered the nation's wealth, and compromised the Philippines to foreign interests,” ACT said.

Years after

ACT noted that decades later, under his son’s administration, the country continues to “witness state repression and human rights violations reminiscent of that dark period.”

“Critics are silenced, red-tagged, and subjected to wrongful arrests and extrajudicial killings,” ACT said.

The group alleged that teachers, education workers, unionists, and activists “face relentless attacks” while academic freedom and trade union rights are “persistently undermined under the guise of combating terrorism."

“Educational institutions are increasingly militarized under the pretense of fighting insurgency, while the true aim is to enforce anti-people government policies,” ACT said.

“Corruption thrives alongside impunity, perpetuating poverty and inequality imposed by the ruling elite and an unjust social system,” the group added.

ACT also expressed alarm on the “a systematic whitewashing of the atrocities” allegedly committed during martial law as efforts “intensify to glorify Marcos Sr.'s regime.”

With this, ACT urged the public to “never forget” and to continue to “persist in the struggle for truth, justice, genuine freedom, national democracy, and a just and lasting peace.”