Six years after former president Rodrigo Duterte accorded the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr. a hero’s burial at the Libingan ng mga Bayani, a group of martial law survivors gathered at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani to honor the “real heroes” that emerged from the dark years of martial law.
Members of the Campaign Against the Return of the Marcoses and Martial Law (CARMMA) led activists on November 18 to lay wreaths at the memorial shrine dedicated to the martyrs and heroes of the anti-dictatorship struggle.
“We want to uphold the genuine heroism of the Filipino people and once again expose the fakery of the Marcos yarn,” said CARMMA spokesperson Bonifacio Ilagan.
He said CARMMA’s activity was especially significant “now that the country is under the son of the dictator.”
“Marcos Jr.’s single biggest drive in returning to power is for his family to continue evading accountability for their human rights violations, corruption and unpaid taxes,” said Ilagan.
In a two-hour program titled “Ang Tunay na Mga Bayani (The Real Heroes),” members of CARMMA delivered speeches and offered flowers at the Bantayog’s Wall of Remembrance and before an installation of portraits of select “martial law heroes.”
The Wall of Remembrance enshrines the names of persons martyred for their participation in the struggle against the Marcos dictatorship. They include peasants, workers, students, teachers, lawyers, doctors, priests, nuns, as well as journalists, politicians and freedom fighters.
