Southern Tagalog 10

Last updated

The Southern Tagalog 10 was a group of activists abducted and "disappeared" in 1977 during martial law in the Philippines under Proclamation No. 1081 issued by President Ferdinand E. Marcos. Of the 10 university students and professors who were abducted, only three, Virgilio Silva, Salvador Panganiban, and Modesto Sison, "surfaced" later after being killed by suspected agents of the state. [1] [2] Two of those who surfaced were apparently summarily executed. [3] The rest were never found. [4]

Contents

Background

The victims, most of them in their early twenties, [3] all belonged to a network of community organizations in the Southern Tagalog region. [5] [6] They were abducted in late July 1977 at the Makati Medical Center in Metro Manila. [7]

The incident is believed to be the single biggest case of involuntary disappearance during martial law. [2] [5] [8] [9] Bonifacio Ilagan, brother of one of the victims and vice chair of Samahan ng Ex-Detainees Laban sa Detensyon at Aresto (an organization that works for the welfare of political detainees), [10] described the abduction as "the single biggest case of involuntary disappearance and summary execution perpetrated by the Armed Forces of the Philippines in the entire history of the Marcos martial law in the Philippines." [5]

Members

The ten individuals known as the Southern Tagalog 10 are: [7]

The names of Catalla, Faustino, Rizalina Ilagan, Jasul, Sales, and Sison are included on the Bantayog ng mga Bayani's Wall of Remembrance for martyrs and heroes of martial law. [11] [12]

The play Pagsambang Bayan (People’s Worship), written by Bonifacio Ilagan, is dedicated to the members of the Southern Tagalog 10. It was first staged in September 1977 at the University of the Philippines (U.P.) by the U.P. Repertory Company under the direction of Behn Cervantes. [5] Its staging led to the arrest of Cervantes and the play's musical director. [13] The play won the Palihang Aurelio V. Tolentino and has since been performed hundreds of times. [14] The Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) cites the play as a "major work in Philippine theater." [15] A musical version of the play was staged in 2017 by director Joel Lamangan at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines and the CCP. [13]

On television, actress Bianca Umali played Rizalina Ilagan in the GMA Network docudrama Alaala: A Martial Law Special, which first aired on September 17, 2017. [16] [17]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nemesio Prudente</span> 2nd President of Polytechnic University of the Philippines

Nemesio "Doc" Encarnacion Prudente was an Filipino educator, political activist, and human rights defender revered for serving as President of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines. Prudente is credited with revitalizing public education in the Philippines by institutionalizing much-needed changes in the state university he led, which will eventually become the largest state university.

Margarita "Maita"FavisGomez was a Filipino scholar, activist and beauty pageant titleholder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bantayog ng mga Bayani</span> Memorial dedicated to the victims and heroes of the Ferdinand Marcos dictatorship

The Bantayog ng mga Bayani, sometimes simply referred to as the Bantayog, is a monument, museum, and historical research center in Quezon City, Philippines, which honors the martyrs and heroes of the struggle against the dictatorship of 10th President Ferdinand Marcos.

Student activism in the Philippines from 1965 to 1972 played a key role in the events which led to Ferdinand Marcos' declaration of Martial Law in 1972, and the Marcos regime's eventual downfall during the events of the People Power Revolution of 1986.

Jose "Joe" Pacturayan Dizon was a Filipino priest and activist who fought against the dictatorship of then President Ferdinand Marcos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Behn Cervantes</span> Filipino artist and activist (1938-2013)

Benjamín Roberto "Behn" Holcombe Cervantes was a Filipino artist and activist. He was highly regarded as a theater pioneer, teacher, and progressive thinker who was detained multiple times during martial law in the Philippines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rizalina Ilagan</span> Filipina anti-martial law activist

Rizalina "Lina" Parabuac Ilagan was an anti-martial law activist who belonged to a network of community organizations in the Southern Tagalog region in the Philippines.

Antonio Maria "Tony" Onrubia Nieva was a Filipino journalist, union organizer, and activist. He worked to defend press freedom and the rights of workers, and campaigned to end authoritarian rule in the Philippines. He led the National Press Club as president and founded the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines. He was secretary general of the International Organization of Journalists based in Prague, Czech Republic, from 1995 up to the time of his death in 1997. His name is on the Bantayog ng mga Bayani Wall of Remembrance, for his contributions to the fight against injustices of the dictatorship under President Ferdinand E. Marcos.

Religious sector opposition against the dictatorship of President Ferdinand Marcos included leaders and workers belonging to different beliefs and denominations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Workers' resistance against the Marcos dictatorship</span> Opposition in the Philippines, 1970s and 1980s

During the presidency of Ferdinand Marcos, Filipino workers in the labor industry experienced the effects of government corruption, crony capitalism, and cheap labor for foreign transnational industries, One of the objectives of Martial Law was to cheapen labor costs, in order to attract transnational corporations to export labor to the Philippines. Marcos signed many presidential decrees beneficial only to his associates, while allowing for the forced relocation of indigenous peoples, decreasing workers' wages, and murders of labor activists. Minimum wage was a fixed PHP8.00 per day. Many workers were unemployed or underemployed. It was also during the Marcos presidency when the practice of contractualization began, enabling managements to avoid giving regular, permanent status to employees after six months of work. Strikes were banned and the government controlled trade unions, leaving workers without effective protection against employers who had unfair labor practices and regulations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cristina Catalla</span>

Melania Cristina Catalla was an anti-martial law activist who belonged to a network of community organizations in the Southern Tagalog region in the Philippines whose disappearance on July 31, 1977, became a rallying cry of the Philippine resistance against the Marcos dictatorship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jessica Sales</span> Filipina college professor and community organizer

Jessica Mendez Sales was a college professor and community organizer in the Philippines who disappeared during martial law under the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos. She was a founder of the university chapter of the Student Christian Movement of the Philippines at the University of the Philippines Los Baños.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aloysius Baes</span>

Aloysius “Ochie” Ureta Baes was a Filipino chemist, environmentalist, pro-democracy activist, educator and musician.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gerry Faustino</span>

Gerardo T. Faustino was a Filipino student leader and activist from the University of the Philippines Los Baños who is best known as one of the most prominent desaparecidos of the Marcos Martial Law era in the Philippines.

Armando de Jesus Malay was a Filipino journalist, scholar, and activist during the presidency of Ferdinand Marcos. After graduating, he became a reporter for the Tribune. After the Second World war, he put up the Manila Chronicle with former staff members of the Tribune.

Fidel V. Agcaoili, also known as Ka Fidel, was a Filipino activist and revolutionary. He was a member of the Communist Party of the Philippines' Central Committee, along with Jose Maria Sison and Luis Jalandoni during the Marcos dictatorship. In 1974, he was arrested and became the longest detained political prisoner under Marcos, being imprisoned for 11 years. On his release, Agcaoili founded the Samahan ng mga Ex-Detainee Laban sa Detensyon at Aresto (SELDA), a prisoners' rights organization.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tish Pascual-Ladlad</span> Filipino student journalist and martyr

Maria Leticia Quintina Jimenez Pascual-Ladlad, also known by her nickname Tish, was a student journalist at the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) during the Marcos dictatorship, known for being the first woman editor-in-chief of the Aggie Green and Gold, for her community organizing work among farmers in Laguna and Quezon, and for being the first UPLB student to become a desaparecido during the Martial Law regime.

Bonifacio Parabuac Ilagan, often known just as Boni Ilagan, is a Filipino playwright, screenwriter, filmmaker, journalist, and editor best known for numerous socially-conscious, critically-acclaimed works in theater, film and television, most notably the films The Flor Contemplacion Story (1995), Dukot, Sigwa, and Deadline ; as well as his first play, Pagsambang Bayan (1976), which portrayed the human rights violations of the Marcoses. He is also one of the prominent torture victims who survived the Marcos dictatorship.

Historians estimate that there were about 70,000 individuals incarcerated by the authoritarian regime of Ferdinand Marcos in the period between his 1972 declaration of Martial Law until he was removed from office by the 1986 People Power Revolution. This included students, opposition politicians, journalists, academics, and religious workers, aside from known activists. Those who were captured were referred to as "political detainees," rather than "political prisoners," with the technical definitions of the former being vague enough that the Marcos administration could continue to hold them in detention without having to be charged.

The different forms and trends of protest music against the Marcos dictatorship mostly first became prominent during the period now known as the First Quarter Storm, and continued until Ferdinand Marcos was deposed during the 1986 People Power revolution; some of the trends continued beyond this period either in commemoration of the struggle against the Marcos dictatorship, or in opposition to the political return of the Marcos family to a prominent place in Philippine politics.

References

  1. ↑ "Southern Tagalog 10 |". Samahan ng mga Ex-detainees Laban sa Detensyon at Aresto. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
  2. 1 2 Olea, Ronalyn (September 20, 2008). "The Cruelty of Enforced Disappearances: An Abhorrent Crime Against Humanity". Bulatlat. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  3. 1 2 Faustino, Joey (April 2003). "No Closure 'til Justice is Achieved". AFAD - Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
  4. ↑ "Southern Tagalog 10 |". SELDA. October 22, 2012. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Ilagan, Bonifacio (December 6, 2016). "Resonance: The Southern Tagalog 10". Manila Today. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
  6. ↑ "The President's Day: December 10, 2002 | GOVPH". Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
  7. 1 2 "The Cruelty of Enforced Disappearances: An Abhorrent Crime Against Humanity - Bulatlat". Bulatlat. September 20, 2008. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  8. ↑ Enano, Jhesset O. (September 20, 2017). "Martial law victims find no justice in 'moving on'". Inquirer. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
  9. ↑ Boado, Krysten Mariann (November 11, 2016). "Ground zero: Remembering truths of a past forgone". Tinig ng Plaridel. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
  10. ↑ "About SELDA". Samahan ng mga Ex-Detainees Laban sa Detensyon at Aresto. July 11, 2010. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
  11. ↑ Malay and Rodriguez (2015). Ang Mamatay nang Dahil sa 'Yo: Heroes and Martys of the Filipino People in the Struggle Against Dictatorship 1972-1986 (Volume 1). Manila, Philippines: National Historical Commission of the Philippines. ISBN   9789715382700.
  12. ↑ "Martyrs and Heroes". Bantayog ng mga Bayani. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
  13. 1 2 Amadís Ma., Guerrero (July 15, 2017). "Landmark martial law play 'Pagsambang Bayan' now a musical". Inquirer. Retrieved May 6, 2018.
  14. ↑ Dennis N., Marasigan (October 8, 2016). "14 essential plays on Martial Law". Inquirer. Retrieved May 6, 2018.
  15. ↑ Astorga-Garcia, Mila (October 27, 2017). "Powerful play tackles martial law and EJK". The Philippine Reporter. Retrieved May 6, 2018.
  16. ↑ Cabato, Regine (September 25, 2017). "How Alden Richards became the face of a martial law documentary". CNN. Archived from the original on May 5, 2018. Retrieved May 6, 2018.
  17. ↑ Ilaya, Felix (September 18, 2017). "Look: Alden Richards, Rocco Nacino, and Bianca Umali, umani ng papuri para sa docu-drama na 'Alaala'". GMA Network. Retrieved May 6, 2018.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.