Oblation Run staged to protest Marcos burial, to press peace with Left

This year's Oblation Run was held on Friday in protest of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos burial at the Libingan ng mga Bayani and to press the Duterte administration to deliver on its promise of peace with insurgents.

A total of 27 members of the Alpha Phi Omega fraternity ran naked around Palma Hall, holding placards and handing out roses to female spectators.

"We call on our government to truly serve the people, to protect the freedoms for which many have fought and died, and pay homage to those heroes by never forgetting the dark chapters of our history while moving towards a more just future," the fraternity said in a statement.

The Oblation Run has started. | via @erwincolcol pic.twitter.com/Ddghrp21D3

— GMA News (@gmanews) November 25, 2016

This year's run fell on the same day as the major protest action against the Marcos burial at Luneta later in the day.

Thomas Benjamin Roca, APO spokesperson for the event, said the fraternity's call this year was to seek justice for the atrocities in today's society.

"We mean... na hindi lang kapayapaan, kundi kapayapaang may katarungan," Roca said.

The fraternity called on the government to take its peace process initiatives seriously, specifically on aspect of social and economic reforms.

"By calling for not just peace, but justice, pinapanawagan namin sa gobyerno na seryosohin 'yung pag-tackle sa CASER," Roca said.

CASER refers to the Comprehensive Agreement on Socio-Economic Reforms that the government and National Democratic Front panels have been working on.

The two panels agreed on a framework for the CASER in early October.

"Kasi kapag nag-fall through yung CASER, walang kwenta 'yung tigil-putukan e," Roca added.

The group's other reason for holding the protest action was to seek justice for the victims of Martial law.

"We see na hindi pa nadedeliver 'yung hustisya para sa lahat ng mga biktima ng Martial law," Roca said.

"We cannot move on. Naninidigan kami na hindi bayani si Marcos," he added.

The annual Oblation Run traces its roots in 1977 when APO members ran naked in support of stage play showing the atrocities of Martial law.

"This proud tradition of our fraternity was born out of an earnest desire to bring attention to truths hidden, to wake the consciousness of the Iskolar ng Bayan and urge to take action," APO said in a Facebook post.

The protest action has been staged every year since then, usually in December. —NB, GMA News