ATM STATEMENT ON THE 50th ANNIVERSARY OF MARTIAL LAW
ATM Press Statement | September 21, 2022
Today, along with civil society groups and the Filipino nation, Alyansa Tigil Mina commemorates the 50th Anniversary of the imposition of Martial Law, which ushered in an era of human rights atrocities and environmental destruction.
We remember that during Martial Law, the authoritarian government of former President Ferdinand Marcos, Sr. plundered our environment and natural resources. The corrupt-ridden Marcopper Mines in Marinduque is emblematic of the abuse of the environment during the period, which resulted in the devastating Marcopper mine spill in 1996.
Just like the Martial Law era, we are now faced with a deluge of mining projects as government has announced the revitalization of the mining industry as a strategy for economic recovery.
People’s movements and mine-affected communities continue to oppose the mining policy and the mining operations in the areas, bearing in mind that the meager economic benefits from mining cannot compensate for the harmful costs to the environment, indigenous groups and local residents.
We recall the heroism of Macli-ing Dulag, who courageously resisted development aggression against indigenous communities and ancestral domains during the dictatorship. This is the kind of resistance many anti-mining communities are waging today.
We vow to stand firm in our struggles and to continue the fight for the rationalization of the country’s natural resources. We commit to pursue genuine development that protects the environment at the same time serves the interests of the people.
ATM believes that we must remember Martial Law as a historical fact. We are thus contributing to the effort of #LiwanagMovement of lighting candles across the different mine-affected communities as our way of recalling and invoking the truth about Martial Law.
