Some 1,400 veteran activists and thrill-seeking millennials participated in the Great LEAN Run, held on Saturday, September 16, at the University of the Philippines Diliman.
The obstacle course, chase, and race gave runners a chance to experience what it was like for those who opposed Marcos-era Martial Law. As the “Metrocom” hunted them, they had to protect the three ribbons they carried on them, which represented life, liberty, and property, in order to win.
Now on its third year, the event is named after Lean Alejandro, a student leader who inspired many of his peers to oppose the dictatorship of former President Ferdinand Marcos.
For Julianne Pagulong, 19, a business economics senior, the affair couldn’t have come at a better time.
“In-introduce ng professor namin (‘yung run) kasi friend niya daw si Lean. Actually, nakakatakot po kasi bago mag-start kasi may mga nanghahabol… Parang ang scary lang kasi recently, may article na ni-release na balak pala ni Duterte na mag declare ng Martial Law. Parang sobrang timely noong run (Our professor introduced the run to us because Lean was a friend. Actually, it was scary because even before we started, there were already people after us. It’s also scary because recently, there was an article released that Duterte planned to declare Martial Law),” she told InterAksyon.
She added that she took care to protect her ribbons from being snatched away by the Metrocom because, “symbolically, buhay po namin ‘yun (they represent our lives).”
Pagulong finished the race as part of the first wave of runners. Only seven waves of runners completed this year’s event, unlike last year’s 16 waves of runners.
Photographer and activist AC Dimatatac, who has been participating in the Great LEAN Run every year, believes the decline in the number of the participants was due to the recent incident where police entered three establishments along Katipunan Avenue and searched for dangerous weapons and drugs under Oplan Bakal.
“Baka mas naghihigpit lang yung mga magulang sa mga kabataan (Maybe parents are just being more strict with their kids),” she said. “Kasi baka ang iniisip ng mga magulang eh ‘wag ka nang sumama diyan, baka mamaya kinakapkapan ng mga pulis yung bag mo. Kaya ngayon, mas kumonti yung mga sumasali pero hindi sila nawawala (Parents might be thinking that their kids shouldn’t join because the police might search their bags. So now there are fewer people who joined, but they are never gone).”
Dimatatac believes students might begin to fear joining activities where they could voice their opposition to the government, especially at night, because they might become a target for the authorities.
Pagulong added, “Nakakatakot po ‘yung mawawalan ako ng rights (It’s scary for me to lose my rights).”
Nevertheless, said Dimatatac, she would continue to run.
“Next year nandito pa rin kami. Tuluy-tuloy lang. Hangga’t mayroong kailangang ipanawagan sa gobyerno, hangga’t merong dapat ipaglaban, gagawin pa rin namin ‘yung mga ganitong klaseng event (We’ll still be here next year. We’ll keep going. Until there’s something that we have to tell the government, until there’s something we have to fight for, we’ll continue doing these kinds of events),” she said.
Alejandro’s widow, Lidy Nacpil, told the participants how happy she was to see so many young runners in attendance.
“Noong panahon namin, kapag naging aktibista ka ng 18 years old, nahuhuli ka na. Kasi nagsisimula ang mga aktibista sa edad na 16 (During our time, when you become an activist at 18 years old, you’re late in the game. Because activists start at age 16),” she said.
“Itong ating dinaraos ngayon ay hindi lang commemoration ng martial law. Sana makita natin ito na aktibong pagpoprotesta sa nangyayari ngayon… Sana maging kaisipan natin ngayon ay maging bahagi ito ng sunud-sunod na aksyon sa mga darating na linggo kasi alam natin ang nangyayari sa bansa natin ngayon (What we’re doing now is not just a commemoration of Martial Law. I hope we can look at this as an active protest against what is happening today… I hope our mindset now is that this is part of a series of actions in the coming weeks because we know what is happening in our country today),” Nacpil added.
She also reminded the participants that Martial Law was already here, in Marawi, in particular.
“At nababalita ngayon kapag lumakas at naging magulo ang mga protesta ay baka ipataw na sa buong bansa. So tratuhin natin ito na pagprotesta, hindi na lang ito commemoration ni Lean, at ang buhay namin nung 1980’s sa paglaban sa Martial Law (And it’s being reported that if the protests become stronger and chaotic, Martial Law might be declared over the whole country. So let’s treat this as a protest, not just a commemoration of Lean and of our lives in the 1980s while fighting against Martial Law),” she said.
To the student participants, she gave this challenge: that like the student activists in the 1980s, they too stand up and take action when the times call for it.
