Artists for Duty

By Noel Galon de Leon

September 21 is not just another date in the calendar. Para sa mga Filipino kag labi na gid para sa mga Ilonggo ini nga adlaw nagadala sang bug-at nga kahulugan. This marks the anniversary of the declaration of Martial Law in 1972 isa ka panahon nga nagbilin sang madalom nga pilas sa demokrasya sang Filipinas. At the same time it is also a reminder of the people’s ongoing struggle against corruption oppression and injustice highlighted by the Trillion Peso March. Within this context the presence of artists especially Ilonggo artists in the rally is not only symbolic but deeply necessary.

Ang mga artist sa ila sining obra nagaserbisyo bilang mga tagapadala sang istorya kag kasaysayan. They capture truths in ways that statistics and political speeches cannot. Kon mag-upod ang Ilonggo artists sa rally they embody a living testimony that art is not detached from society kundi kabahin sang kabuhi sang tawo. Through murals performances poems and songs artists remind people of the atrocities of Martial Law and the dangers of forgetting. To join the rally is to resist historical amnesia. It is to shout in brushstrokes and melodies Never Again.

Sa Hiligaynon culture ang artist indi lang isa ka tawo nga nagapinta ukon nagakanta. Sila amo ang konsensya sang pumuluyo. They express what people feel but cannot always say. During Martial Law artists were among the first silenced censored and persecuted because their words and images were dangerous to dictators. By joining the September 21 rally Ilonggo artists reclaim their role as truth tellers. Ang ila presensya nagapadumdum sa tanan nga ang pagpakigbato indi lang obligasyon sang politiko kundi sang tagsa-tagsa nga may boses kag talento.

Corruption robs the people of their future in the same way Martial Law robbed them of freedom. Ang trillion peso march nagapahayag sang kahuluya kag kadalok nga pagtakab sa pondo sang pumuluyo. Artists by marching show that creativity is not blind to hunger injustice and exploitation. Indi lang sila nagaobra para sa museo ukon gallery nagaobra sila para sa tawo. In this sense their joining the rally humanizes the call for accountability. Ginapakita nila nga ang kwarta nga ginkawat halin gid sa bulsa sang ordinaryo nga Ilonggo halin sa artists man nga naga-struggle agud mabuhi.

A personal and human act. To stand in the streets on September 21 is not merely political it is deeply personal. Kada pamilya may istorya sang kahadlok sang pagkawala sang pang-abuso sa Martial Law. Kada pamilya man subong nagaeksperyensya sang epekto sang kurapsyon, kulang nga eskwelahan, kabudlay sang obra, kag taas nga presyo sang pagkaon. For artists to join the rally is to honor these personal histories and to offer their art as a space of healing and solidarity.

The rally is not only about remembering Martial Law or protesting corruption it is about insisting that truth justice and freedom remain alive. Ilonggo artists with their unique voices and creativity carry the power to amplify these calls. Their presence ensures that the rally is not just a gathering of bodies but a living canvas of memory resistance and hope. By joining artists show that art is not passive. Art is active. Art is protest. Kag ang pinakaimportante art is for the people.