In the early years of the Marcos administration before the declaration of Martial Law, the poverty and inequality in Philippine society had already begun sparking debates among Catholic theologians about how the church ought to respond.
Some priests wanted to be more directly involved in activism and with activist organizations resisting the Marcos dictatorship, while those who were more conservative preferred that the pursuit of "the prophetic challenge of the gospel" be "without any ideological affiliation.
"[5][6] After the declaration of Martial law, the Marcos dictatorship's abuses - particularly extrajudicial killings and forced disappearances - convinced a small but very vocal number of the church workers to fight the dictatorship by actively joining underground resistance movements, while the majority resisted within the ordinary means available to then through their office, such as those who formed the human rights monitoring organization Task Force Detainees of the Philippines, or of Manila Cardinal Jaime Sin and Infanta Bishop Julio Labayen, who described their high level engagement with Marcos as "critical collaboration.
[9] In a 2021 international conference held in Taiwan, Daniel Franklin E. Pilario of the Congregation of the Mission presented a paper on a Philippine experience, noting among others that the implementation of the politics of fear and terror present in populist regimes is the same style of governance found in the country; later, because of his mentions of extrajudicial killings during the Marcos dictatorship and the Rodrigo Duterte presidency, he was called an anti-EJK priest.
[10][11][12] Muslim Filipinos had been targeted by repressive policies of the Marcos Administration since even before the imposition of Martial Law in 1972, with the Jabidah Massacre of 18 March 1968 being a watershed moment for discontent.
Although the MIM failed to gain the support of the Muslim masses, President Marcos used its existence (along with that of the recently formed Communist Party of the Philippines) as one of the reasons for proclaiming Martial Law on 23 September 1972.
In December 1972 the MIM ceased to exist when Matalam surrendered to Marcos, although a splinter group, the Moro National Liberation Front, had earlier formed in October 1972.
[17] The Association of Major Religious Superiors of the Philippines (AMRSP) came out with a weekly mimeographed publication called Various Reports, which printed stories on military atrocities and other human rights violations.
Agatep helped organize cooperatives, taught interested farmers about land reform, and spoke against foreign and local monopolies in the tobacco industry, which formed the backbone of Ilocos Sur's economy at the time.
[27] He was arrested for supposed "subversion" in 1980 and was incarcerated for four months until he was released as part of Marcos public relations efforts in preparation for a visit by Pope John Paul II.
[30][31] Nicknamed "Father Ling" by his parishioners, Godofredo Alingal (24 June 1922 – 13 April 1981)[32] was a Jesuit priest and journalist who spoke out against repression and militarization under Marcos' Martial Law on the prelature's radio station, DXBB, and its newsletter, An Bandilyo.
A deaconess of the United Methodist Church in the Philippines, Liway Asuncion (30 March 1954 – 25 June 1983)[36] was a graduate of BA in Christian Education at Harris Memorial College, before returning to her home congregation in Isabela to serve as Christian education and music director, teaching Sunday school, conducting Bible studies, leading the church choir, and becoming president of the district-wide United Methodist Youth Fellowship.
In 1979, Asuncion joined an ecumenical movement of Catholics and Protestants called Timpuyog Dagiti Iglesia (Ilocano for "Fellowship of the Churches"), which sought to address the plight of exploited farmers in Isabela, where land ownership was monopolized by a few elite families.
Mariani Dimaranan (February 1, 1925 - December 17, 2005) was a Franciscan nun best known for leading the Task Force Detainees of the Philippines for 21 years, including the entirety of the 14-year Marcos dictatorship.
An activist Roman Catholic priest, Jose Dizon (September 29, 1948 – November 4, 2013),[40][41] led protest actions against government corruption and human rights abuses during martial law in the Philippines,[40] political dynasties,[41] and the pork barrel system.
[40] He actively campaigned for honest elections and helped form people's organizations in rural areas to support those dealing with land grabbing, military abuses, and hamletting.
While serving as a parish priest in La Esperanza, Tulunan, North Cotabato, Favali was called by the townspeople for help after the Marcos government's paramilitary forces, led by Edilberto, Norberto, Jr., and Elpidio Manero, shot the town's tailor.
[49] A Roman Catholic lay worker with the Rural Missionaries of the Philippines (RMP), "Boy" Ipong (28 December 1945 – 21 November 1983)[50] was the son of migrants from Bohol who settled in North Cotabato, so he felt drawn to the plight of poor peasants in the Visayas and Mindanao.
[62] Mateo "Tiyong" Olivar (September 13, 1950 - November 7, 1985) was a church worker in the Community-Based Health Program and Family Life Apostolate of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Pagadian in Zamboanga del Sur.
[66] He was not known to have political affiliations nor leanings,[67] but his humanitarian work and the circumstances of his murder have led him to be considered a Martyr of the resistance against the dictatorship, and his name is inscribed on the Wall of Remembrance at the Bantayog.
When snap presidential polls were called in 1985, Pastor decided to campaign for Corazon Aquino, and eventually became the provincial vice-chair of the United Nationalist Democratic Organization (UNIDO).
He briefly worked for a youth program of the National Council of Churches in the Philippines, but decided to leave the capital and buy a farm in the town of Gloria, Oriental Mindoro instead.
[70] Roberto Salac (March 29, 1951 - May 19, 1987) was originally assigned to head the parish of Monkayo, Compostela Valley under the Prelature of Tagum, he was strongly influenced by Liberation Theology and the teachings of the Second Vatican Council and eventually became the Davao del Norte Chair of the Ecumenical Movement for Justice and Peace (EMJP), working with colleagues such as Sr. Consuelo Chuidian.
Put in danger by the EMJP's work of exposing human rights violations linked to militarization in Laac, Compostela Valley, however, he was forced to choose between exile or joining the underground resistance against the Marcos dictatorship.
[71] Nilo Valerio (20 Feb 1950 - 24 August 1985) was a Catholic priest of the Society of the Divine Word assigned to a parish in the upland province of Abra, where he established cooperatives and a school, ministered to remote communities of the Tingguian people, and supported them in protecting their ancestral lands from takeover by Marcos cronies.