The 54th anniversary of the Martial Law declaration reminds the Filipino people of the oppression and human rights violations committed during the darkest periods of the country’s history, and of the need to ensure that such abuses are never repeated.

The Union of Journalists of the Philippines – UP is one with the masses in remembering every activist detained, every journalist silenced, and every life killed under the guise of peace under Ferdinand Marcos Sr.’s declaration of Martial Law.

When Marcos Sr. placed the country under Martial Law through Proclamation No. 1081, his administration cited threats from communist and Islamic insurgencies as threats to national security. Marcos Sr. framed the declaration as an attempt to build a “New Society,” where one of his promises was to end violence and usher in peace.  Instead, his prolonged and centralized rule led to heavy militarization, widespread political repression and grave human rights and press freedom violations. 

More than five decades later, remnants of his dictatorship persist in the ongoing search for desaparecidos, efforts to recover the Marcos family’s ill-gotten wealth  and the continued agony of the Martial Law victim-survivors.

Under the “Bagong Pilipinas” banner, Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s administration mirrors the same pattern of political repression, corruption and the marginalization of communities. 

In April, 19 individuals were massacred in Toboso, Negros Occidental, among whom nine were civilians, including UPD Councilor Alyssa Alano, UPOU student and peasant organizer Maureen Santuyo, and community journalist RJ Ledesma. Just this month, 11 activists and community organizers in Cagayan Valley were charged with terrorism financing, while five paralegals, including UP students Kenneth Castor and RC Placido, were arrested during a Pax Silica protest.

It is against this backdrop that the administration is placing communities at risk in exchange for partnerships with the imperialist US. Despite resounding opposition from the public, Marcos Jr. insists on pushing through with the Pax Silica initiative that will displace peasant and Indigenous communities and endanger the country’s environmental conditions.

This political and social climate burdening millions of Filipinos is a manifestation of the Marcoses’ political retribution. Marcos Jr.’s presidency marked the steady rise of the Marcoses’ political capital and power to ultimately erase the vestiges of their family’s abuses and plunder. 

Accountability and justice are also yet to be achieved,  while members of the Marcos political network continue to evade liability. Marcos Jr.’s first cousin Martin Romualdez got special treatment during his arrest, while his mother Imelda Marcos was acquitted by the Supreme Court in 2026, overturning her graft conviction.

Despite the Marcos-Duterte administration’s efforts to repress dissent and oppress the masses, the Filipino people should and will continue to use the lessons learned from the dark time of Martial Law. Journalists should carry out their function in uniting people in remembering, holding people accountable and holding the line amid human rights violations.

The Union of Journalists of the Philippines – UP stands in solidarity with the Filipino people in remembering what happened on Sep. 21, 1972 and the succeeding 14 years under the hands of the dictator Marcos. 

The Union also raises its pens in protest without fear as a tribute to the sacrifices of the journalists, activists and Filipinos who came before us. 

To remember is to resist! Never forget, and never again to Martial Law! 

#ML54

#NeverAgain

#NeverForget

#MarcosSingilin

#RejectMarcosDuterte