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[OPINION] Never again, never forget: The violent memory of Martial Law

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September marks the anniversary of a turbulent, violent, and painful memory in Philippine history – Ferdinand E. Marcos’ Martial Law. This year, in particular, denotes the 50 th anniversary of its declaration.

“Never again, never forget,” we chant to remember, to commemorate, to fight.

But for those of us who weren’t alive during the time, pro-Marcos Filipinos always throw the argument, “ ’Di pa naman kayo pinapanganak nun, paano ‘nyo alam? ” (You weren’t born then so how do you know?)

And as retaliated by many, the younger generation’s memory of Martial Law comes from different sources, like their family’s personal stories, lessons taught in history class, artworks based on or made during the time period, news clippings from media outlets. The memory of something does not need to be experienced firsthand for people to express empathy and solidarity.

And so, based on various sources, here is why we must not forget.

Marcos started his political career in 1949 as a congressman in Ilocos Norte. He became a senator in 1959 and finally, the president in 1965. When he ran for president, he campaigned with his wife, the “endearing” Imelda Marcos. Imelda, as a beauty queen who sang for the crowd, was a vote-getter . They campaigned together which earned them patronage from the people. It’s not difficult to see why the Filipinos loved them – aside from Marcos being from the north and Imelda being from the Visayas – they were seen as a couple, a love team people could root for. To be a little blasphemous about it, they can be juxtaposed with KathNiel, AlDub, LizQuen or JaDine.

However, Ferdie and Imelda’s identities went beyond this swooning couple, and beyond the praise that people gave them. Firstly, Marcos’ character was questionable. He presented himself as the country’s “most decorated war hero” but this was proven to be untrue . To have most of his appeal come from a lie is already questionable. In addition to this, during the 1986 snap elections, vote tabulators from the  Commission on Elections or Comelec walked out as they noticed superiors manipulating the vote count to put Marcos in the lead. This packs on the deceit that Marcos upheld as a leader. What do we expect from a president who repressed the media so that his failures and atrocities remain unknown anyway?

Corruption and human rights during Martial Law

Aside from mere lies, Primitivo Mijares wrote in his book, The Conjugal Dictatorship of Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos , “The corruption of the martial regime is not confined to the insatiable acquisition of the country’s material resources, but extends to the exercise of power itself. Having proclaimed martial law, he proceeded to bribe, coerce and/or intimidate the Constitutional Convention members into drafting a new charter dictated by him.” Aside from corruption of funds and resources, Marcos’ propagandist-turned-whistleblower Mijares confirmed the late dictator’s greed for power. He didn’t want his term to end which led to the declaration of Martial Law.

However, as terrible as this already sounds, from lies to theft to repression to corruption, the history of Martial Law gets worse as we dig deeper. While corruption ensued, media was repressed, cronies were favored, lies were propagated, shoes were collected, Filipinos’ human rights were also being directly violated.

According to an Amnesty International report that documents the human rights abuses during Martial Law, there are around 3,240 known extrajudicial killings, 34,000 documented tortures, 70,000 imprisonments, and 77 recorded disappearances. It’s important to note that these are just the recognized ones, meaning that the numbers are even higher when we consider the cases that went unrecorded. With these large statistics, we must remind ourselves that Martial Law victims are more than just numbers. These are fellow Filipinos, most of them political rivals, student activists, journalists, religious workers, farmers, peasant organizers; most of them fought the dictator.

The Marcoses’ corrupt desire for power led to all of this. To make it even more concrete, Mijares himself, who used to be Marcos’ most trusted confidante, was one of the victims. After turning against the Marcoses, he disappeared and was never found, while his son, Luis Manuel Mijares, was killed shortly after. They are just two of the thousands of victims who were either killed or who continue to be scarred by their past.

Sources of a collective memory

Many works continue to record this history of human rights abuses during Martial Law, not just through documents but also through art. Desaparesidos , a novel by Lualhati Bautista, chronicles the experience of a desaparecido , who was tortured and eventually incarcerated. It follows the life of a mother who finds it hard to move past the pain brought by Marcos’ Martial Law. Liway , a film by Kip Oebanda, shows a family who spent years in prison together because they fought against the Marcoses. ML, a film by Benedict Mique, depicts the level of brutality of the state force during Martial Law. Indigo Child , a play by Rody Vera, shows the scars that remain even years after a victim is tortured and how this can cause rifts in the family.

These are just a few examples and sources to get started with, which already show that we do not need to have been there to stand against the untruths and injustices. But after hearing how atrocious, violent, and scarring Martial Law is, why must we never forget? Would it not be easier if we did?

There are numerous victims who continue to find it hard to recount their experiences, and this is completely understandable. We should not dictate on individuals who have been abused and violated in unimaginable ways on how to deal with their trauma. However, collectively as a Filipino people, in solidarity with all the victims who choose to continue to speak out or can’t, we must never forget. We must never forget because it is disrespect for those who fought so that we may be free from the clutches of the Marcos dictatorship. To remember is to memorialize those who sacrificed their safety and personal lives so that future generations would not suffer what they did.

It even becomes more imperative that we remember, especially now that disinformation, historical denialism, and the Marcosian myth persist. It becomes more important now that the son of the dictator again sits, sleeps, lives in, and has invaded Malacañang Palace.

We must never forget so that we may never again suffer the same fate. Ironically, they are back at the Palace, which reminds us to fight again, to continue remembering, and to speak the truth.

We find ourselves again at the precipice of history. What do we do now? Never again. Never forget. – Rappler.com

Tony La Viña teaches law and is former dean of the Ateneo School of Government. Bernardine de Belen recently graduated from the Ateneo de Manila University with a Creative Writing degree. She has just joined Manila Observatory as a research assistant.

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Filipino victims: Justice elusive decades after martial law

Human rights groups pass by an effigy of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. as they mark the 50th anniversary of martial law at the University of the Philippines in Metro Manila, Philippines, Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2022. Survivors of torture and other atrocities under Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos on Wednesday marked his martial law declaration 50 years ago by pressing their demand for justice and apology from his son, now the country’s president in a stunning reversal of fortunes for the once reviled family. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Martial law survivor Satur Ocampo, right, raises his clenched fist as he joins a rally to mark the 50th anniversary of martial law at the University of the Philippines in Metro Manila, Philippines, Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2022. Survivors of torture and other atrocities under Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos on Wednesday marked his martial law declaration 50 years ago by pressing their demand for justice and apology from his son, now the country’s president in a stunning reversal of fortunes for the once reviled family. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Activists hold slogans as they mark the 50th anniversary of martial law during a rally at the University of the Philippines in Metro Manila, Philippines, Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2022. Survivors of torture and other atrocities under Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos on Wednesday marked his martial law declaration 50 years ago by pressing their demand for justice and apology from his son, now the country’s president in a stunning reversal of fortunes for the once reviled family. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Human rights groups march as they mark the 50th anniversary of martial law at the University of the Philippines in Metro Manila, Philippines, Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2022. Survivors of torture and other atrocities under Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos on Wednesday marked his martial law declaration 50 years ago by pressing their demand for justice and apology from his son, now the country’s president in a stunning reversal of fortunes for the once reviled family. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Human rights groups lights candles as they mark the 50th anniversary of martial law at the University of the Philippines in Metro Manila, Philippines, Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2022. Survivors of torture and other atrocities under Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos on Wednesday marked his martial law declaration 50 years ago by pressing their demand for justice and apology from his son, now the country’s president in a stunning reversal of fortunes for the once reviled family. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

President of the Philippines Ferdinand Marcos Jr. addresses the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly, at U.N. headquarters, Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2022. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow)

People protest outside the New York Stock Exchange during a visit by Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in New York, Monday, Sept. 19, 2022. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

A woman takes photos of lamps with pictures of church people who fought during the martial law as they mark its 50th anniversary at the University of the Philippines in Metro Manila, Philippines, Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2022. Survivors of torture and other atrocities under Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos on Wednesday marked his martial law declaration 50 years ago by pressing their demand for justice and apology from his son, now the country’s president in a stunning reversal of fortunes for the once reviled family. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., right center, rings the bell at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Monday, Sept. 19, 2022. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

With the help of John Tuttle, vice chairman of the New York Stock Exchange, right, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., left, uses a gavel while ringing the bell at the NYSE in New York, Monday, Sept. 19, 2022. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. speaks as the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Monday, Sept. 19, 2022. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

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MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Survivors of torture and other atrocities under Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos on Wednesday marked his martial law declaration 50 years ago by pressing their demand for justice and apology from his son — now the country’s president in a stunning reversal of fortunes for the once reviled family.

Activists held street protests, a musical concert and unveiled a documentary at the state-run University of the Philippines. They say the manifestations were aimed at preventing a repeat of the abuses and plunder that began after Marcos imposed martial law in the Philippines in September 1972, a year before his term was to end.

The dictator was ousted in an army-backed “People Power” uprising in 1986 and died three years later in U.S. exile without admitting any wrongdoing, including accusations that he, his family and cronies amassed an estimated $5 billion to $10 billion while he was in power.

His son, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who took office in June after a landslide electoral victory, delivered a speech at the U.N. General Assembly in New York. A small group of Filipino-American protesters hounded him and at one point managed to get close and booed him and repeatedly yelled “Never again to martial law!” as he alighted from a convoy and walked into a building with security escorts.

He or his key officials have not issued any statement about the martial law anniversary as of Wednesday afternoon.

For many of the survivors of abuses under Marcos, now mostly in their 70s and 80s, the anniversary brought back the trauma and painful memories of fellow victims, who either were killed by state forces or remain missing. They condemned efforts to gloss over the atrocities and portray the martial law years in pro-Marcos social media as a “golden era.”

“The scars may have healed but deep inside, the anger and the sorrow are still there not just because I went through this but because so many good and patriotic people died resisting the dictatorship,” said Judy Taguiwalo, a former Cabinet official and women’s rights activist who was jailed for two years and tortured in the 1980s.

Taguiwalo, 72, sought an apology from the president and asked him to “stop lying about the horrors of martial law.”

Marcos Jr., 65, has refused such calls. In a TV interview last week, he said his father’s decision to declare martial law, suspend Congress and rule by decree was necessary to fight communist and Muslim insurgencies. He also said that describing the late president as a dictator is “wrong” and denied that he and his family were whitewashing history.

Bonifacio Ilagan, a left-wing activist who was detained for more than two years starting in 1974 and often beaten and severely tortured, said he could never accept Marcos as president. His sister was abducted by government agents with several other anti-Marcos activists in 1977 in metropolitan Manila and has never been found.

“The trauma has returned with all its inhumanities,” Ilagan, 70, said, and renewed his call for justice and a clear Marcos apology. “That’s the reason why I could not, for the life of me, say that he is my president.”

Loretta Rosales, the former head of the independent Commission on Human Rights, was arrested with five other activists in 1976 by military agents and subjected to electrocution and sexual abuse.

She said that the president should comply with a provision of a 2013 law that she co-authored as a member of Congress that calls for the documentation of the atrocities and the construction of a museum to memorialize the sufferings of thousands of people.

The legislation was used to compensate the victims of the abuses. Separately, a Hawaii court found the elder Marcos liable for rights violations and awarded $2 billion from his estate to more than 9,000 Filipinos led by Rosales who filed a lawsuit against him for torture, extrajudicial killings, incarceration and disappearances.

The 1986 ouster of Marcos was a high point, Taguiwalo said, but poverty, inequality, injustice and other social ills remained pervasive in the country decades after. That allowed political dynasties, including the Marcoses, to exploit the deep discontent to their advantage.

“It’s not because as a people we are stupid or so forgiving,” Taguiwalo told The Associated Press. “I think the biggest lesson which we have always emphasized is that it’s not enough that you overthrow a dictator or return a certain extent of free press and academic freedom, civil and political rights.”

“You need to show that democracy works for the majority of the people who should have jobs, land and a decent livelihood,” she said.

Associated Press journalists Aaron Favila and Joeal Calupitan contributed to this report.

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‘They were like gods’: Survivors retrace horror, torture during martial law

Survivors of martial law gathered at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani. Image from Ryan Leagogo

MANILA, Philippines — When the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr. declared martial law in 1972, luck was not something that one would bet on having.

In the case of martial law survivors Bonifacio Ilagan and Neri Colmenares, luck meant having bullets squeezed firmly between each finger as part of their torture for being critics of Marcos.

Fifty years after the iron rule was declared, their scars still sting like open wounds as they witness the second coming of a Marcos in Malacañang.

Toss coin: Do you live or die?

In the early years of martial law, Neri recalled the regime’s red flags, which he thought little of as a sixth grade student – “boring” programs on Marcos-controlled television channels, curfews before 11 p.m., and the lack of student organizations in his school.

READ: Marcos’ martial law: Golden age for corruption, abuses

“Then I began to notice na may mga nangyayari na korupsyon sa amin. Mahirap ang buhay noong martial law kaya medyo maaga nag-mature ang kabataan kasi at an early age, nakita namin iyong karahasan. Nakita namin iyong kahirapan,” he told INQUIRER.net.

(Then I began to take notice of the corruption in our area. Life was difficult during martial law, so many of the youth were really exposed to injustices at an early age. We witnessed the adversities.)

As the rose tint on his glasses wore off, Neri began to question the martial rule and he later joined a student Catholic action, which trumpeted the return of student organizations and publications.

Image from Ryan Leagogo / INQUIRER.net

But not too long after, he was arrested and tortured at the age of 18, barely an adult, certainly still wet between the ears.

“I was made to confess. Isulat ko raw na New People’s Army (NPA) ako. Hindi ako NPA… Tapos kapag hindi sila satisfied na hindi mo inamin, papakainin sa akin iyong papel na sinulatan ko,” he narrated.

(I was made to confess. They told me to write that I was a member of the NPA, but I wasn’t. I was a part of a student Catholic action. But if they weren’t satisfied by you not confessing to it, they would make you eat the paper you were writing on.)

The tortures, Neri recounted, also took the form of M16 bullets violently pressed between his fingers, and countless pre-dawn terrorizations.

“Mga 2 in the morning ka nila kinukuha para i-torture. Naka-squat kayo tapos may isang military officer, kukuha siya ng baril niya…Iikot siya. Kapag nasa likod na siya namin, may tatadyakan siyang isa. Tapos kapag natadyakan ka, eh ‘di you go sprawling kasi pagod ka na sa squat, natadyakan ka pa ng combat boots,” he said.

(At 2 in the morning, that’s when they will take you to torture you. They’ll make us squat, then a military officer will take his gun and walk around us. From behind, he would kick one of us and that person would go sprawling from both the exhaustion of squatting, and the added pain of being kicked by combat boots.)

A lucky day

But among the brutalities Neri vividly remembered was his encounter with the infamous Russian Roulette – a fatal game of chance that he unwillingly played with an intoxicated officer, who after loading a bullet into one chamber of a revolver, placed the weapon inside Neri’s mouth.

The then-young detainee recalled hearing the officer say: “Are you lucky tonight, punk?” before the latter pulled the trigger.

It was done again and again, and no bullet came through but Neri was slowly drained from the brimming fear he felt every single time the trigger was pulled.

“Sabi niya, ‘Oh, you’re very lucky, may prize ka. Ang premyo mo, pwede kang umuwi.’ Alas tres na ng umaga, papauwiin ka niya? Sabi ko, ‘Sergeant, hindi ako uuwi,’” he said.

(The officer said, ‘Oh, you’re very lucky, so let me give you a prize. You can now go home.’ At three in the morning, he’s making me go home? I said, ‘No, sergeant, I’m not going home.)

The officer was persistent, even instructing him to jump through the window, but Neri knew he was going to get shot once he leaves. And he worried that his death would be made to look as if he attempted to escape from prison.

“Noong panahon na iyon, adrenaline probably carried me through. Hinawakan ko iyong sofa. May sofa kasi. Talagang kapit ako. Kapag tinutulak niya ako, dala-dala ko iyong sofa kaya hirap siya,” Neri detailed.

(During that time, the adrenaline probably carried me through. There was a couch, and I held on to it. I gripped it tightly, so when the officer pushed me, I had it with me to add weight and it gave him a hard time.)

For around five to six days, Neri endured more tortures which, he said, left both mental and physical scars that haunt him up to this day.

“There comes a time na iyong pain mo, siguro may threshold iyong katawan natin, na parang wala nang isasakit pa. Iyong bugbog nila, wala nang maidaragdag masyado na sakit,” he said.

(I guess the human body has a threshold for pain. And there came a time when I didn’t think the pain could get worse. Their punches no longer hurt as much.)

Neri later pondered, “Those who tortured us were ordinary people – lieutenants, sergeants, majors. But when they go to the torture chamber, they’re no longer ordinary people. They’re like gods. Today, we decide whether Neri Colmenares lives or dies.”

A power of life and death

Bonifacio – often called Boni –  knew different, though:  he would stand against Marcos’ martial law even before it was declared.

He left university and joined the underground resistance movement, but later on, he, too, was arrested along with renowned journalist Pete Lacaba.

They were kept in a prison cell which, according to Boni, had no bathroom. For a year, they were all forced to excrete urine and feces in empty cans and on newspapers.

Activist Bonifacio Ilagan recalls his incarceration and torture. Image from Ryan Leagogo / INQUIRER.net

“Iyong torture was either methodical or whimsical. It was methodical when they wanted to extract information from me. They wanted me to decode iyong mga letter, mga name kasi alam naman nila, iyong names namin were all aliases,” Boni told INQUIRER.net.

(The torture was either methodical or whimsical. It was methodical when they wanted to extract information from me. They wanted me to decode letters and names since they knew we were all using aliases.)

He recalled that he was also forced to disclose to intelligence officers who the members of the underground groups were, and where they had been staying.

“There were also whimsical tortures. They would punch me simply because they didn’t like my face,” Boni said.

He similarly experienced having bullets squeezed between his fingers, but Boni also pointed out a time when his foot had been burned using a flat iron.

“Iyong suntok, iyong sipa, karaniwan iyon eh. Halimbawa, nakaupo at nagi-interrogate. May dadaan lang, susuntukin na. Sisipain. Babatukan. They impressed upon us that they had the power of life and death over us,” Boni noted.

(The punches and kicks were already common for us. Say example, someone would pass by while we’re sitting and being interrogated. And they would hit you. Kick you. Strike the back of your neck. They impressed upon us that they had the power of life and death over us.)

The longtime activist then narrated another torture method he had experienced, which was named after one of the longest bridges in the country – the San Juanico Bridge.

“San Juanico Bridge ang tawag kasi itong batok namin, nasa isang surface at itong paa, nasa another surface, so nakabitin kami sa hangin kaya San Juanico Bridge. Magtatanong sila, kapag hindi nila gusto, susuntukin sa tiyan. Bagsak. Pipilitin na namang humiga sa hangin hanggang hindi ko na kaya,” he recounted.

(It’s called San Juanico Bridge, because we’d be hanging like the San Juanico Bridge. The back of my head and my feet would be leaning on opposite surfaces. They’d ask questions and if they didn’t like my answer, they would punch me in the stomach until I fell. I would be forced to do it all over again until I could no longer take it.)

And Boni, who admitted that he was long in denial of having suffered this abuse, also spoke of a time when officers tried to insert a stick through his penis.

“After some time, umihi na ako ng dugo sa tindi ng torture. One time, pina-straight nila iyong paa ko at hinataw ng bote iyong hita ko,” he said.

(After some time, I started urinating blood due to the severity of the torture. One time, they made me straighten my legs and then repeatedly hit it.)

The pounding against his thighs which, Boni initially thought, was not painful later bruised his legs until it turned into a color he likened to that of a lechon or a suckling pig.

As a detained incommunicado, he shared that he was not allowed to see his mother, who would bring him food and clothes during his time in prison.

Soon after, however, Boni was granted permission to meet her, but only from a distance.

“I think my mother, at that time, really begged for mercy na ipakita lang ako and ipinakita ako. You know what I did, hinubad ko iyong pantalon ko para makita niya na namamaga iyong dalawa kong hita. She cried,” he said.

(I think my mother, at that time, really begged for mercy just to see me. And they allowed her. You know what I did, I stripped off my pants, so she can see how badly my legs were beaten up. She cried.)

READ: Remembering martial law: Hope, then despair

Survivors of martial law gathered at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani. Image from Arnel Tacson / INQUIRER.net

Neri and Boni – who even after five decades, still held back tears as they retold their horror stories during martial law – are among the 34,000 tortured victims during the Marcos regime, according to Amnesty International.

But they are not just names and figures on record. They carry not just their own stories, but even those who were not lucky enough to share theirs.

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And fifty years later, especially now that the late dictator’s son sits at the helm of the country, their cry for justice remains – if not, even louder.

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The Iron Fist and the Reign of Silence

The Philippines was built on a foundation of struggle. We think we are free from the clutches of darkness; when in fact, darkness is a shadow that is always just behind us. Forty-five years ago, this darkness took on the form of Proclamation No. 1081, a document enacted by then President-turned- Dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos, stating that the country shall be placed under martial law so as to quell all forms of lawless violence and rebellion. Beginning as a response to an onslaught of protest and violent acts against the government, typically by the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and the New People’s Army (NPA), martial law rapidly morphed into a dangerous beast that put the country in a chokehold.

Many remember the era of Marcos’s reign as a “golden age”. Some of my own family members have even offhandedly stated that martial law was beneficial to the country as it was the most disciplined they have ever seen Filipino citizens. However, many of our countrymen fail to see and understand what really went on behind the discipline that the Marcos administration forced upon every individual curfews, veiled threats, detainment, torture, and even death. A video by the Campaign Against the Return of the Marcoses to Malacanang in 2016 showcased a vivid contrast between the perspectives of young voters and survivors of martial law. These young voters expressed their views on martial law as a “good time for the Philippines”. One young woman stated, “The law was followed and people were disciplined.” An elder woman then recounted her experience with the era. “I’m a human rights victim from the time of the Marcoses,” Lourdes Victoriano says in Filipino. “I was part of a group of protesters… I was part of the Urban Poor Association. I was detained, and I was raped.”

These survivors described their experiences with detainment, rape, beatings, and torture. This video, and the comments beneath it, readily exhibited how quick and easy it was to put on rose-colored glasses and look back at the era as a time of progress, peace, and prosperity despite the data and the narratives that state otherwise.

Multiple stories of torture and abuse during martial law have been told, and the fact that a great number of Filipinos still reject the notion that the administration brought upon only terror and quiet bloodshed is truly disquieting. Maybe to individuals who lived a life of luxury and privilege, the Marcos era existed in their favor; on the other hand, those who chose not to fall for empty promises of safety and security were those who witnessed first-hand the outright abuse of power. This absolute power that Marcos gave himself as dictator granted him and the military the capacity to prevent and terminate any and all acts of subversion or rebellion by use of any means possible. The mere sentiment of insurgence warranted an arrest, as anyone who spoke out against the government would disturb the supposed peace, a blemish on the façade of iron-fisted reign.

If anything, the name Liliosa Hilao will forever be engraved in my head as a Filipino student, writer, and activist who penned essays and articles against the death of democracy in the Philippines. Because of her sense of justice and defiance, Liliosa was taken captive by soldiers and was beaten, raped, and tortured one of the first victims of martial law. Additionally, protesters, activists and their family members were also subjected to various torture methods that ensured their silence and the silence of anybody else who dared criticize the government. Treatment of political prisoners ranged from beatings, electrocution, and Russian roulette, to the infamous San Juanico Bridge torture and being made to sit naked on blocks of ice. With such numerous and detailed accounts of inhumane and unjust enforcement of martial law, one would think that more people were aware of and against the way the country was run. Unfortunately, to many elderly and youth alike discipline meant quiet, but sometimes, as Twenty One Pilots said, quiet is violent. Behind this blissful ignorance lies suffering and bloodshed.

I can only imagine a world in which questioning the government could cost people their lives. Back then, a 21-year-old student named Archimedes Trajano questioned presidential daughter Imee Marcos about her abilities to lead the Kabataan Barangay youth organization in a press conference during martial law. Trajano also posed a query about her father’s involvement in the numerous human rights violations. Weeks later, he was found bloodied, beaten, and tortured on the streets of Manila and for what?

“I can only imagine a world in which questioning the government could cost people their lives.”

Even today, we students are still afraid to ask about martial law for fear of getting reprimanded for challenging authority. In a world of such diversity in thinking and perspective, oppression is the biggest hindrance to progress as a society. I am, myself, an advocate of being socially and politically aware, and what that entails is learning learning from history, from people, gaining knowledge from a source and developing ideas until you come to a conclusion. As Dan Brown states in his novel The Lost Symbol ̧ “Knowledge is a tool, and like all tools, its impact is in the hands of the user.” Debate and discourse stem from given facts, so access to freedom of speech and freedom of information drives society forward. So what happens when truth, knowledge, and information are made purposely inaccessible to members of society?

Silence was a command given to the media as well, with Marcos ordering the shutdown of major media outlets and independent journalism alike following the speculation that mass media engaged in propaganda and subversive activities linked with the Progressive movement. Information no longer circulated from these sources, and “truth” belonged only to the dictator and his right hand men. Now, if I were a dictator wishing to pacify my citizens, my main course of action would be to spread manufactured truth or, simply put, lies so placing the source of information in my hands would count for a cold, calculated move that would wipe away any and all traces of freedom and democracy left in the country.

“Knowledge is a tool, and like all tools, its impact is in the hands of the user.”

When I first encountered martial law in Social Studies class, the one thing that stuck to me was the knowledge that journalists and writers involved with activism composed a good number of detainees during the period. Being an aspiring writer myself, I then can’t help but to imagine what my life would be like if I did not have the freedom to express my opinions that if I even breathed a word against the dictatorship, the price could be my life. I could not do what I loved to do for fear of the police taking me away. I am a new generation writer and truth-seeker and I am lucky to even have the opportunities that so many martial law-era kids never had, and I intend to make the most of them. Speaking up about current issues is important to me, so ignorance is something I cannot tolerate. I detest false information or “fake news”, and I will strive to find truth, always.

The youth now deserve to know and understand that forty-five years ago, the Philippines was plunged into the Dark Ages, and in turn, for nine years, many of our fellow Filipinos suffered in silence, despair, injustice, and disregard for human rights. We cannot go through something like that ever again and I refuse to let thousands of people’s stories of struggle and fighting for freedom be for naught. It is this thought that was fundamental in my decision to, without hesitation, join the Humanities and Social Sciences strand for senior high school. I want to be able to learn more about history, humanity and the darkness that may trap us in its clutches, as well as how to shine a light against it.

“Being an aspiring writer myself, I then can’t help but to imagine what my life would be like if I did not have the freedom to express my opinions that if I even breathed a word against the dictatorship, the price could be my life. I could not do what I loved to do for fear of the police taking me away.”

Although, the times we live in today do breathe hope into the world anew in various forms of media that shape and influence thinking. A staunch user myself, I can definitely say that social media has granted me the opportunity to read about people’s stories and experiences, and learn from them, which is more than I can say about ignorant individuals who presume violation of human rights is in any way justifiable which is extremely relevant at this point in time, what with the infamous war on drugs that the current administration has been pursuing for over a year. This war on drugs is now almost synonymous to the extrajudicial killings that involve both police and Duterte supporters, and is uncannily mirroring Marcos’ time as dictator. Youth being killed without due process have ignited a flame of anger and disgust in Filipinos nationwide; and moreover, cases like Kian delos Santos’s have truly presented signs of power abuse by the administration. And if that is not enough, a House Representative meeting last September ended with a motion to grant the Commission on Human Rights a budget of one thousand pesos for 2018. As I’ve said, the history of the Philippines is built on struggle, and the notion that our own current government thinks so little of Filipinos’ human rights brings about a sense of foreboding similar to when one hears the words “…president declares Martial Law”.

I have tried my best to write about relevant issues, and lately my topic of choice has been the eerie similarities between then and now: martial law, and extrajudicial killings and the current administration, incorporating them into pieces I enter in contests, pieces I write for my blog, school projects, and even just tweets or any other social media posts. I strive to make as many people as I can be aware of the dangers of abuse of power or otherwise. Having the freedom to even write this without the repercussion of death-by-administration is a gift given to me by those who suffered in chains, those who fought against tyranny, and those who refused to keep silent in times of crisis. It is a gift that I will be utilizing for the rest of my life, and I have a long way to go, but right now, I am a student and a writer determined to stand for freedom, awareness, and humanity because, as the College Editors Guild of the Philippines’ motto states, “to write is always to choose”.

Nica Glorioso is a highschool student from The Seed Montessori School – Quezon City. She is a finalist in the Martial Law Museum Awards Essay Category.

The martial law museum awards is a nationwide competition for high school students that aims to promote the value of remembering our history as a nation during martial law and engage the youth in creative responses through literature and the arts., related articles, martial law museum.

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An Essay on Female Martial Law Victims

I chose three women as the rightful subjects of this paper: one that was not supposed to die just because democracy was dead, a heroine that possessed the blood of the revolutionaries, and a woman who lived on to see democracy restored and presently threatened. As I believe it is my duty here to briefly tell their story, I ask the reader to please accept my humble sentences as homage and as a contrast to the works of these three women that changed the nation.

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Home — Essay Samples — Government & Politics — Philippine Government — Ferdinand Marcos as a Leader: Impact of Martial Law on Philippines

Ferdinand Marcos as a Leader: Impact of Martial Law on Philippines

• Categories: Leader Philippine Government Philippines

About this sample

Words: 693 |

Published: Aug 31, 2023

Words: 693 | Pages: 2 | 4 min read

Table of contents

Introduction, ferdinand marcos: golden era illusion, dark legacy of ferdinand marcos as a leader.

• Amnesty International. (1982). 'The Philippines: Torture in the Marcos Era.' Retrieved from https://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/ASA35/001/1982/en.
• World Bank Data. (1980s). Retrieved from World Bank database.
• National Historical Commission of the Philippines. (n.d.). 'The Martial Law Years.' Retrieved from https://www.nhcp.gov.ph/resources/online-resources/martial-law-years/.

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Marcos, F. (2018). Ferdinand Marcos Sr. Biography. The Famous People. https://www.counterpunch.org/2015/09/11/blood-debt-in-the-philippines-from-marcos-to-aquino/

Mijares, Primitivo. 'The Conjugal Dictatorship of Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos.' Bookmark, 1976

Timberman, D. C. (1991). A Changeless Land: Continuity and Change in Philippine Politics. Southeast Asia Program, Cornell University Press.

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No justice, no closure, say victims on 50th anniversary of Martial Law

Various groups staged protest actions on Wednesday to mark the 50th anniversary of the 1972 Martial Law declaration by the late President Ferdinand Marcos Sr.

According to JP Soriano’s report on “24 Oras,” among the protesters were survivors of Martial Law and youth groups.

Photos of desaparecidos or those who have disappeared and remained missing were displayed as reminders of families' continuous search for their loved ones.

“Walang closure kung walang justice. Hindi pwedeng sabihing kalimutan na natin and let’s move one. We can only move on if there are some kind of justice, there is a kind of apology,” Lutgardo Barbo, a martial law victim said.

Several young people, who were not yet born during the period, were also in attendance during the rally, saying this was their way of learning history.

“Napakahalaga po ng history ngayon. Sinasabi nga po natin those who don’t know the history are bound to repeat it. It means that tayo mga kabataan ay obligado tayong matuto mula sa ating history na dapat ay hindi natin inuulit ang nangyari noon,” a youth said.

Bernardo Chica, 74, who was imprisoned during martial law, said his participation in the commemoration was not about President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

“Kasalanan ng ama, hindi kasalanan ng anak yan, hindi. Pero dapat gunitain pa rin ang [martial law] tapos maging mapagbantay, eh paano kung gayahin ng anak ang ginawa ng ama?” he said.

The group held protest activities in Plaza Miranda, Mendiola, People Power Monument in EDSA, Cebu City, and Bohol.

Another "nightmare"

Other survivors of alleged Martial Law abuses said that “it feels like they are in another nightmare.”

In a statement, the Samahan ng mga Ex-Detainees Laban sa Detensyon at Aresto (SELDA) said that they are “living testament” to the atrocities during the Martial Law years.

“We are among those who endured and survived to tell our gruesome tales under martial law and to pass the torch of struggle of those who sacrificed their lives to fight for our basic rights and freedoms,” SELDA said.

“While our physical scars may have already healed years ago, our trauma and pain brought by such dark times remain. And now, with the return of the Marcoses in Malacañang and the absence of justice for those whom they had victimized over the years, it feels like we are walking into another nightmare,” it added.

The Movement Against Tyranny (MAT) said that they “vehemently disagree to move on” from the “horrors of martial law” since there was no “truth and justice”, while “impunity continues to reign” in the country.

“Until justice is rendered, we can never move on. Until the billions of their ill-gotten wealth are returned by the Marcoses, we can never move on. Until they have paid their taxes, we can never move on. Until the convicted Imelda Marcos is jailed for her crimes, we can never move on. Until the Marcoses acknowledge the evils of their parents’ conjugal dictatorship and vow never to repeat them, we can never move on,” MAT said.

“As long as human rights and civil liberties are trampled upon with impunity by those in power like it were still martial law, we can never move on. As long as governments remain subservient to foreign dictates and collude in the plunder of our patrimony and economy, we can never move on,” it added.

Fare nears P20, but not rice

For its part, youth group Anakbayan said that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has continued the legacy of his father “as more Filipinos are driven into poverty and hunger due to the skyrocketing prices of basic commodities.”

“Walang pinag-iba si Marcos Jr. sa kaniyang ama. Pangako niyang gawing bente pesos ang bigas, bakit ang pamasahe ang malapit na maging bente?” Anakbayan chairperson Jeann Miranda said.

“Pareho ang prayoridad ng mag-ama 50 taon man ang pagitan, magpayaman. Iniwan nilang namumutla ang labi ng mga Pilipino, habang nagniningning sa sebo ang labi nilang matakaw sa pondo ng mamamayan.” Miranda added.

The Campaign Against the Return of Marcoses and Martial Law (CARMMA) said that they would continue seeking justice for the victims of martial law human rights violations.

CARMMA stressed that those who witnessed martial law “shiver at the parallelisms between news headlines then, and the headlines today.”

“Rising prices of gas and basic commodities, food supply shortages and a rapidly declining Philippine peso, are in the news every night,” the group said.

“And as if the country was brought back in time, today, bigwigs rush through the streets of Manila with armed escorts, opposition leaders are being pushed out of the political arena and red-tagging of critics and dissenters is thriving once again,” it continued.

CARMMA added, “fifty years after military rule swept through the country, our fists remain clenched and raised, our voices cry out for justice, our hearts burst with grief and anger recalling the atrocities committed against the people under the guise of keeping the peace.”

De Lima and Pangilinan

Former Senator Leila De Lima called on Filipinos to safeguard and defend democracy as well as to resist any “attempt to distort the truth.”

“Sa paggunita ng ika-50 anibersaryo ng Martial Law, nawa’y lagi po nating isapuso ang malalim at lubos na kahalagahan ng demokrasya, hustisya at karapatang pantao,” De Lima said.

“Limang dekada man ang lumipas, patuloy natin itong gugunitain para tayo at ang susunod na henerasyon ay hindi makalimot, para hindi ito matabunan at mabura ng mga pinapakalat na fake news at disinformation, at lalong-lalo na, para hindi na maulit pang muli ang madilim na kabanatang ito sa ating kasaysayan,” she continued.

Former Senator Francis Pangilinan said that he was only nine years old when martial law was declared in 1972.

Pangilinan said he grew up under a propaganda that “Bagong Lipunan” was good for the country.

“At naniwala naman kami. Akala ko pinakamaganda na ang Pilipinas sa usapin ng progreso dahil ‘yun ang sinabi paulit-ulit ng diktador, at kontrolado nila ang lahat ng media,” the former Senator said.

“Pero unti-unti akong namulat sa katotohanan, lalo na noong araw na pinatay si Ninoy Aquino: August 21, 1983. Nabasag ‘yung aking pagtingin. Ang imahe o ang ideya ko ng diktadurya at ang Bagong Lipunan na nasa aking isip ay gumuho nang paslangin si Ninoy,” he added.

While studying at University of the Philippines, Pangilinan said he saw how the Marcos Sr.’ s administration “covered up the truths.”

“Kaya ito po ang ating karanasan bilang isang martial law baby: Namulat ako sa liwanag ng katotohanan nang maunawaan ang dilim at lagim ng pang-aapi at pang-aabuso ng isang diktador,” he said.

Right of state to protect itself

Senator Imee Marcos said Martial Law served a purpose of protecting the country against communist rebels

"Musmos pa lang ako nung una kong narinig sa ama ko yung Martial Law dahil ang sabi niya ang pinakatanyag na gumamit nito ay yung president ng Amerika, si Abraham Lincoln," she said in an earlier news conference.

"Kung may karapatan ka bilang tao na ipagtanggol ang sarili mo kung may aatake sayo, gugulpi sayo, nais patayin ka, may karapatan din ang pamahalaan, ang estado ipagtanggol ang sarili niya sa mga naghahasik ng gulo, sa mga rebelde na nais bumagsak ang pamahalaan, sa mga susupil na mga dayuhan sa lahat ng pamamaraang ito, may gamit ang martial law at yan ay ginamit ilang beses na sa Amerika man at sa ibang bansa," the senator added.

Marcos signed Proclamation No. 1081 on September 21, 1972, placing the Philippines under Martial Law.

According to data from the Human Rights Victims’ Memorial Commission, more than 11,103 victims suffered from violations of human rights.

A total of 2,326 victims of enforced disappearance were recorded. —LDF, GMA News

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What to Know About the Trial Donald Trump Faces in Manhattan

Prosecutors accused Mr. Trump of falsifying business records to cover up a sex scandal. It is the first criminal trial of a former president.

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By Ben Protess ,  Kate Christobek and Jonah E. Bromwich

Follow our live coverage of Trump’s hush money trial in Manhattan.

Donald J. Trump is now on trial in Manhattan — the first former U.S. president to be criminally prosecuted.

Opening arguments in the trial are set for Monday, following a week of jury selection that whittled hundreds of prospective jurors to a panel of seven men and five women. The trial, which is expected to last about six weeks, will oscillate between salacious testimony on sex scandals and granular detail about corporate documents.

Mr. Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in the first degree, all tied to the former president’s role in a hush-money payment to a porn star, Stormy Daniels.

But that payoff is not the only such deal that prosecutors plan to highlight. The prosecutors, from the Manhattan district attorney’s office, have accused Mr. Trump of orchestrating a broader scheme to influence the 2016 presidential election by directing his allies to purchase damaging stories about him to keep them under wraps.

It is the first of Mr. Trump’s four criminal cases to go to trial — and it could be the only one to do so before Election Day.

Mr. Trump, who is again the presumptive Republican nominee for president, has denied all wrongdoing. He also assailed the district attorney, Alvin L. Bragg, for bringing the charges, accusing him of carrying out a politically motivated witch hunt. And he has attacked the judge, Juan M. Merchan.

Here are answers to some key questions about the trial.

Will the trial be televised?

No. There will be no audio or video broadcast of the trial available, though cameras will be stationed in the hallway outside the courtroom to capture Mr. Trump’s remarks going in and out of the trial.

Court will generally be in session every weekday except Wednesdays, from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

What is Mr. Trump accused of?

The charges trace back to a $130,000 hush-money payment that Mr. Trump’s fixer, Michael D. Cohen, made to Ms. Daniels in the final days of the 2016 campaign. The payment, which Mr. Cohen said he had made at Mr. Trump’s direction, suppressed her story of a sexual liaison that she said she had with Mr. Trump.

Paying hush money is not always illegal.

The Donald Trump Indictment, Annotated

The indictment unveiled in April 2023 centers on a hush-money deal with a porn star, but a related document alleges a broader scheme to protect Donald J. Trump’s 2016 campaign.

But while serving as the commander in chief, Mr. Trump reimbursed Mr. Cohen, and the way he did so constituted fraud, prosecutors say.

In internal records, Mr. Trump’s company classified the repayment to Mr. Cohen as legal expenses, citing a retainer agreement. Yet there were no such expenses, the prosecutors say, and the retainer agreement was fictional too.

Those records underpin the 34 counts of falsifying business records: 11 counts involve the checks, 11 center on monthly invoices Mr. Cohen submitted to the company, and 12 involve entries in the general ledger for Mr. Trump’s trust.

Why did prosecutors cite other hush-money payments?

Mr. Bragg’s office linked Mr. Trump to three hush-money deals. While Mr. Trump is indicted only in connection with the business records related to Ms. Daniels, the prosecutors most likely mentioned the other deals to begin the work of proving that Mr. Trump intended to conceal a second crime.

In addition to the indictment, the prosecutors filed a so-called statement of facts that referenced the other payoffs.

That document, common in complex white-collar cases, provides something of a road map for what the prosecutors could reveal at trial. And based on evidence presented to the grand jury, the document details the two hush-money deals involving The National Enquirer, which has longstanding ties to Mr. Trump.

The first involved the tabloid’s payment of $30,000 to a former Trump Tower doorman who claimed to know that Mr. Trump had fathered a child out of wedlock. The publication later determined that the claim was untrue.

The National Enquirer also made a payment to Karen McDougal, Playboy’s Playmate of the Year in 1998, who wanted to sell her story of an affair with Mr. Trump during the 2016 campaign. She reached a $150,000 agreement with the tabloid, which bought the rights to her story to suppress it — a practice known as “catch and kill.”

The deals suggest that the payment to Ms. Daniels was not an isolated incident but rather part of a broader strategy to influence the 2016 election.

Why is it a felony to falsify records?

Falsifying business records in New York State can be a misdemeanor. But it can be elevated to a felony if prosecutors prove that the records were falsified to conceal another crime.

In this case, there are three potential additional crimes that Mr. Bragg has accused Mr. Trump of concealing: a federal campaign finance violation, a state election-law crime and tax fraud.

The campaign crimes, prosecutors say, involve the hush-money payoffs to Ms. Daniels and Ms. McDougal. The payments, they argue, were illegal donations to Mr. Trump’s campaign.

The potential tax fraud stems from the way in which Mr. Cohen was reimbursed for his payment to Ms. Daniels.

Do prosecutors need to convict Mr. Trump of the other crimes?

No. Prosecutors do not have to charge Mr. Trump with any secondary crime or prove that he committed it.

They still must show, however, that there was intent to “commit or conceal” a second crime.

What do we know about the jury?

Because of concerns about the privacy and safety of the jury, the judge restricted the release of identifying information. The panel includes seven men and five women from neighborhoods around the city. Some are middle-aged, and some are young.

Six alternates were also selected and will listen to the testimony in case one of the seated jurors drops out.

The jury was drawn from a pool of residents of Manhattan, where Mr. Trump is deeply unpopular, and during jury selection, dozens of prospective jurors were excused because they said they could not be impartial in deciding a case involving the polarizing former president. Several others were dismissed because of critical social media posts about Mr. Trump.

But the 18 New Yorkers who were selected each pledged to be impartial and decide the case based on the facts. And two of them, during the jury selection process, expressed some affection for the former president.

Who will the witnesses be?

Mr. Cohen is expected to be a crucial witness for the prosecution. His testimony could take days.

Mr. Bragg’s prosecutors are also expected to call David Pecker, the former publisher of the National Enquirer, as well as Hope Hicks, a former campaign and White House aide to Mr. Trump, to shed light on the tumultuous period surrounding the hush-money payments.

Ms. Daniels and Ms. McDougal could be witnesses as well.

Who Are Key Players in the Trump Manhattan Criminal Trial?

The first criminal trial of former President Donald J. Trump is underway. Take a closer look at central figures related to the case.

What will the defense do?

The defense will most likely try to paint Mr. Cohen as a Trump-hating liar, noting that he and the former president had a falling-out years ago. Mr. Trump’s lawyers are expected to emphasize that Mr. Cohen pleaded guilty to a variety of federal crimes in 2018 — including for his role in the hush-money payment.

Much of Mr. Cohen’s testimony is expected to be corroborated by other witnesses, but he might be the only one who can directly tie Mr. Trump to the false business records, a potential weakness of the case that Mr. Trump’s lawyers could seek to exploit.

Whether Mr. Trump’s lawyers will call any witnesses is unclear, but Mr. Trump has said he plans to take the stand in his own defense.

Will Trump attend the trial?

Nothing is ever certain with Mr. Trump, but he is currently expected to attend much of the trial, and he attended each day during jury selection. To be absent, he would need to seek a waiver from the judge. Mr. Trump has already indicated a potential conflict — his youngest son’s high school graduation in May — though it is unclear whether the judge will pause the trial that day or excuse him from attending.

When Mr. Trump is there, it will create a host of security and logistical issues around the Lower Manhattan courthouse. In addition to the U.S. Secret Service protecting Mr. Trump, there will be a heavy police presence outside the building, as protesters and counterprotesters could fill the streets.

Who is the judge?

Justice Merchan is a veteran judge known as a no-nonsense, drama-averse jurist. This case is already testing his patience.

Since the Manhattan district attorney charged Mr. Trump last year, the former president has used campaign emails, social media and repetitive legal filings to attack the judge’s integrity and family. Recently, the former president demanded for a second time that Justice Merchan step aside , citing his daughter’s position at a Democratic consulting firm that worked for the 2020 Biden campaign.

The judge, who denied that request on Monday, has also issued a gag order to protect prosecutors, witnesses and his own family from Mr. Trump’s vitriol. And yet the former president has continued to post articles with pictures of the justice’s daughter.

During the trial, Justice Merchan will be in charge of keeping order in the courtroom and ruling on objections made by prosecutors and Mr. Trump’s lawyers. The jury will ultimately decide whether Mr. Trump is guilty.

What is the maximum sentence if Mr. Trump is convicted?

The charges against Mr. Trump are all Class E felonies, the lowest category of felonies in New York. Each count carries a maximum prison sentence of four years. Justice Merchan has made it clear that he takes white-collar crime seriously and could throw Mr. Trump behind bars. It’s likely, however, that Justice Merchan would impose a concurrent sentence — under which Mr. Trump would serve all prison time simultaneously — if the former president were convicted of more than one count.

And nothing in the law requires Justice Merchan to imprison Mr. Trump if he’s convicted by a jury. The judge could instead sentence him to probation.

Can Trump appeal?

Yes, if he is convicted, Mr. Trump will appeal, a process that could take months or longer.

Mr. Trump could first take the case to the Appellate Division in Manhattan, and, ultimately seek review from the state’s highest court, the Court of Appeals in Albany. In other words, any appeal is unlikely to be resolved before Election Day. And he would most likely remain free at least until it is resolved.

Ben Protess is an investigative reporter at The Times, writing about public corruption. He has been covering the various criminal investigations into former President Trump and his allies. More about Ben Protess

Kate Christobek is a reporter covering the civil and criminal cases against former president Donald J. Trump for The Times. More about Kate Christobek

Jonah E. Bromwich covers criminal justice in New York, with a focus on the Manhattan district attorney’s office and state criminal courts in Manhattan. More about Jonah E. Bromwich

Our Coverage of the Trump Hush-Money Trial

News and Analysis

Manhattan prosecutors delivered a raw recounting of Donald Trump’s seamy past  as they debuted their case  against him, reducing the former president to a co-conspirator in a plot to cover up three sex scandals that threatened his 2016 election win. Here are five takeaways .

Trump has assembled a team of defense lawyers with extensive experience representing people charged with white-collar crimes to defend him. Here’s a look at his defense team .

With support from demonstrators in Lower Manhattan spotty so far, Donald Trump issued a call to “rally behind MAGA,”  and suggested the poor turnout was a result of a plot against his supporters.

More on Trump’s Legal Troubles

Key Inquiries: Trump faces several investigations  at both the state and the federal levels, into matters related to his business and political careers.

Case Tracker:  Keep track of the developments in the criminal cases  involving the former president.

What if Trump Is Convicted?: Could he go to prison ? And will any of the proceedings hinder Trump’s presidential campaign? Here is what we know , and what we don’t know .

Trump on Trial Newsletter: Sign up here  to get the latest news and analysis  on the cases in New York, Florida, Georgia and Washington, D.C.