The Diliman Commune was a nine-day uprising led by the students, faculty members, and residents of the
University of the Philippines Diliman,
on February 1–9, 1971 — about a year after the events of the
First Quarter Storm and about a year before Marcos' eventual declaration of
Martial Law.
[ ] It began as a planned protest through which the UP community and transport workers would denounce a three centavo increase in oil prices under the administration of
Marcos. However, this changed when violence marred the proceedings on the first day of the protest, resulting in the wounding and eventual death of Chemistry student Pastor "Sonny" Mesina, after which the Philippine Constabulary Metropolitan Command attempted to storm the campus and suppress the protest. After this, the demands of the protests shifted from focusing on stopping oil price increase and instead became more about the end of the use of military force in the campus.
The occupation ended on February 9 when students took down the barricades voluntarily, believing that the administration had conceded to eight demands which included a rollback of gasoline prices, a promise of justice for Sonny Mesina, and a guarantee that the military or police would not enter the campus in the future.
The name was a reference to an
intentional community
An intentional community is a voluntary residential community designed to foster a high degree of group cohesiveness, social cohesion and teamwork. Such communities typically promote shared values or beliefs, or pursue a common vision, wh ...
established by the protesters patterned after the
Paris Commune
The Paris Commune (, ) was a French revolutionary government that seized power in Paris on 18 March 1871 and controlled parts of the city until 28 May 1871. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard (France), Nation ...
of 1871. Like the supporters of Paris Commune, the protesters referred to themselves as Communards. They renamed the University of the Philippines Diliman campus to "Malayang Komunidad ng UP Diliman" ("Free Commune of UP Diliman"). They also took control of the
DZUP radio station and the UP Press, and ran their own publication called the ''Bandilang Pula'' ("Red Flag").
Notable participants
*Pastor "Sonny" Mesina
*
Herminio Coloma Jr.
*
Willie Nepomuceno
*
Salvador Panelo
*
Zeus A. Salazar
*
Romeo Candazo
*
Carol Araullo
*Dante V. Liban
* College of Arts and Sciences Dean
Cesar Abdul Majul
See also
*
University of the Philippines Diliman
*
Martial Law under Ferdinand Marcos
*
First Quarter Storm
References
External links
*
Bandilang Pula' — An archive of ''Bandilang Pula'', the newspaper of the Diliman Commune on the
Marxists Internet Archive.
1971 establishments in the Philippines
Communes
February 1971 in Asia
Protests in the Philippines
University of the Philippines Diliman
Manila during the Marcos dictatorship
{{Philippines-stub
Communism in the Philippines