An archdiocese in Iloilo province in central Philippines and major Catholic Church organizations have called on the faithful and Catholic institutions to join simultaneous rallies against “dictatorship” in the country on September 21 to condemn the “rise of another dictator.”

The Church organizations on Wednesday said they hoped that the protest rallies might awaken their desire to “fight for human rights [and] stand firm against the continued damaging effects of Martial Law in 1972 to our economic, social and political life [and] historical revisionism and [also on the] commitment to disallow another dictator to rise.”

UNITED ACTION Leaders from different people organizations, civil society groups, Martial Law victims and other sectorial groups gather in Intramuros, Manila on Wednesday to convene the ‘United People’s Action,’ to mark the 46th anniversary of Martial Law on Friday at the Luneta Park. 
PHOTO BY RUSSELL PALMA

In a statement, Association of Major Religious Superiors of the Philippines (AMRSP), Sangguniang Laiko ng Pilipinas (Council of the Laity of the Philippines), and Promotion of Church People’s Response and Religious Discernment Group (RGD) called on the faithful to join them “in prayer and action at the Mass for Dignity and Peace at the San Agustin Church in Intramuros, Manila.”

In the statement signed by Fr. Cielito Almazan and Sr. Regina Kuizon, chairmen of AMRSP, and Sr. Patricia Fox, RGD convenor, who is facing a deportation order and Fr. Rolly de Leon, co-chairman of PCPR, the religious groups said the event would be “balanced with the hopeful celebration of the International Day of Peace.”

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They added that they would march with various church denominations and sectors to the “United People’s Action Against Dictatorship” at Luneta Park in Manila at 3 p.m.

Monday’s call came amid the Church’s claim that the situation under the Duterte administration was “reminiscent of the dark past.”

“I would like to urge our Catholic faithful living nearby and Catholic institutions to join the ecumenical rally in front of the Provincial Capitol Grounds,” wrote Jaro Archbishop Jose Romeo Lazo in a letter, which was posted by the Archdiocese of Jaro Commission of Social Communications on its Facebook page.

Lazo said he was hopeful that the gathering would be “peaceful.”

On September 21, 1972, President Ferdinand Marcos declared Martial Law through Proclamation 1081, which, according to the prelate, put the country under “trying times.”

For the Catholic Church, Lazo said, society was built on “fostered inward sense of justice and kindliness, and of service to common good and strengthened basic convictions as to the true nature of the political community,” not in any form of “compulsion” and dictatorship.

He ended his letter with a prayer to God and the Holy Spirit for truth.

The Church has openly criticized policies under President Rodrigo Duterte, such as the war on illegal drugs, saying it is a violation of human rights.

Some of the Church’s ranking officials have accused Duterte of turning a “blind eye” to the country’s problems and instead focusing on “silencing his critics” such as Sen. Antonio Trillanes 4th, Sister Fox and Sen. Leila de Lima.

Duterte placed Mindanao under martial law in 2017 after Islamic State-linked rebels took hostages from a Catholic church and raised the IS flag.

The University of the Philippines on Wednesday proclaimed September 21 as Day of Remembrance.

Danilo Concepcion, UP president, said “Martial Law [that was imposed in 1972] resulted in severe political and economic repression, generating widespread discontent and resistance among the Filipino people.”