21 Sept. 2013
Today, we unite with the Filipino people in commemorating the 41st anniversary of the declaration of Martial Law by joining the “Level Up” protest against the pork barrel system and corruption in the government of Pres. Noynoy Aquino.
This year’s commemoration of the declaration of Martial Law has a special resonance for the Filipino workers and people who are calling for the abolition of the pork barrel system and opposing the repressive moves of the Aquino government.
Martial Law was characterized by rampant corruption in government and the wanton violation of the people’s human rights. While the Filipino people were successful in ending Martial Law in 1986, corruption and repression persist to this day.
The pork barrel scam is exposing corruption in the Aquino government. Aquino has become desperate in trying to hide evidence damning to his government. He is using investigations into the scam for his propaganda war against opposition figures.
There is growing repression in the country, as shown by the use of airstrikes against the New People’s Army in Sagada, the war against the Moro National Liberation Front in Zamboanga City, and the arrest of 11 activists in Hacienda Luisita.
Martial Law remains in full effect in the government’s drive against trade unionism. Countless violations of the workers‘ right to strike are being carried out, five KMU national leaders face trumped-up charges, and eight leaders of the trade-union movement have been victims of extra-judicial killings since Aquino became president in 2010.
Just this August, Benjamin Villeno, a KMU leader in the Southern Tagalog region, was abducted or disappeared as he was about to visit his family.
Forty-one years after Martial Law was declared, we vow to intensify our struggle against corruption in government and the violation of the people’s human rights. We vow to end the semi-colonial, semi-feudal system that has as permanent features widespread corruption in government and brutal violation of the people’s human rights. #