Remembering the Past, Rethinking the Present

This year, we commemorate the 48th anniversary of the Martial Law declaration in the Philippines by the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos. So much has happened since Marcos had it imposed and was ousted during the 1986 People Power Revolution. As those who were able to live through the dread brought by the Marcos regime would put it, it was the dark age of the Philippines. 

Stories of military abuse, psychological torture, murder, silencing of the press, and people never appearing again are among the horrors that Martial Law victims, their families, and various human rights activists continue to amplify in this era where it is so easy to lead people into a distorted truth. Amnesty International states in its 2018 public statement that 3200 people were killed from 1971 to 1981. With the existing social media platforms, it becomes an avenue for people to constantly invalidate the claims of the victims as narratives such as considering the Marcos regime as days of economical success are being forwarded in just a few clicks. Marcos apologists relentlessly push the story that it was Marcos who brought many advancements in infrastructure and should be celebrated. The inconsistency of the intense rise and fall of the country’s economy was associated with the dependency of his administration towards foreign loans. There was a significant drop in the Philippine GDP per capita in the country’s history after Marcos’ year in 1982 and did not reach the same level until 21 years later. Unemployment and inflation reached more than 20 percent. Significant income inequality and corruption by government officials during the 1970s was known as the era of “debt-driven growth”. Those who consider this time as the golden age for the Philippines are unfathomable for those who strongly condemn the dictator. 

Recently, three Ilocano lawmakers authored House Bill No. 7137 that declares September 11 to be a non-working holiday in Ilocos Norte to honor the late dictator’s day of birth. Among the representatives who authored the bill was Ilocos Norte 2nd District Representative Angelo Marcos Barba who happens to be a nephew of the president. The lower house approved the bill in its final reading with 197 votes in the affirmative, 9 for negative, and 1 abstained. In an interview with CNN, Sotto said that it is a possibility that there will be no debate over the bill in the Senate. He further admits that he would not object for the reasons that it is just a local bill and Marcos is from Ilocos Norte, a hero to the Ilocanos, not only those who reside in Ilocos Norte but all over the world. Duterte on the other hand will respect whatever the decision of the Congress is.

To dedicate a special day, the same as how people observe holidays for the heroes who fought for the country, to someone who put the nation in great debt and used his power to stifle and employ military force towards dissenters is a huge contradiction to the definition of a hero and a massive disrespect to those who suffered during his regime. While the Ilocanos’ general truth about Marcos is built on how successful and progressive he was especially to their city, proclaiming a special day would only contribute to discrediting the painful and inhumane ordeals of the victims and their families. History continues to be revised because of these unnecessary and insensitive arrangements. It can be remembered that there was a multitude of opposition towards Marcos’ burial in the Libingan ng mga Bayani in 2018 which was supported by President Duterte. According to him, he is only abiding by the law for Marcos was a president and a soldier, qualifying him to be buried there. Duterte argued that this will not necessarily entail that his exploitations will be ignored, but with all the different factors such as the propaganda forwarded by Marcos apologists further catapulted by social media, Marcoses regaining power in the senate and not being apologetic for the dictator’s crimes, and now the forwarding of this special day for him, it is only a matter of time that the stories of abuse will be completely changed and forgotten. 

It is important to remember this crucial part of Philippine history, to make sure that those who suffered and fought for our democracy are given justice. By recalling the past, we must then use it to criticize and assess our current situation. Let us be attentive with the government’s priorities, question policies and bills that are passed to forward certain selfish agendas in disguise for people’s protection, remember that this was how Marcos portrayed Martial Law. Let us not settle for services that do not even meet the bare minimum but demand accountability from the people in position. Now that we are facing a pandemic, let us call for solutions that would truly benefit the Filipinos, especially for our modern-day and real heroes, our medical frontliners.  

  Let us remember and listen to the stories of those who resisted and not glorify the one who triggered for the resistance to take place.