ARTLETS Student Council President Rafael Arellano, along with other student leaders, signed on Sunday a statement urging the youth to gather for the United People’s Protest in Luneta on Sept. 21, the 46th anniversary of former dictator Ferdinand Marcos’ declaration of martial law.
The statement denounced the “repressive” policies of President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration, saying they “refuse to return to another dark era of dictatorship.”
“[W]e pledge our deepest commitment to oppose the machinations of another dictatorship under Duterte. On September 21, thousands of youth will take to the streets of Manila and other urban centers to show our unity against his tyrannical rule,” the statement read.
“We will not let the horrors of a dictatorship haunt this generation. Together, we will hold Duterte accountable for causing tremendous suffering to the Filipino people. Together, we will defeat his dictatorship,” the statement concluded.
The 20 other signees include University of the Philippines (UP) System Student Regent Ivy Joy Taroma, UP Diliman University Student Council Chairperson Jose Rafael Toribio, and Ateneo de Manila Sanggunian Vice President Niels Nable.
On Sept. 21, 1972, then President Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law, ushering in 14 years of corruption and abuse from the authoritarian government. F
