Never Again to Martial Law!

On September 21st, 1972, dictator Ferdinand Marcos placed the Philippines under martial law or military rule, a dark time in Philippines history that was infamous with a drastic increase in human rights abuses, government corruption, torture and killings. It expanded Marcos' power into that of a 21 year long dictatorship. In the span of 10 years, 30,000 people were imprisoned, 34,000 tortured, and 3,240 killed.

Under current President Duterte, we've seen the return of martial law in Mindanao, which has resulted in the bombing of the city of Marawi to the ground, over 400,000 Indigenous people displaced, and more than 55 Indigenous schools suspended. Through de facto martial law throughout the country, over 30,000 people have been killed by suspected state forces, including priests, human rights advocates, and even 1 year old infants. Attacks on peasants and workers have reached an unprecedented level through Executive Order 70, which established the so-called "National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict", and Memorandum Order 32 which declared a state of lawlessness in Negros, Bicol, and Samar. In reality, these orders have targeted anyone who expresses dissent to Duterte's regime as a "terrorist" and opened the doors for state killings of over 91 people in Negros alone.

On September 20th, 2019, Malaya Chicago-Midwest will convene in front of the Philippine Consulate to demand an end to the human rights violations, killings, and de-facto martial law throughout the Philippines. With song, dance, poetry, and speeches, we will demonstrate our righteous indignation at Duterte's tyranny and show that it is only through people power that we will see an end to this violence!

We invite all to attend. Please directly message us if you are interested in endorsing this event.