21/09/2026
๐๐ถ๐๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ ๐ช๐ถ๐น๐น ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐บ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ง๐ต๐ผ๐๐ฒ ๐ช๐ต๐ผ ๐๐ผ๐๐ด๐ต๐
Some names were never carved into monuments. Some faces never made it into textbooks. Some lives were cut short because they refused to remain silent while others were oppressed and exploited. Behind every farmer who fought for land, every worker who stood for fair and decent wages, and every youth who organized against dictatorship is a history that those in power have repeatedly tried to erase, distort, and revise.
On September 21, 1972, Ferdinand Marcos Sr. issued Proclamation No. 1081, placing the Philippines under Martial Law. During this period, the government imposed strict control over the press, while critics and those who opposed the administration were arrested, detained, and subjected to torture and other forms of abuse. The military was deployed to suppress a growing movement for social change. In universities, factories, rural communities, and urban neighborhoods, demands for justice and meaningful change were met with violence and repression.
But the history of Martial Law did not end with the fall of the dictatorship in 1986.
Today, people continue to encounter forms of repression used to silence dissent. Red-tagging, militarization, attacks against peopleโs organizations, and the criminalization of critical voices remain among the methods used against those who speak out against injustice. In Negros and other communities, farmers struggling for land and livelihood, workers fighting for decent wages and humane working conditions, youth demanding a future free from poverty and repression, and human rights defenders defending their communities continue to face threats, harassment, and violence.
Even within universities, organizing and participation in social issues can be met with intimidation, surveillance, and other forms of pressure. These realities remind us that repression is not simply a chapter in a history book or a distant political event. It is experienced in the daily lives of communities whose basic demands for land, wages, rights, education, and a dignified life continue to be met with force instead of meaningful change.
At UP Cebu and within the wider community, these realities cannot be dismissed as distant events that bear no connection to our lives. As public education remains burdened by inadequate funding, the cost of studying continues to rise, and workers and poor families struggle under the weight of an ongoing crisis. In such conditions, the freedom to question, organize, investigate, and speak out becomes all the more necessary.
๐ ๐ด๐ฒ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ธ๐ป๐ผ๐๐น๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ด๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ผ๐บ ๐ถ๐ ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ถ๐น๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ. ๐๐๐ ๐ฎ ๐ด๐ฒ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ป๐ ๐๐ผ ๐พ๐๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป, ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ถ๐๐ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ผ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ, ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐๐ฒ๐ ๐ธ๐ป๐ผ๐๐น๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ด๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฟ ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ต๐ฒ๐น๐ฝ ๐ฏ๐๐ถ๐น๐ฑ ๐ฎ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ณ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ณ๐๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ.
This is why remembering Martial Law and those who suffered and died under it must go beyond an annual ceremony or a moment of remembrance. We must learn from their stories, confront attempts to distort and erase history, and demand accountability for injustices committed. We must listen to communities that continue to face repression, amplify their calls for justice, and transform remembrance into collective action.
As students, as members of the university, and as siyentistas ng bayan, may we never allow the pursuit of knowledge to become detached from the realities of our people. May our classrooms, laboratories, organizations, and communities remain spaces where questions are welcomed, truth is defended, and knowledge is used not to preserve injustice, but to understand and transform the conditions that produce it.
Their names are not relics of the past. They are reminders of what was lost, what remains unresolved, and what must never be forgotten.
May our raised fists not be symbols confined to commemorations but a representation of our continuing commitment to deepen our understanding, defend democratic freedoms, stand with communities facing repression, and place our knowledge and skills in the service of the people.
๐ก๐๐ฉ๐๐ฅ ๐๐๐๐๐ก, ๐ก๐๐ฉ๐๐ฅ ๐๐ข๐ฅ๐๐๐ง! ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ง๐๐ฆ๐ฌ๐ ๐ฃ๐๐ฅ๐ ๐ฆ๐ ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ง๐๐ ๐ ๐ฆ๐ ๐ ๐๐ฅ๐ง๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ช! ๐ ๐๐๐จ๐๐ ๐๐ก๐ ๐ ๐๐ ๐ฅ๐๐๐ข๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฌ๐ข๐ก๐๐ฅ๐ฌ๐ข๐ก๐ ๐ ๐๐ฅ๐ง๐ฌ๐ฅ! ๐ ๐๐ฅ๐๐ข๐ฆ, ๐๐จ๐ง๐๐ฅ๐ง๐, ๐ช๐๐๐๐ก๐ ๐ฃ๐๐ก๐๐-๐๐๐! ๐ฃ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ข๐ก๐ ๐ง๐จ๐ง๐, ๐๐๐๐ง๐๐๐ข๐ฅ, ๐ฃ๐๐ฆ๐๐ฆ๐ง๐!
