CARMMA: On the Palispis highway mural in Tuba, Benguet
KARAPATAN Public Information
STATEMENT
10 March 2026
Reference: Kris Lacaba, CARMMA convenor, 0916-2813811
CARMMA secretariat, 0918-9790580
CARMMA: On the Palispis highway mural in Tuba, Benguet
The Campaign Against the Return of the Marcoses and Martial Law (CARMMA) condemns the latest attempt to glorify the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr. via a mural along Palispis Highway in Tuba, Benguet.
Palispis Highway was the site of the infamous Marcos bust, a 30-foot-high concrete monstrosity that was built in 1978 on land grabbed from Ibaloi families residing in the area. This unsightly and distasteful megalith to dictatorship got its comeuppance when the New People’s Army blew it up.
The Palispis Highway mural not only disregards the reality of the Filipino people’s repudiation and ouster of the Marcoses. It is also an affront to the Cordilleran peoples who valiantly struggled against Marcosian impositions such as the Chico River Dam Project that would have wiped out entire communities in Kalinga and Mountain Province and Cellophil Resources Corporation that destroyed thousands of hectares of forest lands in Abra. It is an insult to the memory of real Cordilleran heroes like Macliing Dulag who led the fight against the Chico Dam.
CARMMA stands with the Cordilleran people in demanding the removal of this ghastly tribute to a dictator whose hands are stained with the blood of so many victims of martial law. We say never again to historical denialism, to attempts to foist Marcos Sr. as a hero of the north and denigrate the real heroes of the Cordillera.
Pilipino translation
Kinukundena ng Campaign Against the Return of the Marcoses and Martial Law (CARMMA) ang pinakabagong pagtatangkang papurihan ang yumaong diktador na si Ferdinand Marcos Sr. sa pamamagitan ng isang mural sa Palispis Highway sa Tuba, Benguet.
Matatandaang sa Palispis Highway din matatagpuan ang kasuklam-suklam na bust ni Marcos, isang 30-piyeng taas na kongkretong halimaw na itinayo noong 1978 sa lupang inagaw mula sa mga pamilyang Ibaloi na naninirahan sa lugar. Tama lamang ang nangyari sa pangit at nakayayamot na dambuhalang istrukturang ito nang pasabugin ito ng Bagong Hukbong Bayan.
Hindi lamang binabalewala ng mural sa Palispis Higway ang katotohanang itinakwil at pinatalsik ng mamamayang Pilipino ang mga Marcos. Insulto rin ito sa mamamayan ng Cordillera na matapang na nakibaka sa mga proyektong ipinataw ni Marcos tulad ng Chico River Dam na kung natuloy ay gugunaw sa buu-buong mga komunidad sa Kalinga at Mountain Province, at Cellophil Resources Corporation na nagwasak sa libu-libong ektaryang kagubatan sa Abra. Insulto ito sa alaala ng tunay na mga bayani ng Cordillera tulad ni Macliing Dulag na namuno sa laban sa Chico Dam.
Naninindigan ang CARMMA kasabay ng mamamayan ng Cordillera sa paggigiit na alisin ang kakila-kilabot na parangal na ito sa isang diktador na duguan ang mga kamay sa napakaraming biktima ng batas militar. Hindi kami makapapayag muli sa pagtatatwa sa kasaysayan, sa pagtatangkang ipilit si Marcos Sr. bilang bayani ng norte at
alipustahin ang mga tunay na bayani ng Cordillera.
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KARAPATAN is an alliance of human rights organizations and programs, human rights desks and committees of people’s organizations, and individual advocates committed to the defense and promotion of people’s rights and civil liberties. It monitors and documents cases of human rights violations, assists and defends victims and conducts education, training and campaign. It was established in 1995.