Fil-Ams and Allies Marks 39th Year of the Declaration of Martial Law in the Philippines in the US

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Fil-Ams  and Allies Marks 39th Year of the Declaration of Martial Law in the Philippines in the US

Los Angeles – The Filipino Americans led by the Alliance-Philippines (AJLPP)  in the United States will hold commemorative events to mark the 39th  year of the declaration of martial law in the Philippines all over the United States.

--In New York, on Sept. 24, the Damayan Migrant Workers Association will hold a speak out  at the  Kalusugan Coalition Office at 39-04 63 St btwn Roosevelt & 39 Aves Woodside, Queens, NY. After the speak out, the group will hold a vigil along  Roosevelt Ave. to dramatize their protest against martial law.

--In Los Angeles, the Alliance-Philippines (AJLPP) with ANSWER-LA and Bantay Pilipinas will hold a commemorative rites on September 30, 2011. It will be held at the ANSWER office on Friday, September 30 at 7:30 PM

The venue is located at 137 Virgil Avenue, # 201, Los Angeles, CA 900014.  Los Angeles was the bastion of the anti-martial law forces in the United States. IT is also the home of the largest Filipino community outside of the Philippines.

Beyond Forgetting

The United States became a battleground of the pro-martial law forces of the US-Marcos Dictatorship and the forces of democracy led by the progressive Filipino-American community from September 23, 1972 until the downfall of the dictatorship in February 26, 1986.

Despite being divided, the Filipino-American community and their American and other minority nationalities contributed greatly to the downfall of the dictatorship.

Different groups like the Katipunan ng mga Demokratikong Pilipino (KDP), Anti Martial Law Coalition, Friends of the Filipino People, Movement for the Restoration of Civil Liberties in the Philippines.Gabriela Network,  and the Alliance for Philippine Concerns (APC)  sprung and carried on the anti-martial law struggle in the United States from 1972-86.

After the downfall of the US Marcos Regime in 1986, other newer  Fil-Am organizations stepped up like Pesante, Nagliliyab, Kilusan ng Progressibong Kabataan (KPK),CPI, Alyansa ng Komunidad (AK) and later the Alliance-Philippines  (AJLPP) and its allied organizations. Some are still active today carrying on the torch of the struggle here in the United States:

Martial law, 39 years later, 2011

On September 23, 1972, the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos declared Martial Law in the Philippines. The Proclamation was signed in September 21, 1972  and arrest were made first before the formal announcement and the general crackdown began.

It was  a fascist scheme to deal a decisive and fatal blow to the growing revolutionary  movement that was fighting US foreign domination . It was supported by the United States.  The situation then was  widespread poverty  and sicontent created by the Philippine government's subservience to the interests of US imperialism at the height of the Vietnam War.

Tens of thousands of Filipinos were killed, tortured and disappeared during this time. Marcos also created the Philippine Labor Export Program (LEP) to "solve" the massive unemployment and poverty in the homeland and to profit from the  forced migration of Filipinos.

To this day, the LEP has become the lifeline of the Philippine economy and has distorted the lives of more than 12 million Filipinos around the world, including domestic workers. At present there are more than 5 million Filipinos in the United States.

 For more information please contact the Alliance-Philippines at (213)241-0906 and Bantay –LA  at (818) 749 0273  or email at magsasakapil@hotmail.com.

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