Kabataan party-list Rep. Renee Co stood firm that the youth have not forgotten the horrors of martial law imposed by dictator President Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr., nor the billions stolen by his family from then until now.
“Walang pagmamaliit at pagmamata sa hindi pagkalimot para sa lagim ng batas militar, mga biktima nito tulad ni Liliosa Hilao ng PLM, at sa bilyon-bilyong ninakaw ng mga Marcos noon at ngayon,” Co declared.
She made the statement after Palace Press Officer Castro criticized her for opposing the conferment of an honorary Doctor of Laws degree by the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (PLM) on President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.
According to Castro, “hindi lahat ng abogado na congressman o congresswoman ay masasabi nating honorable o may sense sa mga pananalita. Ang mga paninira, pagmamata, at pagmamaliit na ginawa nitong si Cong. Renee Co ay pagpapakita lamang kung ano ang natutunan niya at hanggang saan siya dinala ng kanyang natutunan.”
Co countered that as the September 21 anniversary of Marcos Sr.’s martial law approaches, the youth are showing what they have learned from history and the present.
“Ngayong papalapit ang Setyembre 21, pinapakita namin kung ano ang natutunan ng kabataan tungkol sa kasaysayan at kasalukuyan — at ang paninindigan na hindi mabaon sa limot o huwad na kinang ang dugong dinanak,” Co stressed.
It was not only Co who opposed the honor given to Marcos Jr., the PLM Supreme Student Council, along with 33 other local student councils and organizations, also denounced the Board of Regents resolution, saying they were not consulted.
They warned that the recognition could be seen as an endorsement of an administration facing issues of good governance.
They also invoked the memory of Hilao, a PLM student journalist reported to be the first student activist to die in detention during Marcos Sr.’s dictatorship. # (ZIA LUNA)
