I wrote this as a reaction paper in a seminar I attended for a subject in school a few months ago. I know I already posted one relating to ML on its anniversary but it seemed relevant today so I thought I'd publish it.
Today, many still argue about former Pres.
Ferdinand Marcos’ regime in the 1960’s up to the 1980’s. I have encountered
many young people who support the idea that Martial Law was the ‘Golden Age’ of
the Philippines. Those who have experienced it beg to differ.
Marcos and
Martial Law has always been a sensitive topic to the Filipino people,
especially since the issue of former President Ferdinand Marcos' burial in
Libingan ng mga Bayani (Update, 10082016: The Supreme Court approved his burial there.). The youth who say that Marcos did several great things
for the country also say that we, the anti-Marcos, only see the bad things that
he brought. We do not disregard the good deeds that he’s done but we also do
not forget the fact that he stole billions of dollars from the Filipino people;
because of that, we are living in debt up to this day.
Martial Law was a time when people had to fight
just for their right to stand up against the government back then; if you did,
there was a high chance that you’d go to jail. These people who suffered just
for freedom play a huge part in why we, the Filipino people are liberated
today.
Those were
tortured and killed during the darkest time in history could have been the
country’s greatest leaders. The military targeted scholars who were actively
vocal about their views against Marcos. I cannot fathom the pain they had gone
through just because they said something that did not please the Marcos. Some
of these were the most inhumane things that I could not imagine.
One
example of torture during Martial Law was pushing a walis tambo down the urinary tract of Peter Villaseñor, who was
tied naked from the ceiling. Another is when Liliosa Hilao, a scholar, was
found in a cell. The military said that she had committed suicide by drinking
uric acid but her family doesn’t think so. Liliosa’s body was found with her
arms amputated and her body cut in half. Her brain was also taken out of her
skull; it was later discovered in a bucket filled with uric acid.
I cannot
even think about the pain felt by the Hilao family seeing their relative,
sister, and daughter being brought to her funeral that way. Until now, there
are still people who have Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) from this point
in history. I have read from the “#RPnonfiction” hashtag on Twitter that one’s
mother still suffers trauma from cars that wait outside establishments or homes
in fear that someone might still be watching.
I agree
with Sir Xiao Chua when he spoke at a conference I attended last Saturday about
the bravery to always remember and never forget. I may not have had the first-hand
experience at these important parts in the country’s history but I will always
remember and never forget what I have learned for those who were a contributed
to it; those who suffered, those who were raped, those who were murdered, those
who lost their dearest family members, those whose relationships were ruined
because of torture they went through, and those who stood up for what is
rightfully theirs. I may not be as brave as they were but reading and hearing
about what they had to go through for what I have today is a lot to take in.
It’s not like reading about one’s tragic love story; it’s like knowing how a
united group of people brought down a dictator, about how they came together to
get their right
of freedom.
If
a Marcos Apologist talks to me about how the Martial Law era was the ‘Golden
Age’ of the Philippines, I’d rather sponsor him to a survivor. They’re probably
better than me at telling these kinds of stories.
