February 25, 2025/ Manila, Philippines
Today we mark the 39th commemoration of the People Power uprising that toppled the Marcos dictatorship. It was the culmination of 14 years of struggle by our people to end tyranny, widespread human rights violations, and the plunder of our nation’s coffers.
Amid a massive disinformation campaign to distort history and to paint the martial law years as the great era of our republic, we, consecrated persons comprising the Conference of Major Superiors in the Philippines, refuse to forget the horrors and monumental thievery of that time.
It was a time of darkness and light.
It was a time of terror and courage.
It was a time of repression and resistance.
It was a time of subservience and sacrifice.
It was a time of silence and protest.
Consecrated persons lived and struggled with the poor, deprived, oppressed masses—workers, peasants, urban poor, women, youth, middle class, and the rest of society. Our forebears saw the need to link faith with action. Inspired by Jesus Christ, the religious immersed themselves with the struggling poor. They formed various task forces to serve the workers, urban poor, peasants, detainees, women, and indigenous peoples.
Nuns, priests, and lay people formed basic Christian communities to strengthen the link between faith and action further.
Many suffered, and some paid their lives for their prophetic stand against human rights violations and injustice, against tyranny and repression.
Today we remember and pay tribute to the countless and often nameless martyrs and heroes of the anti-dictatorship struggle.
Today we remember their courage, sacrifice, and resistance so that we can be free of tyranny and dictatorship.
But even as we remember, we are faced with new challenges, with the new face of tyranny and plunder in our midst.
We are confronted by continuing rights violations, massive corruption, and the lack of accountability.
We are faced with an ever-increasing frequency of storms and typhoons as climate change ravages our land and seas.
We are faced with red tagging and the violations of those who stand up for the poor, for the environment, for justice, accountability, and transparency.
It is as if we have not moved forward with our lives.
Cronyism was rampant during the dictatorship and today we face political dynasties.
Corruption was rampant, and today we are faced with confidential funds and different forms of “ayuda.”.
The budget and the national treasury were pilfered and raided by the dictatorship; today we face a national budget with huge unprogrammed funds. There are many who believe these will be used for the upcoming elections.
We are reminded of the adage, “The more things change, the more they remain the same.”.
And now the election season has begun, and the mudslinging and character assassination have also begun.
Do we have a choice in the elections with most candidates belonging to entrenched political clans?
Do we have the power to change our politics and our society?
In this year of hope and jubilee, we categorically declare that the power to change lies within us and with us. If we were able to topple a dictatorship, we could destroy patronage and corruption. We can build a political and social infrastructure reflective of God’s commandments.
Thou shall not steal; thou shall love thy neighbor; thou shall not kill; thou shall have no other gods before me.
In this year of hope, we continue to dream of a nation and people living in peace based on justice.
In this Jubilee year, we reflect on what has been and what can still be for our people—a land flowing with milk and honey, a people living in dignity and peace.
We consecrated persons renew our commitment to journey with the Church of the Poor towards social emancipation and liberation.
We vow never to forget and will encourage all our congregations, institutions, and networks to develop a concerted plan to inculcate martial law history in our educational institutions and formations.
In 1972, our predecessors took a prophetic stand for truth and accountability, for freedom and justice, for genuine empowerment of people, and for social emancipation and liberation.
Today we honor that legacy by continuing to lend our voice to the poor and oppressed, for the violated and dehumanized.
We are reminded:
“See, I have this day set thee over the nations and the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.” – Jeremiah 1:10
The Conference of Major Superiors in the Philippines:
Sr. Cecilia A. Espenilla, OP
Fr. Lino Gregorio V. Redoblado, OFM
CMSP Co-Chairpersons
