And our people did not disappoint.
Our Filipino people, young and old, drivers, laborers, students, professionals, more, lent their presence and voices last Monday, September 21, 2026 to remind all other Filipinos never to forget and never again allow Martial Law and dictatorship in our land.
From morning till evening, rallies, candle lighting, discussions, media posts and reports, videos, films, among others, carried the same united message for all Filipinos – never again to dictatorship, never forget to remember not to allow any dictator to rule our country ever again.
Proclamation No. 1081 declared Martial Law fifty-four years ago. Ferdinand Edralin Marcos held on to his dictatorship, his authoritarian regime, until he was toppled from power during the February 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution.
Why never again to martial law, to dictatorship?
The human rights toll was very high - “thousands of extrajudicial killings, arbitrary detentions, severe torture and disappearances.”
Amidst flagrant, decadent display of wealth and power among the few privileged, millions of our people lived in poverty/hunger, our human rights to free speech/assembly prohibited, our right to live decently, to genuine welfare/service from government ignored.
Inequality deepened, sharpened with rampant behest loans and cronyism, corruption/abuse of public funds “normalized,” national debt ballooned.
Congress was closed, opposition leaders jailed on fabricated charges, media suppressed, daily curfew imposed.
The never again-never forget call is not just asking our people to look to that dark historical past under authoritarianism.
The never again-never forget call directs us to our present state as a nation.
We are all called and reminded to never again-never forget that the struggle to complete freedom, truth, and justice is still ongoing, an unfinished national task.
Inequality, poverty, hunger, injustice, human right abuses, corruption, huge national debt, unresponsive government are continuing realities we as a people should unite against and resolve.
Toppling a dictatorship was one crucial/historical proud moment for us but there is still the unfinished task to attain real freedom from injustice, from poverty/hunger, from corruption and abuse, from disinformation, from an ineffective government where dynasties reign, personal/family interests blatantly pursued and people’s welfare ignored.
We are reminded never again, never forget to lose seizing the historical moment NOW to demand that Congress pass a genuine law that will end political dynasties. The Supreme Court has joined our public clamor to genuinely end political dynasties.
We are called to never again, never forget to let the wheels of justice work, with the erring, abusive, corrupt duly penalized at the soonest time possible.
We are alerted to never again, never forget to insist that the courts should not prolong, not indefinitely drag the settlement of cases from here on.
We, Filipinos, are asked never again, never forget for truth to reign among our people.
Will the ongoing impeachment proceedings ferret out the truth about the following charges vs. the incumbent VP: alleged misuse of confidential funds, unexplained wealth and grave threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his family?
Our people need to remember never again and never forget not to be swayed by false news, misinformation, ignorance and for the Filipino voters never again, never forget to remember not to sell their votes, their right to elect genuine public servants.
Fifty-four years have passed since the 1971 Proclamation of Martial Law and the imposition of Marcos’ authoritarian rule.
This time around, all of us Filipinos are asked to remember not to forget, to never again allow the chains of poverty, hunger, injustice, human rights abuse, loss of freedom and truth to continue.
As we are reminded of that past inglorious historical period of dictatorship, we are also urgently alerted to unite and act now, today, to complete the struggle for genuine freedom for our people, our country.
Hope/faith continues strong for our people, for our country.