Ang Mga Kaaway (Pablo Neruda): Poetry video from Block Marcos

DECLARATION OF THE NATIONAL CONFERENCE AGAINST DICTATORSHIP

We are Filipinos coming from different backgrounds, faiths and political persuasions who disagree on... many things. Some of us are from Mindanao; others from Visayas and Luzon. Some of us are workers, fishers, or farmers; others are students or professionals. Many of us are men; but many of us are also women or LGBTs. Some of us are “millennials”; but some of us are older. Some of us are convinced of the need to reform the system; but others also believe in the need for revolution.

But despite all our differences, we have come together today because of the growing threat of dictatorship.
President Rodrigo Duterte is now stepping up his attacks on the people: He has been consistent in promoting patronage politics, impunity while attacking our patrimony and the ideals of democracy and sovereignty.
Even as he promises various concessions, he continues to deny us a life of dignity and fails to deliver on basic social services. He has attacked workers by legitimizing “contractualization.” He has attacked the urban and rural poor by upholding the country’s inequitable land distribution, promoting land-grabbing, and failing to guarantee dignified housing. He threatens to attack us all by pushing for regressive tax measures that put the burden of taxation on the backs of the poor. He threatens to attack us all by pushing for a kind of federalism that will only enhance the power of warlords and political dynasties. He is depriving people of the opportunity to participate at the local level by foregoing the barangay elections.
At the same time, Duterte is also gradually putting in place a more authoritarian, if not a fascist, regime: He has imposed--and extended--martial law in Mindanao, and he has threatened to impose martial law in the entire country. We see this now as he has consolidated his grip on the legislature and the judiciary He is continuing to wage a violent ‘war on drugs’ that violates human rights and civil liberties. He has glorified the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos by burying him in a cemetery for heroes—and he supports Bongbong Marcos’ bid for the vice presidency. He has been persecuting his critics and he has constantly attacked human rights activists. He has been normalizing violence against women with his persistent reference to rape, sexist remarks, slut shaming, and macho posturing.
We have come together because all this represents a clear and present danger to us all—regardless of our class, our age, our gender and sexual orientation, and our political persuasion. A repressive dictatorship protecting an inequitable, warlord-dominated, elitist system, will not only lead to state terrorism and more widespread human rights violations, it will also take us farther away from the fairer, more just and more equal society we all dream of.
We have come together because we need each other to fight this threat and to defend our values.
Together, we commit to continue building the movement by pursuing the difficult process of building a broad but principled united front against dictatorship and elite democracy.
Together, we will fight for real democracy and social justice. Together, we will light each other’s way in this time of darkness.
We enjoin everyone to join the fight.
Harangin ang diktadura! Baguhin ang sistema!
NATIONAL CONFERENCE AGAINST DICTATORSHIP
21 July 2017
(To endorse this Declaration, or to get involved in future meetings/actions, write to blockmarcos@protonmail.com)

https://web.facebook.com/BlockMarcosNow/posts/292421974567055

CALL FOR A NATIONAL CONFERENCE AGAINST DICTATORSHIP

Duterte's Martial Law: Implications and Challenges

Block Marcos Statement on Martial Law Imposition in Mindanao

Block Marcos: A growing, promising force in the Philippine Left

To hold Rodrigo Duterte accountable or not. To name the current social system as the main reason for the suffering of the mass of Filipinos or not. These are the main contradictions begging for a resolution within today's Leftist movements.

Block Marcos has come up with an answer. Rodrigo Duterte, who represents the elites of a Philippine capitalist society that benefits only them, is accountable for the rising tide of political persecution and killings especially toward the poorest members of the population in the country.

The group views Duterte as a threat of a looming dictatorship and authoritarianism.

Block Marcos is among the groups most critical against Duterte openly -- and one many of whose members identify as Leftists. They are, of course, a minority on this side of the spectrum, and will need all of our attention and support.

The group's members comes from various sectors, including the workers, students, human rights activists and mass organizations.

Hopefully Block Marcos continues to provide a venue for a much needed rejuvenation of radical politics in the country.

Anti-Marcos mobilization on February 25, 2017