Rizalina Ilagan

She was abducted by state security agents and disappeared on July 31, 1977, at the Makati Medical Center in Metro Manila, with nine other activists in what is believed to be the single biggest case of involuntary disappearance during Ferdinand Marcos’ martial law in the Philippines.

The group, consisting of university students and professors working as community organizers in Southern Tagalog, later came to be known as the Southern Tagalog 10. She is one of the heroes honored on the University of the Philippines Los Baños 'Hagdan ng Malayang Kamalayan' memorial.

Biography As a student, Ilagan was always at the top of her class. She directed plays in high school (and won best director) and wrote for the school paper. She also attended conferences held by youth organizations, such as the Future Farmers of the Philippines. She became an activist and joined the local chapter of the militant youth group Kabataang Makabayan (KM) in her senior year in high school.

She entered the University of the Philippines in Los Baños and became active in the theater group Tambuli under director Leo Rimando. She became the Southern Tagalog coordinator of KM's Panday Sining theater organization, which staged plays depicting the problems of Philippine society.

Ilagan is recognized as a martyr and hero of martial law and her name has been inscribed on the Bantayog ng mga Bayani Wall of Remembrance.

In popular culture and mass media The play Pagsambang Bayan is dedicated to Ilagan and other members of the Southern Tagalog 10. It was written by Ilagan's brother Bonifacio Ilagan and first staged in September 1977 by director Behn Cervantes and the University of the Philippines Repertory Company. The staging of the play led to the arrest of Cervantes and the play's musical director.

The Cultural Center of the Philippines organized Pista Rizalina: A Festival of Arts and Ideas in honor of Ilagan. It ran from September 8 to 24, 2017, and featured nine plays on freedom and human rights. It also featured films, documentaries, a public forum, art exhibits, and musical performances. Alaala won the Gold Camera Award in the docudrama category of the 2018 U.S. International Film and Video Festival.