STO TOMAS, BATANGAS | Placards rose across the halls of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines Sto. Tomas Campus (PUP STC) on Friday morning, September 18, as students staged a campus-wide walkout days before the 54th anniversary of the declaration of Martial Law.

Beginning at around 10:00 a.m., students gathered on the fourth floor of the New Building before marching through the campus in a snake rally. Carrying banners and placards, protesters moved across different academic areas, calling on fellow students to join the demonstration before converging at the university gate for a centralized program.

The activity, dubbed “Black Friday,” brought together students and campus organizations to raise issues concerning education, civil liberties, workers, farmers, women, environmental concerns, and other national and university matters.

Representatives from the PUP STC Sentral na Konseho ng Mag-aaral, Anakbayan PUP STC, The Searcher, and Panday Sining took part in the program, delivering speeches and leading chants throughout the activity.

Speakers connected the commemoration of Martial Law with present-day concerns surrounding education and student rights, arguing that remembering the country's history also means confronting issues they say continue to affect students and communities.

One student speaker described the treatment experienced by students under the university administration as unequal and inhumane, while calling for continued student participation in matters affecting the campus community.

The protest also carried a broader call for public education. Students criticized what they described as inadequate support for schools and raised concerns over the allocation of resources for education, alongside calls for greater protection of freedom of expression within the university.

As the program continued inside the campus, police personnel were positioned along the university's perimeter.

Student organizers reported seeing members of the Philippine National Police (PNP), including personnel identified as part of Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) units, around the area. Organizers also alleged that some officers photographed and recorded participants and asked questions about individuals involved in the protest.

The reported presence drew criticism from students, who questioned the need for law enforcement personnel to monitor a peaceful campus demonstration.

Despite the presence of police outside the campus, the protest proceeded without reported major disruption.

The program ended with a cultural presentation and the collective recitation of a youth pledge before student marshals facilitated the participants' dispersal.

“Iskolar ng bayan, patuloy na lumalaban,” students and organizers chanted as the activity drew to a close.

Education as Resistance

The September 18 walkout came three days before September 21, the date marking the 54th anniversary of the declaration of Martial Law under the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr. in 1972.

For participating students, however, the anniversary was not treated solely as a historical commemoration.

The placards, speeches, and chants during the Black Friday protest placed the memory of Martial Law alongside contemporary concerns over education, civil liberties, government accountability, and student participation.