NGO to honor 6 Martial Law heroes

Bantayog ng mga Bayani will honor six men and women for the courage they showed in fighting, at great risk to their lives, the dictatorial government of the late Ferdinand Marcos.

The six to be honored tomorrow are student activists Jennifer "Jingjing" Cariño (Baguio City/Ifugao), Armando "Mandrake" Palabay (La Union/Abra), Jessica Sales (Quezon City/Los Baños), and Manuel Bautista (Quezon City/Quezon province), along with businessman Jaime V. Ongpin and historian Renato Constantino.

The four students all came from the University of the Philippines and died or disappeared from 1974 to 1977, the darkest years of the Marcos martial rule.

Ceremonies honoring the six martyrs and heroes will be held at 3 p.m., at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani Memorial Center at the corner of EDSA and Quezon Avenue.

The rites include the unveiling of a section of the Wall of Remembrance on which the names of the six have been inscribed, adding them to 113 other illustrious names that include Ninoy Aquino and Edgar Jopson.

The Bantayog ng mga Bayani Foundation Inc., was organized in 1986 to nurture the memory of those who have "given their lives for the cause of justice, freedom and democracy."

Chaired by former Senate President Jovito Salonga, Bantayog undertakes research and documentation on the lives of these exemplary Filipinos, building up an archive not likely to be found anywhere else.

This year’s celebration includes the laying of the foundation of Balay Bayani, a building that will house the foundation’s archive and library containing martial-law materials. The public is invited.