The millennial candlelights at the Marcos Hero’s burial protest

MILLENNIAL CANDLELIGHTS: Cellphone flashlights stood for the candlelights lit in protest of the impending martial law – Venzie Crisostomo

Tayo ang liwanag sa dilim
Ang dagitab sa kawalan
Ang alab na di huhupa
Ang apoy na di mamamatay
Tayo ang pag-asa na di mabibigo

Mabuhay ang sambayanang Pilipino!

(Renato Reyes)

The “millennial candlelights “, the cellphone flashlights,  symbolize the light of hope. This is the passing of the torch that our youth will continue  on as they  fight against the revival of the Marcosian ideology that the dictator himself had spawned in the 1970s. If there is any consolation from the burial of President Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga bayani, it is this show of protest coming from the millennials themselves. My heart is touched by their show of hands. I have hope for their future. Looking back at the Marcos burial protest in Luneta on November 25, 2016, I have no words to describe the rally.

Yes, I saw their rage and passion as they clenched their fists up in the air .  I can’t help but feel overwhelmed as I reminisced the mid-seventies when I too raised my fist in at a lightning rally in Luneta : “Marcos , hitler, diktador, tuta”.  We, the youth during martial law fought hard to topple the dictator in many lightning rallies in Luneta, Manila, Quezon City until the People Power in 1986 . Today’s youth , the millennials can also “win this battle on how to properly dispose the dictator’s carcass and to correct revisionism”.

Tonyo Cruz describes it so well:

“If you were at the Luneta or watched the telecasts and livestreams, you would’ve noticed that it was a different rally. Cameras were always pointing at the crowd, and their images flashed onstage. Even tweets and Facebook posts found their way to the stage. We read the rallyists’ witty, funny and furious placards. We announced the rallies elsewhere.

The difference is in the mindset. CARMMA  [CAMPAIGN AGAINST THE RETURN OF THE MARCOSES TO MALACAÑANG] views the people as the stars and heroes of the Luneta rally and in changemaking. Ask any of the speakers and performers who graced the stage about the sight they saw.

That beautiful sight — when you guys chanted, when you raised your fists, when you jeered Imeldific, when you gave love to the battle-tested veterans and the millennials and especially when you raised your phones to light up Luneta — showed who are the real stars. (May ulan pa!)”

Let me show you the creativity of the millennials and the others who trooped to Luneta despite the showers and muddy ground. You will see how angry they are , some in a funny, gross and creative way.

“Yes , I didn’t experience Martial Law but I didn’t have to because they fought for me.

“Marcos, gago, kahit kay Voltes V, may atraso ka”

“Facebook lang ba ang source nila?? Tangina”

“Hindi laging kabutihan ang ang pagpapaumanhin, mabigat na pagkakasala ito kapag nakahihikayat ng Paninil– Rizal, El Filibusterismo”

True Heroes fought martial law.

Renato Reyes shares a story when a La Salle student asked him a question during a photo op.

“Bakit po kailangan ng pagsali dito sa protesta?”

Dahil hindi naipapanalo ang laban sa pamamagitan lamang ng likes and shares. Kailangan ng direct action, ng public pressure. Lalo pa ngayon na kayang-kaya nila tayong dumugin online, sa dami ng trolls nila. Pero dito, “offline” at sa kalsada, hindi nila tayo matatalo.”

Many signages showing that “Marcos is not a Hero”.

More protest signs . “Never again; You can’t bury the truth, Never forget”

Dr Raquel Fortun (@doc4dead on twitter) , a forensic pathologist  : “Show me the body”.

“Yung crush ko anti-marcos din, FOREVER NA ITU”

“Marcos , Hitler , Diktador…tuta (a caricature of Duterte)

Another one expresses her anger towards the  Duterte-Marcos alliance.

Hustisya para sa mg biktima ng martial law.

Botox ni Imee, tuition ni Sandro, pera ng bayan.

According to Nato Reyes, “the first to arrive were some seniors dressed in black and a family from Cavite. The parents, I met during our UP activist days. They brought their “grown up” kids. (I would later see other UP activists who brought their kids). There were others who came from far away provinces. A group of St. Scho alumni then arrived. They were the early birds. Then the marching contingents arrived. Then more and more people started to come after office hours and after class. Folks from all walks of life. They came in black. They brought umbrellas. Former senators, religious, young professionals, artists, and the veterans of the anti-dictatorship struggle.”

Bayan congratulated “the Filipino people protesting across the nation and overseas today, in a historic display of indignation against the Marcos burial. Today’s anti-Marcos protest will be the biggest and most widespread since the dictator was booted out of power in 1986. It is a testament to the commitment of the Filipino people to the call “Never Again”

The issue is not merely the corpse of Marcos Sr. Neither is it only about the rehabilitation of one discredited family name. Rehabilitation is just a prerequisite for a more sinister purpose.  And the purpose is the revival of the Marcosian ideology that the dictator himself had spawned in the 1970s.

In a statement from CARMMA, they elaborated that “the Marcosian ideology is a governance framework justifying strongman rule, that it cannot go wrong, that it cannot be doubted, because the ruler has “all the best intentions” for country and people. Its sense of “nationalism”, “democracy”, and “development” is anchored on authoritarian populism and right-wing politics that harbor no dissent and allow for the perpetuation of antipeople, anti-Filipino policies.”

Whatever happens to the Duterte-Marcos alliance and the Marcos burial, I feel secure in the knowledge that “the widespread political awakening resulting from it….will be the wellspring of people’s opposition to the return of the Marcoses to power. The fight will go on. ”

Tayo ang liwanag sa dilim.

 

Read other articles on the Marcos Protest burial

Duterte comes out as No. 1 Marcos loyalist, triggers people’s outrage  by Tonyo Cruz

Who are the real heroes by Tonyo Cruz

WATCH: Why young girl is opposing Marcos’ burial in heroes’ cemetery via ABS CBN

The night Ferdinand Marcos was buried – again via Rappler

Good Fridays via Inquirer

Anti-Marcos groups brave the rain for Black Friday protest via Manila Bulletin

Black Friday: Protests erupt vs FM Libingan burial via Philippine Star

From tweets to the streets: Millennials lead Marcos burial protests via ABS CBN

Students at anti-Marcos rally: We’re part of the fight via Rappler

Video: Thousands protest hero’s burial for Marcos, call for exhumation of late strongman’s remains – The Daily Manila Shimbun