It must be clear by now: Whether you’re in Marawi, Mindanao or Manila, we’re all unsafe from martial law’s effects on our basic rights. And nowhere is this more obvious than the internet and the basic rights we enjoy online and offline.
Approximately 26 million children trooped to major public and some private schools during the opening of classes today nationwide. But the annual event did not hog the headlines as it would normally do. This, as the country was gripped with the attack by a lone gunman at the elite Resorts World Manila last dawn Friday. Foremost in the minds of the many was the question whether the attack was a terrorist assault grave enough to precipitate a martial law declaration nationwide, and graver still, that it would impede the school opening today.
No To Terrorism, Yes To Just Peace is a broad alliance of peace advocates based in the education sector. We are calling on our fellow citizens to take a firm stand against terrorism by struggling for just peace.
The Center for Environmental Concerns-Philippines (CEC) sends its solidarity with communities at the forefront of struggles for the environment in time for this year’s World Environment Day.
The Ateneo de Davao University condemns the violence and terrorism that victimized Marawi City. It was perpetrated by an extremist group that uses murder, hatred and destruction to propagate its ideology of religious intolerance. This violence is not confined to Marawi but increasingly threatens all the peoples of Mindanao-Sulu.