SUMMARY
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Students, militant groups, and labor unions from the Visayas took to the streets on Tuesday, May 10, to demand fair and transparent elections after reports of Commission on Elections (Comelec) irregularities on election day.
Additionally, some groups were discontented as numbers favored late dictator’s son Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and running mate Sara Duterte in the partial and unofficial Comelec tally one day after the 2022 election.
They cried, “never again, never forget,” as they challenged people to remember Martial Law atrocities.
In Aklan, University of the Philippines Visayas – League of Filipino Students General Secretary Jomer Malonosan delivered an emotional speech during a picket protest in front of their provincial Comelec office.
“Ayaw po namin na malulong ang Pilipinas sa bilyun-bilyong utang ng mga Marcoses. Ayaw namin na magkagutom ulit sa Negros dahil gusto ni Imelda bumili ng mga alahas! Ayaw namin na bumili si Imelda ng kwintas na katumbas ng dose na airport! At ngayon, tumitindig po ang kabataan dahil gusto naming ituwid ang kasaysayan,” Malonosan said.
(We don’t want the Philippines to be buried in billions of debt of the Marcoses. We don’t want people to be hungry again in Negros because Imelda wants to buy jewelry. We don’t want Imelda to buy necklaces worth as much as 12 airports. Now, the youth are taking a stand because we want to set history straight.)
According to RJ Ledesma, 7th nominee for Kabataan Party-list, the youth refused to accept the election anomalies.
“Gina pakita subong sang mga pamatan-on sang Bacolod nga indi kami mag hipos samtang gina basura na ang aton demokrasva,” he said in a statement.
(The Bacolod youth are showing that we will not stay quiet while our democracy is trashed.)
Some protesters in Bacolod also shared their fear as their newly-elected Mayor Albee Benitez has previously endorsed Marcos Jr. and is also the son of a Ferdinand Marcos ally.
The Visayas has a rich history of resistance against the Marcos dynasty after facing thousands of human rights violations, economic crisis, and even famine in Negros during the late dictator’s regime.
In the 2016 presidential polls, Leni Robredo prevailed against Marcos Jr. in all regions except for Eastern Visayas.
These include provinces like Cebu – the country’s #1 most vote-rich province and a historically anti-Marcos locale – as well as Iloilo and Negros Occidental.
Here are protests in the Visayas:
Aklan
Bacolod
Cebu
Iloilo
– Rappler.com
Joey Baldonado, Mariane Cagalawan, Marie Andrea Pefianco, and Terrence Masigon are Rappler Movers based in the Visayas.
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