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Religious sector opposition against the dictatorship ofPresidentFerdinand Marcos included leaders and workers belonging to different beliefs and denominations.[1]
Many of these leaders and workers belonged to theCatholic Church in the Philippines, to which belonged the majority of the Philippine population at the time. But various forms of opposition were also notable in other Christian denominations including thePhilippine Independent Church, theUnited Church of Christ in the Philippines, theUnited Methodist Church in the Philippines, and individualFilipino Evangelical churches such as theDiliman Bible Church.
In the early years of the Marcos administration before the declaration of Martial Law, the poverty and inequality in Philippine society had already begun sparking debates among Catholic theologians about how the church ought to respond.[2][3][4] TheSecond Vatican Council had just concluded in December 1965 andLiberation theology was becoming increasingly influential. Some priests wanted to be more directly involved in activism and with activist organizations resisting the Marcos dictatorship, while those who were more conservative preferred that the pursuit of "the prophetic challenge of the gospel" be "without any ideological affiliation."[5][6]
After the declaration of Martial law, theMarcos dictatorship'sabuses - particularlyextrajudicial killings and forced disappearances - convinced a small but very vocal number of the church workers to fight the dictatorship by actively joining underground resistance movements, while the majority resisted within the ordinary means available to then through their office, such as those who formed the human rights monitoring organizationTask Force Detainees of the Philippines, or of Manila CardinalJaime Sin and Infanta BishopJulio Labayen, who described their high level engagement with Marcos as "critical collaboration."[2][7][8]
After the ouster and exile of the Marcoses in 1986, there began to be less space for activists in the Church, and engagements between church workers and activist organizations went into decline.[9]
In a 2021 international conference held in Taiwan,Daniel Franklin E. Pilario of theCongregation of the Mission presented a paper on a Philippine experience, noting among others that the implementation of the politics of fear and terror present in populist regimes is the same style of governance found in the country; later, because of his mentions ofextrajudicial killings during the Marcos dictatorship and theRodrigo Duterte presidency, he was called an anti-EJK priest.[10][11][12]
Muslim Filipinos had been targeted by repressive policies of theMarcos Administration since even before the imposition ofMartial Law in 1972, with theJabidah Massacre of 18 March 1968 being a watershed moment for discontent. TheMuslim Independence Movement (MIM) was formed two months later on 1 May 1968, although it was sidelined only five months later when its leader, formerCotabato governor Datu Udtog Matalam, joined the Marcos Administration as Adviser on Muslim Affairs. Although the MIM failed to gain the support of the Muslim masses, President Marcos used its existence (along with that of the recently formedCommunist Party of the Philippines) as one of the reasons forproclaiming Martial Law on 23 September 1972. In December 1972 the MIM ceased to exist when Matalam surrendered to Marcos, although a splinter group, theMoro National Liberation Front, had earlier formed in October 1972.[13]
Religious beliefs of indigenous Filipinos also factored into their opposition against the Marcos dictatorship, the most popular example being theKalinga andBontoc peoples' resistance against Marcos'Chico River Dam Project in Luzon, in no small part becauseancestral lands are sacred in their belief systems.[14] The subsequent assassination of the Kalinga Butbut tribePangat (elder)Macli-ing Dulag on 24 April 1980 led to the first major news story coverage critical of Marcos administration policies during Martial Law, dealing a severe blow to the public relations efforts of the Marcos regime.[15]
Upon the declaration of martial law, the government closed down or took over newspapers, magazines, radio stations, and television stations. Only news organizations owned or taken over byrelatives orcronies of Ferdinand Marcos were allowed to reopen.[16]
However, underground publications were established and a few independent publications were later able to operate.[17] The Association of Major Religious Superiors of the Philippines (AMRSP) came out with a weekly mimeographed publication calledVarious Reports, which printed stories on military atrocities and other human rights violations. It printed limited copies distributed among the religious community. In 1975, AMRSP began publishingSigns of the Times, which printed stories on theLa Tondeña strike in October 1975, the first big strike to defy martial law.[16] Circulation ofSigns grew from a handful to thousands of copies.[16] Its last issue was published on November 26, 1976, before its offices were raided by the military.[16]
Religious leaders and workers represent a significant portion of the names inscribed on the memorial wall of theBantayog ng mga Bayani (Memorial of the Heroes) alongQuezon Avenue, which honors the "Martyrs and Heroes" who resisted the Marcos dictatorship.
Nicknamed "Apo Kari", Zacarias Agatep(6 September 1936 – 27 October 1982)[26] was theparish priest of Our Lady of Hope Parish inCaoayan, Ilocos Sur. Agatep helped organize cooperatives, taught interested farmers about land reform, and spoke against foreign and local monopolies in the tobacco industry, which formed the backbone of Ilocos Sur's economy at the time.[27] He was arrested for supposed "subversion" in 1980 and was incarcerated for four months until he was released as part of Marcos public relations efforts in preparation for a visit by Pope John Paul II.[28] Upon his release, he famously wrote a letter to the President, decrying what he described as a "frame-up" and lamenting the miscarriage of justice typical under the Marcos administration.[29] He kept speaking out against the abuses of the Marcos administration until he was shot four times in the back by unidentified gunmen in October 1982.[30][31]
Nicknamed "Father Ling" by his parishioners, Godofredo Alingal (24 June 1922 – 13 April 1981)[32] was a Jesuit priest and journalist who spoke out against repression and militarization under Marcos' Martial Law on the prelature's radio station, DXBB, and its newsletter,An Bandilyo. He was also instrumental in the formation of a credit union and grains marketing cooperative for farmers, and helped organize theKibawe, Bukidnon chapter of the Federation of Free Farmers. When the government shut down DXBB, he kept his parishioners informed through a "blackboard news service" — one of the more inventive forms that the Philippines' "Mosquito Press" took while traditional media outlets were shut down under martial law. He was shot by an unidentified gunman on 13 April 1981.
Amada "Madge" Alvarez began her career as a staff writer of Cor Manila, the newsletter of the Catholic Archdiocese of Manila. She then served as a community organizer at the Our Lady of Fatima Parish in Highway Hills in Mandaluyong City, under the parish's Basic Christian Communities (BCC) program. Because her interactions with the urban poor communities made her more aware of the social ills under Marcos' Martial Law regime, she eventually joined theChristians for National Liberation (CNL), a group which was aligned with theNational Democratic Front. She was killed in Infanta, Pangasinan with five local residents in 1989, after peace talks between the Communist Party of the Philippines and the Government of the Philippines had broken down two years earlier in the wake of the Mendiola Massacre.[33]
"Ponyong" Andres (18 October 1953 - 17 August 1983)[34] was a Roman Catholic seminarian at the St. Francis Xavier Seminary inDavao who volunteered to document human rights violations in Davao forTask Force Detainees of the Philippines and the Citizen's Council for Justice and Peace. He was abducted inLibungan,Cotabato and brought to the Davao Metropolitan District Command Center (Metrodiscom) inDigos, Davao del Sur, where he was tortured and later executed on 17 August 1983.
A priest of theIglesia Filipina Independiente, Jerry Aquino (1 June 1949 – 14 December 1981)[35] was a member of theStudent Christian Movement of the Philippines and ofChristians for National Liberation. In 1977-1978 he was director of the Ecumenical Center for Development, and missionary priest of the Philippine Independent Church's Diocese of Greater Manila. In 1978, he became the program coordinator and youth director of the Philippine Independent Church's Laoag (Ilocos Norte) diocese, and concurrent associate rector ofPagudpud, Ilocos Norte. It was during this posting that was arrested in September 1979, inSadanga, Mountain Province. He and several companions were held at the Philippine Constabulary stockade inBontoc, then transferred to the Bicutan jail in Metro Manila. After prolonged fasting and hunger strikes to protest prison conditions, he was released on 24 December 1980, part of a series of prisoner releases meant to generate positive press in light of the arrival of Pope John Paul II in Manila two months later. Upon release, he helped found the Freedom Shop, a carpentry shop for unemployed former political prisoners. He died in a "suspicious" vehicular accident on 14 December 1981.
A deaconess of theUnited Methodist Church in the Philippines, Liway Asuncion (30 March 1954 – 25 June 1983)[36] was a graduate of BA in Christian Education at Harris Memorial College, before returning to her home congregation inIsabela to serve as Christian education and music director, teachingSunday school, conductingBible studies, leading the church choir, and becoming president of the district-wide United Methodist Youth Fellowship. In 1979, Asuncion joined an ecumenical movement of Catholics and Protestants calledTimpuyog Dagiti Iglesia (Ilocano for "Fellowship of the Churches"), which sought to address the plight of exploited farmers in Isabela, where land ownership was monopolized by a few elite families. In 1981 she was among those arrested at a farmers' protest rally in Ilagan and jailed from April to October. Upon her release, she joined the revolutionary underground and worked full-time in organizing the local farmers in defense of their rights. Witnesses said she was captured alive by government forces in 1983 and was then maltreated and abused before being killed.
A farmer who also served as a lay worker for the Roman Catholic Parish ofPeñarrubia, Abra, Santiago Arce (May 1, 1937 - September 7, 1974) joined the Federation of Free Farmers (FFF) in the early 1970s and later became the FFF provincial coordinator for Abra, conducting seminars and organizing local cooperatives while working towards tenancy system reforms in the province. Having irritated local authorities, Arce was framed, tortured, and killed by the dictatorship's forces in a Constabulary camp in Bangued, Abra. His death was widely mourned by the people of Abra, with Twenty Abra priests concelebrating his funeral mass, classes in Catholic schools all over Abra suspended as a mark of mourning, and his funeral procession becoming "the longest and biggest ever recorded at the time" in Abra, all despite the fear perpetuated by the dictatorship's forces.[37]
As executive secretary of theUnited Methodist Youth Fellowship, Romeo Crismo (8 December 1955–[disappeared] 12 August 1980)[38] was instrumental in organizing the Protestant youth sector to resist the policies and programs of the dictatorship. Supporting himself by teaching, he also worked with the Student Christian Movement of the Philippines, theNational Council of Churches in the Philippines, and theChristian Conference of Asia.
Mariani Dimaranan (February 1, 1925 - December 17, 2005) was aFranciscan nun best known for leading theTask Force Detainees of the Philippines for 21 years, including the entirety of the 14-year Marcos dictatorship.[39] Dimaranan led the Manila-based non-profit nationalhuman rights organization in documenting human rights violations, assisting victims and their families, organizing missions, conducting human rights education work, campaigning against torture, and promoting advocacy forHuman Rights Defenders.
An activist Roman Catholic priest, Jose Dizon (September 29, 1948 – November 4, 2013),[40][41] led protest actions against government corruption and human rights abuses duringmartial law in the Philippines,[40] political dynasties,[41] and thepork barrel system.[42][43] At protest rallies against the Marcos dictatorship, he would say mass to prevent violent dispersal by the government and to boost the morale of demonstrators.[40] He actively campaigned for honest elections and helped form people's organizations in rural areas to support those dealing with land grabbing, military abuses, and hamletting.[40] He died of complications from diabetes at theNational Kidney and Transplant Institute on November 12, 2013, at the age of 65.[44][45][46]
A Roman Catholic missionary priest sent by thePontifical Institute for Foreign Missions, Tullio Favali (10 December 1946 – 11 April 1985) was the first foreign missionary to be killed during the years of the Marcos dictatorship. While serving as a parish priest in La Esperanza,Tulunan,North Cotabato, Favali was called by the townspeople for help after the Marcos government's paramilitary forces, led by Edilberto, Norberto, Jr., and Elpidio Manero, shot the town's tailor.[47] When the Manero brothers saw him arrive and enter a house, Norberto, Jr. dragged his motorcycle and set it on fire. When Favali hurried out after seeing the fire, Edilberto shot the priest point-blank in his head, trampled on his body and fired again. This caused the priest's skull to crack open, and Norberto, Jr. picked at the brains and displayed them to horrified witnesses. The brothers, along with a few other gang members, stood by laughing and heckling.[48]
Oscar "Oca" Diamaro Francisco (February 10, 1946 - August 15, 2010) - A graduate of theMapua Institute of Technology who eventually worked for theRoman Catholic Archdiocese of Manila's National Secretariat for Social Action and the Ecumenical Movement for Justice and Peace (EMJP), Oca Francisco played a key role in developing the concept of Basic Christian Community-Community Organizing (BCC-CO), a program of the Roman Catholic Church in the Philippines which became an important means by which Filipino Catholics, priests and laity alike, could work to counter theabuses of the Marcos dictatorship. Among the many figures in the resistance to the dictatorship, he is often said to have had the widest network of contacts, since he was able to interact with resistance figures across the political spectrum, and from activists in the poorest Philippine Barangays to lobbyists in international fora involved in the international fight against the dictatorship.[49]
A Roman Catholic lay worker with theRural Missionaries of the Philippines (RMP), "Boy" Ipong (28 December 1945 – 21 November 1983)[50] was the son of migrants fromBohol who settled inNorth Cotabato, so he felt drawn to the plight of poor peasants in the Visayas and Mindanao. Wanting to help them, he joined the youth organization Khi Rho, and later the Federation of Free Farmers. When Martial Law was declared in 1972, he began working as a lay assistant at the RMP with its vision of a "free, just, peaceful, and egalitarian society." In 1982, he was abducted and illegally detained at the Metropolitan District Command Headquarters and at Camp Catitipan in Davao City. He was tortured by his captors who wanted him to admit that he was a certain "Enciong" the military was looking for. His family and his coworkers at the Rural Missionaries of the Philippines spent ten days looking for him and upon finding him, successfully negotiated his release. On November 20, 1983, he was among a group of 12 religious and laypeople who were going toCebu to attend a seminar, on board the M/V Cassandra. A passing typhoon caused the ship to sink, drowning over 200 passengers in the waters offSurigao, including everyone from Ipong's group.
Julio Xavier Labayen (23 July 1926 – 27 April 2016) was aRoman Catholic bishop. Ordained to the priesthood in 1955, Labayen served as Bishop of theTerritorial Prelature of Infanta from 1966 until 2003.[51] He was the first FilipinoCarmelite bishop when he was ordained on 8 September 1966[52] and the second bishop of the Prelature of Infanta. He was a staunch defender of human rights, especially during the years of the Martial Law in the Philippines, being known to be one of the "Magnificent 7" who voiced their opposition against the Marcos regime.[53]In recognition of his efforts against authoritarian rule, his name was inscribed on the Wall of Remembrance at theBantayog ng mga Bayani in 2016.[54] Aside from this, the bishop served as chair of the CBCP's National Secretariat for Social Action-Justice and Peace (NASSA).[55]
Ma. Violeta Marcos (July 18, 1937 - April 30, 2001) was a Catholic nun who was best known as the co-founder and first director of the Augustinian Missionaries of the Philippines (AMP)[56] and for her contributions to the resistance against the Marcos dictatorship and Martial Law - first through her diocesan social action involvements inNegros Occidental,[57] and later as part of the human rights organizationTask Force Detainees of the Philippines (TFDP).[58]
La Verne Diwa Mercado (December 1921-July 2003) was a Bishop of the United Methodist Church, who also served for 14 years as secretary-general of the National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP), from 1973 to 1987.[59] He is known for his effective use of diplomacy to unite NCCP member-churches and to advocate for human rights and for the active involvement of Christians in social issues. He died of natural causes in July 2003.[60]
Nicasio "Nicky" Morales (May 1, 1955 - November 1, 1999) - A consumer rights activist based in the Philippines before 1980, Nicky Morales went into exile after becoming the subject of an Arrest, Search and Seizure Order (ASSO) after the administration became irked by a protest action of an organization he founded, the Samahan ng mga Manggagawang Konsumer (SAMAKO), at the Araneta Colliseum for Labor Day, 1979. He then joined the Church Committee for Human Rights Campaign in the Philippines (CCHRP), a United Church of Christ organization headed by Dr.Dante Simbulan Sr., in lobbying for the US to end its military aid to the Philippines.[61]
Rodrigo Mordeno (January 1, 1955 - August 7, 1982) -Santa Josefa,Agusan Del Sur citizen Rodrigo Mordeno had only been working a few weeks as area coordinator of the relief and rehabilitation program the St. Joseph the Husband of Mary Parish Church in his hometown when he was killed by rifle-wielding gunmen. The exact motives for his killing were not definitively determined, but several different military units were based in the town at the time, and a group of human rights workers had recently visited to investigate the conditions in thestrategic hamlet the dictatorship forces had established in the town.[62]
Mateo "Tiyong" Olivar (September 13, 1950 - November 7, 1985) was a church worker in the Community-Based Health Program and Family Life Apostolate of the Roman Catholic Diocese ofPagadian inZamboanga del Sur. Known by his nickname "Tiyong," he spent a lot of time in communities in the countryside, the Marcos forces suspected him as a revolutionary organizer. On November 7, 1985, he was assassinated by three unidentified assailants near a military checkpoint inLabangan, Zamboanga del Sur. On the day of his burial, the bishop of Pagadian decreed that Tiyong's funeral mass would be the only mass celebrated in the diocese on that day. His was among the first 65 names to be inscribed at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani's Wall of Remembrance when it was first inaugurated.[63][64]
Magnifico L. Osorio (December 15, 1934 - March 29, 1985) was aMethodist Pastor[65] and human rights advocate best known for championing the rights of indigenous people in the province ofPalawan and his murder during the waning days of the Marcos dictatorship.[66] He was not known to have political affiliations nor leanings,[67] but his humanitarian work and the circumstances of his murder have led him to be considered a Martyr of the resistance against the dictatorship, and his name is inscribed on the Wall of Remembrance at the Bantayog.[68]
A preacher of theChurch of Christ denomination, Fernando Pastor, Sr. (25 May 1956 - 8 February 1986)[69] had also served as Captain of Barangay Rizal, in theMunicipality of Diffun,Quirino. As such, he was one of those community leaders who were forced to keep silent about the abuses under Orlando Dulay, who had been constabulary commander, governor, and assemblyman of Quirino province. When snap presidential polls were called in 1985, Pastor decided to campaign forCorazon Aquino, and eventually became the provincial vice-chair of theUnited Nationalist Democratic Organization (UNIDO). This displeased Dulay, who was the provincial coordinator of the Marcos political party,Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (KBL). On the eve of the1986 snap elections, Pastor, his oldest son Fernando Pastor, Jr. and colleague Francisco Laurella were walking on their way home when they were abducted by Dulay himself and two of his men. They were taken to Dulay's residence and kept inside a van for three days. The tortured and mutilated bodies of the younger Pastor and Francisco Laurella were found near a ravine three days later, and that of the elder Pastor five days after. It took four years before Dulay was eventually caught and charged in 1990, and was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Quezon City regional trial court.
Reynaldo Laminaria Robles (February 9, 1947- September 6, 1977) - Robles was a chemical engineer who chose to volunteer instead with "Action Leaven," a community program of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manila. He eventually joined the Kilusang Kristiyano ng Kabataang Pilipino (KKKP) and later, Christians for National Liberation (CNL). When Ferdinand Marcos declared Martial Law in 1972, even religious organizations were banned as long as they had political overtones, but Robles continued his community organizing and thus became a political detainee in 1973. He briefly worked for a youth program of the National Council of Churches in the Philippines, but decided to leave the capital and buy a farm in the town of Gloria, Oriental Mindoro instead. Growing popular in the community there, Marcos' forces in the province became suspicious of him. He was assassinated one day while boiling bananas for breakfast.[70]
Roberto Salac (March 29, 1951 - May 19, 1987) was originally assigned to head the parish of Monkayo, Compostela Valley under the Prelature of Tagum, he was strongly influenced byLiberation Theology and the teachings of theSecond Vatican Council and eventually became the Davao del Norte Chair of the Ecumenical Movement for Justice and Peace (EMJP), working with colleagues such as Sr. Consuelo Chuidian. Put in danger by the EMJP's work of exposing human rights violations linked to militarization in Laac, Compostela Valley, however, he was forced to choose between exile or joining the underground resistance against the Marcos dictatorship. There he helped organize people's strikes (called "Welgang Bayan") to call for oil price rollbacks, to protest the murder of journalist Alex Orcullo, to call for the end of militarization and political killings, and for the end of the dictatorship in general. He bled to death after being shot in the knee by rightwing elements which remained in the mountains of Mindanao a month after the People Power revolution.
Cardinal Jaime Sin (31 August 1928 – 21 June 2005) was elevated to the CatholicCollege of Cardinals in 1976, having been enthroned as the 30thArchbishop of Manila in 1974, succeeding CardinalRufino Santos. He quickly became an influential voice in Philippine national life, frequently issuing statements regarding political developments, the economy, and moral concerns. It was his call on church-ownedRadio Veritas for civilians to peacefully assemble atCamp Aguinaldo andCamp Crame alongEpifanio De los Santos Avenue that first sparked the1986 EDSA Revolution, which eventually led to the fall of the Marcos dictatorship. He died on 21 June 2005, aged 76.[71]
Nilo Valerio (20 Feb 1950 - 24 August 1985) was a Catholic priest of theSociety of the Divine Word assigned to a parish in the upland province ofAbra, where he established cooperatives and a school, ministered to remote communities of theTingguian people, and supported them in protecting their ancestral lands from takeover byMarcos cronies. He was killed and beheaded by government forces on 24 August 1985.[72]
Mary Christine Tan (November 30, 1930 – October 6, 2003), was amissionary,nun, andactivist, who headed the Association of Major Religious Superiors of Women (AMRSP) from 1973 to 1976, a group of religious mothers who not only vocalized their disdain against the Marcos administration, but also managed to help Filipinos who were suffering from poverty.[73][74] She later served as a member of the1987 Philippine constitutional plebiscite.
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