‘Martial law victims must speak up’

MANILA, Philippines – Malacañang has urged victims of martial law to speak up to make young people cherish the freedoms they now enjoy.

Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda yesterday told reporters that the return of the Marcoses to power makes more relevant the stories about martial law and how people should learn from the past.

On Feb. 25, the country celebrates the 30th anniversary of the EDSA People Power Revolution that ousted Ferdinand Marcos and installed President Aquino’s mother, Corazon, to the presidency.

In this year’s elections, Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is running for vice president, while his mother, former first lady Imelda Marcos is seeking her third and last term as Ilocos Norte representative.

His sister, Imee Marcos, also filed her candidacy for Ilocos Norte governor for her third and final term. 

Quoting French philosopher Alexis de Tocqueville, Lacierda said “that which you obtained freely, you considered cheap. There’s a paraphrase to that… Those who underwent the difficult periods of martial law cherish those freedoms.”

Lacierda said the EDSA Revolution could not be considered a failure just because the Marcoses were able to make a political comeback but rather a sign of a continuing battle.

 “Now that the election is here, now that Senator Bongbong Marcos is here and the specter of dictatorship is coming back again, we certainly need to speak up against the dictatorship,” he said.

Asked whether Marcos Jr. should carry the burden of being a dictator’s son, Lacierda said: “He has not made any action which would convince us otherwise… the basic statement that the apple does not fall far from the tree? He has not acknowledged the sins of the past.

 “He has not acknowledged the sins of his father. He has not acknowledged the corruption of his father. He has, in fact, glorified the dark days of martial law… How do we now say that he is different from the father when his actuations, his statements have not made any (distinction).”   

Lacierda stressed it was incumbent on everyone, especially those who lived during those years, to ensure that the “dark days” of martial law would not come back and “haunt us.”

 “Far from it. This is a period of human rights violations, human rights abuses; our economy went down. At some point, it went down, but towards the end because of cronyism – rampant cronyism – our economy was in the dumps,” he said.

 “There are a number of people who have experienced during that time – including I – who felt that this is a good time to recall those years. EDSA was a period where the whole people, the whole country just rose up in defiance of a dictator.” 

Lacierda said those who never experienced human rights violations and martial law in general would tend to not appreciate the same kind of disappointment over those years. 

“We need to remind the people… on a very regular basis,” he said.

Lacierda said Aquino, whose family became victims of martial law, had stated that the Marcoses should apologize for it.

The EDSA revolution and the country’s restored democracy were also not about one family or person alone, he added. 

Lacierda said Aquino’s parents were considered democracy icons because the first EDSA revolution occurred three years after his father, Benigno Jr. was assassinated in 1983 after years of fighting the dictatorship, while his mother continued the fight   of her husband by running for president. 

“The legacy of EDSA must be carried by all of us, all of us who value freedom, all of us who fought against the dictatorship,” he said. “That’s a legacy… that should be carried by all freedom-loving people.”