The Marcos Jr. government’s decision to shift the commemoration of Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino’s assassination from August 21 to August 23 on the pretext of “holiday economics” intends to diminish the date’s significance. August 21 is a showcase of the brutal lengths the Marcos dictatorship was willing to go to, to preserve itself in power. The outrage engendered by the August 21 assassination intensified and strengthened an anti-dictatorship movement, already faced with militant protests from the workers, peasants and students, with the open and active participation of members of the middle and upper classes.
At the same time, August 21, 1971 when Marcos, then on his second and last term as president, suspended the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus using as pretext the state-instigated Plaza Miranda bombing, reminds us how the Marcos regime easily stripped off the civil and political rights of the people, setting the conditions for a nationwide martial law.
Justifying the change from August 21 to 23 as holiday economics is another misinformation from this regime. This is at least the third time that the Marcos Jr regime has changed historic anti-dictatorship and/or significant people’s protest dates: EDSA People Power 1 on Feb 22 and May 1 Worker’s Day!
After all, why would Marcos Jr. want the people to keep on remembering crucial lessons learned from these events in the nation’s history which are stark reminders of the brutality and puppetry of his family’s rule, on the one hand and the power of a unified people?
CARMMA and all anti- tyranny individuals and organizations will continue to expose and oppose Marcos Jr.’s attempt at imposing nationwide amnesia on the horrors of the Marcos dictatorship and the courage of militant people’s resistance. (PR)
