The conference aims to deepen the discourse about the martial law years and correct the twisted narratives being perpetrated by groups who want Filipinos to forget those dark years in the nation’s history.
The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention stated that Julian was arbitrarily detained and that he should be compensated and released immediately. The last report was in February 2018. It is now 2020 and Julian remains in Belmarsh maximum security prison under 24-hour lockdown.
Public school teachers spend for their basic protection such as alcohol, face masks, face shields and gloves. The Department of Education admitted that there is no budget allocated for the hospitalization of teachers who will be infected by the virus.
“This is an injudicious handling of the people’s coffers, seeing as how the state’s insufficient funding will further deprive millions their constitutionally granted right to accessible and quality education, while education workers will be subjected to unsafe working conditions and forced to again make up for shortages.”
Human rights watchdog Karapatan noted that the military threatened to file a criminal case against Alexa Pacalda if they did not sign an affidavit. Her father Arnulfo was coerced into signing and convinced his daughter to do so as well, “fearful of what the military could do to [her].”