SEVERAL youth groups are staging protest actions tomorrow, Monday, to mark the 48th  anniversary of the 1972 Martial Law declaration by the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos.

Despite the Covid19 pandemic, the groups will proceed with the holding of a youth assembly at 2 pm at the Commission on Human Rights in Quezon City, to be followed by an afternoon protest at the University of the Philippines Diliman campus.

One La Salle for Human Rights and Democracy co-convenor Scout Gomez cited the timeliness of recalling the lessons of Martial Law as issues back then that show similarities with the current situation under the Duterte administration.

“Lasallians will join the mobilization for September 21 not only to commemorate Martial Law, but to unite with the Filipino people against the rampant tyranny, fascism, and injustice under the Duterte regime,” Gomez said.

“As students we are experiencing the incompetence of the Duterte regime during this pandemic as it heavily affects the education sector.”

During the rally, the groups will also push for the issues faced by students during the pandemic such as budget allocation for the shift to distance learning, technology access, excess tuition fees, among others.

“Kaya naman sa darating na September 21  ay inaanyayahan ko ang lahat ng kapwa ko kabataan na lumabas, lumaban at mag-protesta. Kung gusto pa nating mairaos ang ating pag-aaral at kung gusto pa nating mabigyan ng ginhawa ang ating mga magulang na todo-kayod upang maibigay ang pantustos sa ating pamilya at pag-aaral, ay kailangan nating ipanawagan ang mga lehitimong karapatan sa edukasyon,” said STAND UP spokesperson Froilan Cariaga.

Meanwhile, College Guild Editors of the Philippines alongside different student publications in the country will also join the mobilization to denounce assaults on human rights, press freedom, and democracy.

“Our history has witnessed that the campus press has a huge role to amplify the voices of the marginalized through militant writing, which eventually mobilized people into action to end tyranny,” CEGP said in a statement.

“Every word written by student journalists should leave an imprint on our minds where we must never forget the horrors that the dictators have brought to us,” it added.