A COALITION of campus publications called on student journalists to unite and denounce the 49th anniversary of the declaration of Martial Law by former President Ferdinand Marcos..

Led by the College Editors Guild of the Philippines, the campus papers said that Marcos’ decade-long tyranny brought the whole nation “to a much miserable state.”

“We, the member student publications of the College Editors Guild of the Philippines, the oldest, broadest, and the only-existing alliance of tertiary student publications in the Asia-Pacific region, strongly call and urge every campus journalist to stand and join us in commemorating the evils witnessed by the nation during the Marcos dictatorship,” they said in a manifesto.

“In memories of our brave predecessors Liliosa Hilao, Leticia Ladlad, Ditto Sarmiento, and Antonio Tagamolila, we will never forget the horrors that the Marcos regime tried to hide but never succeeded,” they added.

The publications argued that the Duterte administration is almost similar to Martial Law days where repression in media and rampant human rights abuses continue.

“The regime already claimed thousands of innocent lives with its failed War on Drugs campaign,” they said.

Similar to Marcos, Duterte resorted to militarization and crafted anti-poor policies, the groups added.

“Amid the pandemic, he handpicked retired generals to handle a global health crisis that only worsened the socio-economic and health situation of the country. Instead of scientific and data-based measures, the president preferred illogical and militaristic approaches and repressive lockdowns,” they pointed out.

They pledged to uphold press freedom and freedom of speech without fear.

“We won’t let our pen go useless as it is a powerful weapon to pacify and tame the oppressors. We will rewrite history with a stronger voice set ablaze by the growing fire of revolution towards change and progress for the better good of Filipinos,” they said.