Volume V, Number 10. 31 May 2023.
The last week of May marks the International Week of the Disappeared – an important period for families grieving loved ones they have lost, but with no cadaver to prove their death, nor a grave to mark where they were laid to rest.
Enforced disappearance is still very much a reality in the Philippines especially in the context of the current Marcos Jr fascist regime. Recall that the number of desaparecidos in the country peaked during the Marcos Sr. dictatorship when some 2,300 civilians were reported missing. At least 206 activists were forcibly disappeared during the nine-year rule of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, 29 in the time of Benigno Aquino III and 20 under Rodrigo Duterte. Barely a year has passed since Marcos Jr fraudulently grabbed power, at least 21 people have already been reported missing including the recent disappearance of Rogelio Posadas, a consultant of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP).
The highest number of NDFP consultants who fell victim to enforced disappearances were recorded during the US-Arroyo regime. When the regime ended the peace negotiations, 11 consultants and their companions and relatives were abducted and no longer surfaced.
The violent abduction and enforced disappearance of members of the revolutionary movement is a distinctive mark of fascist rulers. More than anything else it is a tool of terror unleashed by reactionary state forces to quell dissent amid the insoluble crisis brought about by a semi-feudal and semi-colonial society, and further degenerated by the US-Marcos regime.
In every enforced disappearance, regimes always deny their involvement in the crime to deny victims justice, due process and rights accorded them. These violations are perpetrated in the context of broader attacks on civilians and their communities which is considered a crime against humanity.
Other tools at the reactionary state’s disposal are wanton killings, intimidation, and harassment. These cases are typically resulting from unbridled military abuse and fascism in areas coveted by big businesses and neoliberal projects such as in the case of Camarines Norte where human rights violations have increased recently due to at least three foreign-owned projects that are scheduled for construction.
In many cases however, members of the revolutionary movement are the primary target as demonstrated in the murder of NDF consultant, artist, and poet Ericson Acosta in December last year. And despite Marcos Jr. claiming that its military priority has shifted to territorial defense, all evidence points to the use of the state’s armed power against the revolutionary movement.
But those in power forget that no amount of violence will suppress the spirit of struggle of the Filipino people. The butchers can only kill, maim, and abduct, but the revolutionary struggle remains vibrant in the hearts of the oppressed and exploited. So long as the objective conditions of poverty and exploitation remain, the fertile soil of revolutionary change is ours for the reaping.