REMEMBERING MARTIAL LAW

(The original article was published by Northern Dispatch in September 2015. Photo grab from http://planetphilippines.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/headline.jpg)

My mother and father have not yet bumped  to each other when Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law, so I can never claim firsthand experience on the matter. I rarely tell my friends that I grew in family who are fervent Marcos loyalist (especially my mother’s side), usually eaves dropping with conversations regarding the benefits from the declaration – the order it brought, the supposed development, and many more. In high school, I even choose to be part of the group who favored the declaration of martial law during a classroom discussion on the issue. This is the only instance that I can remember where the topic was deliberated with a certain degree of importance.

I learned the extent and depth of martial law’s meaning and result when I attended a forum organized by the student council in a university I once attended. The speaker then was former Senator Wigberto Tanada. Although the biggest influence in changing my positive views was my Kasaysayan ng Pilipinas class during my freshman year and the book “Agos ng Dugong Kayumanggi.” From our instructor, I learned what activist refer to as tools for analysis, the meaning of the word “fascism” and other politically charged terms. Yes, this was way before I got hold of “Lipunan at Rebolusyong Pilipino” by Amado Guerrero, long before I became an activist.

It is a pity that in schools, martial law is only discuss in passing, without providing judgment on its entirety. Worst, past administration did nothing to instill to the new generation of youth, the millennials, the harrowing facts and lasting effects of this period in Philippine history. Besides the psychological scars of the victims and survivors, the failure to prosecute Marcos, his cronies and human rights violators during martial law further entrenched the culture of corruption and impunity in all aspects of our society.

Historical revisionism has permeated in books, and now flooding the internet especially the social media. The current administration’s effort to provide a hero’s burial to the late dictator and the recent brouhaha in the Official Gazette are among the height of these truth cover-ups. These actions are not mere revisions but total insult to those who struggled to regain the limited democratic space we are currently enjoying.

Being part of the national democratic movement made me further understand the truth behind the declaration of martial law and the existence of state violence against the people. I also became the subject of threat, harassment and intimidation by state security forces. However, the fact remains that most of the current generation, including me, gleaned martial law only through books and documentary films. Only few are fortunate enough to hear stories right from the victim’s personal account. That is why I consider myself fortunate when Ilocos Human Rights Alliance invited me September last year to attend a gathering of martial victims in Ilocos Sur.

I was surprised to see more than 100 victims from four municipalities in the second congressional district of the province. It made me realize that there must have been hundreds more from the remaining 28 municipalities. They came from all walks of life – farmers, teachers, lawyers, some are now serving as government officials.

To quote from the statement of BAYAN-Ilocos and IHRA:

“Many believed that Marcos being an Ilocano, shielded the Ilocos provinces from the brunt of Martial Law… Individuals who made these assumptions are greatly mistaken.”

Under the shade of a palay drier and cogon roof cooled by the afternoon breeze, victims of martial law narrated their stories.

The testimonial started with a farmer from Sta. Cruz who recalled the day when members of the Philippine Constabulary (PC) dragged him at gunpoint in front of his wife and kids, tortured and left him for dead. Another resident of Sta. Cruz followed who shared one of instances that the Philippine army forces round up all adult males in their barangay, caged them and after a few days without food ration, forced them to graze like cattle.

A human rights lawyer during the period vividly recalled how members of the PC and the AFP lorded over the province with brazen impunity. He narrated an incident where they slapped a municipal mayor just for being at the wrong place and time, and how trigger-happy are the PC officers especially when they are drunk. After which, nine individuals shared their harrowing experiences that will make anybody think whether the perpetrators have still some humanity left in their minds.

Among those who gave their accounts, only two were women, one from Tagudin and the other from Sta. Cruz. What strike me the most was not the violence perpetuated against their families but their resilience and strength to face all odds. How they protected their children when government troops ransacked their houses, how they calmed and assured them that everything will be okay in front of the barrel of guns does not only show deep affection, but above all a mother’s unparalleled courage.

I beheld how the speakers gather all their courage, trembling and sweating, but otherwise happy that finally they can share their experience and feelings with others like them. What I witnessed that day was not a mere gathering of victims longing for recognition, rightful compensation and justice. They were survivors of one of the darkest period in our history, survivors who were courageous enough to defy the mounting odds against them during the period. As they speak about the past, it became clearer to everyone that they are not the lone victim, that they will not stand alone in the quest for justice.

The things that I saw in that gathering for me are the reasons why, despite being dark and violent, we still commemorate it. We commemorate September 21 it so that those who were not able to witness firsthand the horrors of martial law will be enlightened from the false visions of order and development in that period. We commemorate Martial Law to honor all those who sacrificed to dismantle the dictatorship. We commemorate this day when a dictator rose to power because the period brought out not only courage, unity and the fervor to struggle but the best qualities from those dared to defy the Marcos’ dictatorship. #NEVERAGAIN #NEVERFORGET