Student Movement in the Philippines (1965–1972)
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It was in the late 1960s and early 1970s that the
Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
saw a surge in student activism. This could be chalked up to the onset of the
Ferdinand Marcos Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. ( , , ; September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino politician, lawyer, dictator, and kleptocrat who was the 10th president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled under martial ...
administration and its declaration of
Martial Law Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory. Use Marti ...
, which bore witness to tens of thousands of
human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...
violations, among many others. There are, however, several factors and events in
Philippine history Earliest hominin activity in the Philippine archipelago is dated back to at least 709,000 years ago. ''Homo luzonensis'', a species of archaic humans, was present on the island of Luzon at least 67,000 years ago. The earliest known anatomically ...
that contributed to the increase in
student activism Student activism or campus activism is work by students to cause political, environmental, economic, or social change. Although often focused on schools, curriculum, and educational funding, student groups have influenced greater political e ...
during this period.“A History of the Philippine Political Protest,” Official Gazette. Accessed November 5, 2016. https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/edsa/the-ph-protest/ In fact,
economic An economy is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...
decline, increase in
unemployment Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for Work (human activity), w ...
rates, the growth of intra-elite conflicts, and internal dissension and disruption all factored into the context of student activism in the Philippines. It was around this time that businesses in Manila tried to find opportunities to withdraw when the city started to be deemed unsafe. Five Communist oriented
guerrillas Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare in which small groups of combatants, such as paramilitary personnel, armed civilians, or irregulars, use military tactics including ambushes, sabotage, raids, petty warfare, hit-and-run tactics ...
in the countryside had also regained some of the momentum similar to the
Huks The Hukbong Bayan Laban sa Hapon (), better known by the acronym Hukbalahap, was a communist guerrilla movement formed by the farmers of Central Luzon. They were originally formed to fight the Japanese, but extended their fight into a rebellio ...
had before they were contained by
Magsaysay Ramon del Fierro Magsaysay Sr. (August 31, 1907 – March 17, 1957) was a Filipino statesman who served as the seventh president of the Philippines, from December 30, 1953, until his death in an aircraft disaster on March 17, 1957. An automo ...
in the 1950s. The coming of a revolution was considered a possibility waiting to happen at one point as riots and demonstrations erupted, causing colleges to be closed down. All of these culminated in an effort to storm the Malacañang.


The mobilization of the studentry

The mobilization of students during this period trained a huge number of activists who later joined the underground opposition, the
New People's Army The New People's Army ( fil, Bagong Hukbong Bayan), abbreviated NPA or BHB, is the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), based primarily in the Philippine countryside. It acts as the CPP's principal organization, aimi ...
, after the declaration of Martial Law in 1972. This imposition caused democratic institutions that permitted these mobilizations to be closed down, forcing activists to turn to radicals. It was, however, introducing
social reform A reform movement or reformism is a type of social movement that aims to bring a social or also a political system closer to the community's ideal. A reform movement is distinguished from more radical social movements such as revolutionary move ...
as the focus of the
ideology An ideology is a set of beliefs or philosophies attributed to a person or group of persons, especially those held for reasons that are not purely epistemic, in which "practical elements are as prominent as theoretical ones." Formerly applied pri ...
that drove the mobilization of Filipino students during the first phase. These moderates were organized and represented through the
National Union of Students of the Philippines The National Union of Students of the Philippines is an alliance of student councils in the Philippines established in 1957. Advocating for democratic rights of students, it boasts about 600 member councils and is part of International Union of Stud ...
(NUSP), a dominant force in the student movements during the late 1960s. In 1970, moderates initially led the student movements but due to the dynamics of the political conflicts, radicals soon gained the upper hand in these movements. The expansion of higher education and the atmosphere present in the country at that time gave way for Filipino students to become increasingly critical and collectively engaged. It is worth noting that students were at the forefront of several movements and even became the most active and participative group in the scene of politics. In the years 1970 and 1971 alone, student activists participated in 214 demonstrations and 39 class boycotts, and as reported in
The Manila Times ''The Manila Times'' is the oldest extant English language, English-language newspaper in the Philippines. It is published daily by The Manila Times Publishing Corp. (formerly La Vanguardia Publishing Corporation) with editorial and administrati ...
, issued 72 statements. They joined forces and established coalitions with reformists and radical factions of working classes and even participated in 76 demonstrations alongside farmers and workers.


The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP)/Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas (PKP)

The CPP/PKP was one party that played an important role in mobilizing student movements in the country. While the CPP/PKP leadership initially dismissed them as "unneeded," there were small underground cells in some schools that played support roles to the more important and bigger Party cells in the factories and among the peasantry.Abinales, Patricio. "The Left and the Philippine Student Movement: Random Historical Notes on Party Politics and Sectoral Struggles." Kasarinlan 1, no. 2 (1985): 41 - 45. The political value of students was recognized more by the Americans who realized that students were adept as publicity (propaganda) and pressure groups for government reforms and against the PKP-led Huk rebellion of the 1950s. The Party only began recognizing their importance in the 1960s when self-taught
Marxists Marxism is a left-wing to far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand class relations and social conflict and a dialectic ...
spearheaded an anti-clerical and nationalist campaign at the
University of the Philippines The University of the Philippines (UP; fil, Pamantasan ng Pilipinas Unibersidad ng Pilipinas) is a state university system in the Philippines. It is the country's national university, as mandated by Republic Act No. 9500 (UP Charter of 200 ...
. Radicals who were brought into the Party's fold formed
Kabataang Makabayan Kabataang Makabayan ("Patriotic Youth"), also known by the acronym KM, is an underground communist youth organization in the Philippines which was active from 1964 to 1975. It was banned by the Philippine government in 1972 when then-President ...
(KM) in 1964. Shortly thereafter, however, this youth faction was expelled from the party. Led by
Jose Maria Sison Jose Maria Canlas Sison (February 8, 1939 – December 16, 2022), also known by his nickname Joma, was a Filipino writer and activist who founded the Communist Party of the Philippines and added elements of Maoism to its philosophy – which w ...
, they "re-established" the CPP/PKP, calling it the Communist Party of the Philippines—Marxist–Leninist–Mao Zedong Thought (CPP-MLM), setting themselves apart from the original, lesser-known party solely known today as the
Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas-1930 The Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas-1930 (PKP-1930), also known as the Philippine Communist Party, is a communist party in the Philippines that was established on November 7, 1930. It uses the aforementioned appellation in order to distinguish i ...
(PKP-1930). What became the CPP-MLM's most immediate concern was cadre recruitment and training; being a party composed of practically urban intellectuals and students who lacked revolutionary experience.


Some notable events leading up to the declaration of martial law


The First Quarter Storm

The nationwide student demonstration that took place on January 26, 1970, proved how militant student organizations had achieved a high level of organization and commitment from its followers. The violent demonstrations that would extend to March of that same year would become known as the
First Quarter Storm The First Quarter Storm ( fil, Sigwa ng Unang Sangkapat), often shortened into the acronym FQS, was a period of civil unrest in the Philippines which took place during the "first quarter of the year 1970". It included a series of demonstrations, ...
.


The Battle of Mendiola

On January 30, 1970, some 10,000 chanting students and laborers marched across Mendiola Bridge in an attempt to storm the Malacañang. Upon their arrival at the gates of the palace, they commandeered a fire truck and rammed it through the main gate. Despite their efforts to penetrate the palace, the Metropolitan Command (METROCOM) of the Philippine Constabulary repulsed them towards Mendiola Bridge. Primitivo Mijares, in ''The Conjugal Dictatorship of Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos'', recounts that what followed was the so-called "Battle of Mendiola," which pitted young boys and girls armed with bamboo sticks and stones against Armalite-wielding 'shock troops' of Marcos from the Presidential Guard Battalion. "It was a massacre", he adds.


The Diliman Commune

The
Diliman Commune The Diliman Commune was an uprising led by the students, faculty members, and residents of the University of the Philippines Diliman, together with transport workers, on February 1–9, 1971, in protest of the three centavo increase in oil pri ...
was a nine-day uprising at the University of the Philippines-Diliman from February 1 to February 9, 1971. It started out as a peaceful rally in which students voiced their support for the ongoing strike against the oil price hike and escalated into an uprising in which students, supported by the school administration, protested against military incursions into the university.


The Plaza Miranda Bombing

On August 21, 1971, four grenades were hurled at the stage of the
Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...
's grand miting de avance at
Plaza Miranda Plaza Miranda is a public square bounded by Quezon Boulevard, Hidalgo Street and Evangelista Street in Quiapo, Manila. It is the plaza which fronts the Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene (Quiapo Church), one of the main churches of the City of ...
in
Quiapo, Manila Quiapo () is a district of the city of Manila, in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. Referred to as the "Old Downtown of Manila", Quiapo is home to the Quiapo Church, where the feast of the Black Nazarene is held with millions of p ...
, killing nine and wounding 95 others. A great number of the Party's leaders and senatorial candidates were seriously injured.Tiglao, Rigoberto D. “Days of Shame: August 21, 1971 and 1983.” The Manila Times. August 20, 2013. Accessed November 26, 2016. http://www.manilatimes.net/days-of-shame-august-21-1971-and-1983/31664/ This caused a great wave of public outrage and sparked disgust towards a system that seemed to tolerate senseless acts of violence. This prompted Marcos to suspend the writ of habeas corpus a month later. It was restored in January 1972, with talks of an imminent revolution already rife.


Movement of Concerned Citizens for Civil Liberties (MCCCL) Rallies

The military used the suspension of the write of habeas corpus to their advantage to arrest well-known activists such as Luzvimindo David of KM and Gary Olivar of the Movement for a Democratic Philippines (MDP) and swoop down on headquarters of several mass movements. The people responded by vigorously opposing the threat of a fascist rule. Led by Jose W. Diokno, an enormous alliance of civil libertarians, progressive Constitutional Convention delegates, students, professionals, workers came together to form the Movement of Concerned Citizens for Civil Liberties (MCCCL). Their three basic demands were as follows: a) lifting the writ of habeas corpus; b) release of political prisoners; and c) resistance of plan by Marcos government to declare martial law. The alliance proved to be successful as they managed to forge unity among diverse groups such as those from the 'Nat-Dem' and 'Soc-Dem' groups as well as various civic organizations on the bases of these demands. In rally after rally attended by as many as 50,000 people, the MCCCL warned of the imminence of martial law even as ''the writ of habeas corpus'' was eventually restored. It held the biggest demonstration on September 21, 1972.


The declaration of martial law in 1972

On September 27, 1972, Marcos declared Martial Law.
Gregg Jones Gregg Jones (born 1959) is an American journalist and the author of three critically acclaimed non-fiction books. He has been a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, and was selected as a 2015-2016 Kluge Fellow by the Black Mountain Institute at Univer ...
, an American author, writes, "Martial law left the once-formidable legal protest movement in disarray, its leaders in hiding or in prison, its activists driven into the underground or cowering in fear." This is not to say that political protest vanished entirely, however; as he elaborates, "In the late 1970s, against the backdrop of a weakening economy, communist efforts to rebuild an urban protest movement were beginning to bear fruit."


Student activism in universities


University of the Philippines Diliman (UP Diliman)

As far back as the 1950s, the University of the Philippines has been the breeding ground of many intellectuals and radical activists. It comes as no surprise, then, that in the 1960s and 1970s, the university played an active role in conducting demonstrations, marches, and rallies to raise awareness of sectoral struggles and to campaign against the Marcos dictatorship and land reform policy, among others. Some of the clear examples of the school's activism include the ratifying of the Diliman Declaration in March 1969. Student activists from the university stirred up the masses of youth and the working class to conduct protest actions, from the March 1961 demonstration of 5,000 UP student demonstrators that scuttled the anti-communist witch-hunt of the Committee on Anti-Filipino Activities (CAFA) to the 1970
First Quarter Storm The First Quarter Storm ( fil, Sigwa ng Unang Sangkapat), often shortened into the acronym FQS, was a period of civil unrest in the Philippines which took place during the "first quarter of the year 1970". It included a series of demonstrations, ...
that rocked the
National Capital Region A capital region, also called a capital district or capital territory, is a region or district surrounding a capital city. It is not always the official term for the region, but may sometimes be used as an informal synonym. Capital regions can exis ...
with almost weekly marches and rallies of 50,000 to 100,000 people campaigning against the administration. Among the youth organizations that were active include
Student Christian Movement of the Philippines The Student Christian Movement of the Philippines (SCMP) is a youth ecumenical national democratic mass organization in the Philippines. It aims to uphold students rights and participates in numerous local and worldwide peoples' advocacies. As with ...
,
College Editors Guild of the Philippines The College Editors Guild of the Philippines is an alliance of collegiate student publications in the Philippines. It is the oldest and only-existing publications alliance in the Asia-Pacific. It was established on July 25, 1931. It is also a memb ...
,
League of Filipino Students The League of Filipino Students ( fil, Kapisanan ng mga Pilipinong Mag-Aaral}, abbreviated as LFS) is a student-led national democratic mass organization and movement organized during the martial law era in the Philippines on September 11, 1977. ...
, and NUSP.


The Diliman Commune

In 1971, students who formed the "
Diliman Commune The Diliman Commune was an uprising led by the students, faculty members, and residents of the University of the Philippines Diliman, together with transport workers, on February 1–9, 1971, in protest of the three centavo increase in oil pri ...
", supported by faculty members and non-academic personnel, occupied the Diliman campus and barricaded roads to protest deteriorating conditions in the country during the administration.
Salvador P. Lopez Salvador Ponce Lopez (May 27, 1911 – October 18, 1993), born in Currimao, Ilocos Norte, was a Filipino writer, journalist, educator, diplomat and statesman. He studied at the University of the Philippines (UP) and obtained a Bachelor of Ar ...
, then president, urged his students, faculty, and employees to maintain the
autonomy In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy, from , ''autonomos'', from αὐτο- ''auto-'' "self" and νόμος ''nomos'', "law", hence when combined understood to mean "one who gives oneself one's ...
of the university as the military sought control of the campus in order to identify suspected leftists, activists, and critiques.


Ateneo de Manila University (AdMU)

Several activists from the Ateneo de Manila University (AdMU), most notably Edgardo Gil "Edjop" Jopson, founder of the single biggest student union at the time,
National Union of Students of the Philippines The National Union of Students of the Philippines is an alliance of student councils in the Philippines established in 1957. Advocating for democratic rights of students, it boasts about 600 member councils and is part of International Union of Stud ...
(NUSP) and Ferdidand "Ferdie" Arceo, founder of Ligang Demokratiko ng Ateneo (LDA), played vital roles in campaigning to overthrow the dictatorship. Among the other well-known activists from the university are Lazaro "Lazzie" Silva, Jr. and William "Bill" Begg, active members of Samahang Demokratiko ng Kabataan sa Loyola (SDK-L) and Kabataang Makabayan-Ateneo (KM), respectively, and Artemio "Jun" Celestial, Jr., a member of the Student Catholic Action and the secretary-general of the student government.


Founding of Ligang Demokratiko ng Ateneo (LDA)

Ferdie, together with like-minded students in AdMU, established LDA in 1970, the first radical activist organization in Ateneo. Members conducted discussion groups, recruited students, advised student leaders, and created a space for dialogue among members of the student body. Eventually, LDA split into two separate organizations, SDK-L and KM.


The National Union of Students (NUSP) Iloilo Conference

During the NUSP's 13th annual conference in 1969, Edjop was elected as president. When delegates returned to Manila, they led a huge rally in front of congress; all while President Marcos was delivering his State of the Nation Address (SONA). Under Edjop's two-term tenure, the National Union became participative in socio-political issues amidst the First Quarter Storm that brought forth the Second Propaganda Movement.The National Union of Students of the Philippines. “NUSP: Edgar Jopson, Martyr of the People.” NUSP.Org (blog). September 21, 2012. http://nusp.org/edjop-curriculum/


De La Salle University (DLSU)

At the
De La Salle University De La Salle University ( fil, Pamantasang De La Salle or Unibersidad ng De La Salle), also referred to as DLSU, De La Salle or La Salle, is a private university, private, Catholic Church, Catholic coeducational research university run by the I ...
, then De La Salle College, student activists clashed with the school administration over matters involving the Brother Becker Case, NROTC, tuition fees, and student rights and academic freedom. The activists questioned the elitist orientation of the institution and campaigned for a more nationalistic education.Jimenez, Jose Victor D. “The First Sparks of Student Activism at De La Salle College, 1968 - 1972.” Presentation at the De La Salle University Research Congress 2014, Manila, Philippines, March 6–8, 2014.


The Filipinization of Education

The prevalence of the affluent was one of the issues that was brought up in the 1960s; it was a question of whether the "wide-cross section of the public" could be "represented." Questioning why a Philippine institution had an administrator who was American, textbooks that were written by foreigners, and instruction that was done in English, student activists urged the administration to adopt a "more
nationalistic Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...
" stance. Included in this was their call for the "Filipinization of education" by ousting non-Filipino presidents of schools, colleges, and universities, and appointing qualified Filipinos to head the institutions in their place.


The Brother Becker Case

On Friday afternoon of December 6, 1968, more than 600 students held a four-hour demonstration to show their support for Brother Edward Becker FSC who was dismissed by the college. They circulated leaflets which divulged the imputations hurled against Becker. This case provided the students the opportunity to voice their concerns regarding academic freedom as well as student rights. Arthur Aguilar, Student Council chairman, eventually managed to steer the dialogue away from the Becker case, in a meeting with Brother H. Gabriel Connon FSC and Dr. Waldo Perfecto, academic vice-president, on December 8, 1968, during the feast of the
Immaculate Conception The Immaculate Conception is the belief that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception. It is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church, meaning that it is held to be a divinely revealed truth w ...
. He declared that the "issue was only incidental and the Becker case was merely a catalyst, the 'final straw' so to speak which ignited student protest over school policies."


Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC)

On July 17, 1971, some 600 cadets refused to attend an
NROTC The Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC) program is a college-based, commissioned officer training program of the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps. Origins A pilot Naval Reserve unit was established in September 19 ...
drill, with their refusal stemming from their dissatisfaction with the present NROTC system as well as their protest against the hazing of
Shore Patrol Shore patrol are service members who are provided to aid in security for the United States Navy, United States Coast Guard, United States Marine Corps, and the British Royal Navy while on shore.Cutler And Cutler, p 202 They are often temporari ...
trainees by probationary officers. The Student Council backed this boycott in a resolution.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Student Movement in the Philippines (1965-1972) Students in the Philippines History of the Philippines (1965–1986)