Feminist to Know: Liliosa Hilao

Liliosa Hilao was a Filipina student activist and journalist in the 70s who protested then-President Ferdinand Marcos’ fascist rule in the Philippines. She is known for being the first prisoner to die in detention during Filipino martial law when she was just 23 years old.

Hilao grew up in a big family and was a consistently strong student, making the honor roll back when she was just in elementary school. She went on to attend the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (formerly known as University of the City of Manila) where she studied Communication Arts. There, Hilao distinguished herself through her role as a secretary of the Women's Club of Pamantasan and an editor in her university's paper Hasik.

At the time that Hilao was finding her voice connecting with other student activists, President Ferdinand Marcos (who began serving in 1965) was beginning to employ fascist policies with the help of the military. On September 23, 1972, Marcos placed the entire country under martial law, which would lead to an enormous number of human rights abuses and infringements of freedom.

Hilao became a vocal opponent of Marcos. She used her position at the student paper to publish stories such as "The Vietnamization of the Philippines” and “Democracy is Dead in the Philippines under Martial Law.” This drew the attention of the state.

On April 4, 1973, Hilao’s family’s house was raided by members of the Philippine Constabulary, a paramilitary police force and the predecessor to the Philippine National Police, which was originally created by the American occupational government. Hilao was brutally beaten by police in front of her family before she (and her sister Josefina) were arrested and taken to police headquarters for questioning.

Three days after her arrest and detainment, Hilao’s family was informed she was dead. The police attributed it to suicide despite ample evidence from the state of her body that Hilao had been subjected to extreme violence from officers. Her family was given a small burial fund and Hilao was awarded posthumous cum laude honors from her university. However, Hilao’s death would only be the first of many political prisoners’, as Marcos continued to rule for another fourteen years.

In 1986, Ferdinand Marcos was overthrown and exiled by the People Power Revolution of 1986. In the aftermath of his removal, many lawsuits were filed against him for his brutal dictatorship, including one from a family member of Liliosa Hilao, who sought justice for her death.

Hilao’s bravery in the face of fascism and commitment to her political values under threat of death remains an inspiration to this day. Her story is more important now than ever as the Philippines is once again under the rule of a Marcos, this time Ferdinand’s son Bongbong Marcos. To learn more about the two Marcoses’ rule, check out this informative video by Anakbayan Seattle here.