Filipino students march in Kabacan town in North Cotabato province.
NORTH COTABATO (Mindanao Examiner / Jan. 17, 2012) – Despite the heavy rain, Filipino youth groups on Tuesday marched to the street in Kabacan town in North Cotabato province to coincide with the celebration of the National Youth Week.
The groups once again revived the patriotic ambiance in the streets to apprehend the vital role of the youth in transforming the existing semi-feudal and semi-colonial society, organizers said.
With ANAKBAYAN, League of Filipino Students, Liga ng Kabataang Moro (League of Moro Youth), Gabriela Youth, Student Christian Movement of the Philippines , College Editors Guild of the Philippines
They highlighted the campaigns on the issues on Education, Genuine Land
The students also held so-called “planking” on a highway to dramatize their dissent against the present socio-political repression in the country. “Prior to the barrage, a series of educational discussions, film viewing and room-to-room discussions were also conducted to let the students understand the current system that is governing our society and to mobilize them to fight for their rights,” according to the College Editors Guild of the Philippines.
Darwin Rey Morante, of the group called Anakbayan, said they clearly emphasized that the youth should be on their feet to fight for the rights of the people for they are recognize to advance the century-old struggle of the masses.
Leah Joy Pasion, the Gabriela Youth chairperson, said women’s rights should also be respected, thus, the norms entangling the society that defy their rights should be destroyed and equality must arise above all.
Abdulrahman Malabana, Liga ng Kabataang Moro acting chairperson, on the other hand called on the Aquino government to show its sincerity and release all Moro political detainees as a sign of respect to their right to self determination and stop terrorist-tagging of Moro people.
Stephen Cruda, of the League of Filipino Students, said students are being repressed and their rights abused, citing the brutal killing of a student journalist Beng Hernandez.
Hernandez, vice president for Mindanao of the College Editors Guild of the Philippines , and also deputy secretary general of the human rights group Karapatan-Southern Mindanao, was murdered along with three others on April 5, 2002 while on a research study on the human rights situation in Arakan Valley in North Cotabato .
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