IF YOU think millennials are dimwits, think again.
Anakbayan Metro Baguio coordinator Pol Pulmano said over 200 youth poured onto city streets Saturday to rage against the burial of Dictator Ferdinand Marcos.
Pulmano said the youth composed largely of what we call the millennial generation led veteran advocates to prove they know a thing or two about history.
The 21-year-old Pulmano said continuous education and discussions have been staged to inform and educate the youth of the dark days of Martial Law with the help of personal account of surviving victims to put history in the right perspective for local youth.
Pulmano said the perception of millenials not having a sense of history is wrong adding the youth are fully informed and aware of the significance of the Marcos burial.
“To hail Marcos as a hero is to nullify the bravery of Macli-ing Dulag, Pedro Dungoc, Ama Mangatam, Jennifer Cariño, Wright Molintas, Jr., and countless others who bravely fought against the abuses of his regime,” Pulmano said.
Anakbayan University of the Cordilleras relates universities freedom of expression during Martial Law was affected, UC, then the Baguio Colleges Foundation, Inc. (BCF), was not exempted from the fascist regime of the Dictator after the university student council, the student publication, and other student organizations were shut down.
The organization in a statement said struggling communities of Kalinga, Mt. Province, and Abra facing displacement from Marcos-backed projects Chico Dam and Cellophil Logging Corp. were covered up by the state-run press.
Curtailment of human rights and civil liberties did not result in a disciplined public, but rather in a Filipino public living in fear. Communities, students, teachers, lawyers, and other civic leaders like UC founder Atty. Benjamin Salvosa fought hard for the future generation to enjoy certain freedoms.
“The Marcoses do not deserve forgiveness. The family never apologized for the abuses and rights violations committed under Martial Law,” Pulmano said.
The Baguio-Benguet chapter of the National Union of Students in the Philippines (NUSP) lauded the youth and students from various universities and colleges in the city who linked arms with members of other sectors, including victims of the atrocities of Martial law. “Tonight, we witnessed the determination of the youth and students to impede any attempt to alter and appropriate history to serve the ambitions of the powerful few. The Martial law era, reigned over by Marcos, his family, and cronies, has been the murkiest period in the Philippines which consequences transcended succeeding generations. The people will never forget, today’s youth pledge to carry on. Marcos is not a hero,” NUSP in a statement said.
The protest is part of a nationwide action tagged as the “National Day of Unity and Rage Against Marcos’ Hero’s Burial.”