MANILA - Ateneo De Manila University's student council condemned the presence of Irene Marcos during the launch of the campus' Arete Ampitheatre, calling it a "mockery" and a "grave insult" to martial law survivors.

In a statement released Monday, Sanggunian ng mga Paaralang Loyola ng Ateneo de Manila (Sanggu) demanded an apology from the Arete administration along with an explanation of why Marcos, the third child of late dictator Ferdinand and wife Imelda, was there in the first place.

"It (Arete) is the university's central space for creative, adaptive, and independent thinking - values that the Marcoses systematically destroyed during the darkest era in Philippine history," Sanggu said.

Sanggu said the amphitheater's director confirmed Marcos was invited to the event.

The Marcoses wish that the Filipino People move on. To that we say, never—not until Filipino patriots walk the halls of our universities, not until student activists continue to fight, not until justice has been delivered. The Ateneo & her children will never forget.#OurSanggu pic.twitter.com/8qESotie2r

— ADMU Sanggunian (@ADMUSanggu) April 8, 2019

Sanggu said the invite was "ironic," citing the use of the amphitheater to stage "Dekada '70" and "Desaparecidos" - both of which have depicted abuses during the administration of Irene's father and dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

They also called the move a "shameless compliance" and "disrespect" to Ateneo's ideals, saying it was like erasing crimes allegedly committed during Martial Law.

"Arete's invitation of a Marcos appears as a form of shameless compliance to the very movement that the Ateneo vehemently opposes, the erasure of Martial Law crimes from history and from the present discourse during the campaign period of the 2019 Senatorial Elections," they said.

It further stressed that the Ateneo community and its students "will not forget" the impact of Martial Law towards the Filipino, even as Marcoses insist to "move on" from it.

"The Marcoses simply wish that the Filipino People move on. To that we dare say, never—not while Filipino patriots walk the halls of our universities, not while our student activists continue to fight, not until justice has been delivered. The Ateneo and her children will never forget," Sanggunian said.