Massive ‘Black Friday’ protest fight against revision of history, organizers say
ACTIVISTS are asking the Filipino people to join the fight against the revision of history and the total political rehabilitation of the Marcos clan.
In a press conference last November 23, members of Campaign Against the Return of the Marcoses to Malacanang (CARMMA) and other progressive organizations called on Filipinos to participate in the planned massive #BlackFriday protest at the Rizal Park grandstand on November 25.
“We shall not let this gross insult and historical distortion pass unchallenged,” Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) chairperson Dr. Carol Araullo said.
“This is the Filipinos’ fight now. Let us raise our voice and make our stand. Marcos was a thief, fascist and dictator. Marcos was no hero,” Araullo said.
The progressives said it is the most opportune time to prevent the Marcos’s plan to return to power and twist history in their favor.
“When we say ‘never again’, we say it with a greater sense of urgency because the restoration of the Marcoses has just become very real,” Bayan secretary-general Renato Reyes Jr. said.
“Like a thief in the night”
The progressives condemned Marcos’ rushed and secret burial as “cowardly” as they expressed frustration that the burial took place before they had the chance to file a motion for reconsideration (MR) to the Supreme Court decision favouring President Rodrigo Duterte’s order to have the late dictator interned at the Libingan ng mga Bayani (Heroes’ Cemetery).
Petitioner Neri Colmenares said they will file a motion to have the Marcos family, the military and the police as well as others involved in the burial cited for contempt.
“The decision was not yet final and executory. What happened was disrespectful to our rights as petitioners and to due process,” Colmenares said.
“We still intend to file and MR even if the burial has already rendered it moot and unacademic. It may not win, but it is still important that we put it on the record that we do not accept the decision,” he said.
“The Marcoses have practically foreclosed the legal battle already, which is why we must struggle in one arena they cannot control: the streets,” Colmenares added.
Beyond Friday
The progressives emphasized that the fight does not end with the #BlackFriday protest.
“My hope is that this will not only awaken a desire to participate but make the people constantly aware that there is a threat over our heads,” press freedom hero Edith Burgos for her part said.
“If we do not act, the Marcos and their kind will return again and again. After all, those motivated by greed will always try to find a way to power,” Burgos said.
Burgos also appealed to Filipinos who are unable to join mass protests.
“We call on those who cannot join the protests to go beyond prayers and act to educate the children on the importance of stopping another tyrant from happening to us,” Burgos said. (Abril Layad B. Ayroso)
