Alexander "Alex" Orcullo (October 19, 1946 – October 19, 1984) was a Filipino journalist,
community leader, and activist known for speaking against the abuses of the
dictatorship
A dictatorship is a form of government which is characterized by a leader, or a group of leaders, which holds governmental powers with few to no limitations on them. The leader of a dictatorship is called a dictator. Politics in a dictatorship a ...
of
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 martia ...
, and for being a seminal figure of the protest movement against the Marcos dictatorship in
Mindanao
Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of t ...
, Philippines.
Journalism in Davao
Orcullo was a writer for the San Pedro Express, the editor of Mindanao Currents, and was instrumental in the founding of Mindaweek.
Murder
His writing and community organizing earned him the ire of the Marcos administration.
On the night of his 38th birthday, October 19, 1984, Orcullo was driving home with his wife Nenen and their two-year-old son was accosted by a
government-sponsored paramilitary group called the Philippine Liberation Organization, at a checkpoint in
Barangay Tigatto in the Buhangin district of Davao City. After telling Orcullo to alight from his car and then subjecting him to a body search, the men shot Orcullo thirteen times in the back, in front of his wife and child.
The public outrage resulting from his death became an important rallying point of the fight against the Marcos dictatorship in Mindanao, resonating with the
assassination of Ninoy Aquino in Luzon the year before.
Legacy
Orcullo is honored as one of the martyrs 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 ...
whose names are inscribed on the Wall of Remembrance at the
Bantayog ng mga Bayani
The Bantayog ng mga Bayani (), sometimes simply referred to as the Bantayog, is a monument, museum, and historical research center in Quezon City, Philippines, which honors the martyrs and heroes of the struggle against the dictatorship of fo ...
(lit. ''Memorial of the Heroes'') in
Quezon City
Quezon City (, ; fil, Lungsod Quezon ), also known as the City of Quezon and Q.C. (read in Filipino as Kyusi), is the most populous city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 2,960,048 people. It was foun ...
.
See also
*
Bantayog ng mga Bayani
The Bantayog ng mga Bayani (), sometimes simply referred to as the Bantayog, is a monument, museum, and historical research center in Quezon City, Philippines, which honors the martyrs and heroes of the struggle against the dictatorship of fo ...
*
Martial law under Ferdinand Marcos
*
Davao City
Davao City, officially the City of Davao ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Dabaw; ), is a first class highly urbanized city in the Davao Region, Philippines. The city has a total land area of , making it the largest city in the Philippines in terms of lan ...
References
Individuals honored at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani
Assassinated Filipino journalists
Filipino radio journalists
1946 births
1984 deaths
Marcos martial law victims
Journalists honored at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani
People from Davao City
Journalists killed under the Marcos administration
20th-century journalists
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