#Never again/never forget Martial Law

Why?

Because all of us Filipinos deserve and prefer peace, justice, truth, and freedom in our midst, in our land, always.

Because we want to have a government that is inclusive, transparent, responsive to the needs of our people.

Because we do not want a dictatorial regime that left millions of Filipinos impoverished and forced to pay huge debts they did not incur!

Because we do now want a repeat of the following atrocities/abuses during the Marcos’ Martial Law regime: (from inquirer.net)

“Primary victims of human rights violations (107,240), people arrested mostly arbitrarily without arrest warrants (70,000), people tortured (34,000), killed by the military/police (3,240), closed media outlets (484), $883 million (worth of Marcos’ assets in various Swiss banks declared as ill-gotten wealth by a July 2003 Supreme Court ruling), $5-10 billion estimated alleged ill-gotten wealth plundered by the Marcoses during two decades in Malacañang.”

For historical documentation, from multimedia reports yesterday, September 21, 2023, let us put on record the heartening fact there is clear evidence of a critical mass of Filipinos throughout the Philippines who continue to remember not to forget Martial Law.

Thousands of Filipinos lent their voices at the #neveragain rallies held in Metro Manila, in Cebu, Iloilo, Kalibo, Naga, Legazpi, Davao and Cotabato.

At EDSA Shrine, retired Catholic bishops Deogracias Iniguez Jr. of Kalookan and Antonio Tobias of Novaliches led a mass with prayers for the victims of martial law and “that this darkest period in our history may never be repeated!”

Liberal Party president Rep. Edcel Lagman messaged that “Filipinos’ memory of the darkest era in Philippine history must be perpetuated to repel any attempt of repetition.” He also emphasized that “we celebrate anniversaries not only to commemorate past achievements but also to condemn past horrors.”

University of the Philippines President Angelo Jimenez, in a circular, encouraged the UP community “to participate in activities to remember the atrocities and suppression of freedom during martial law, to honk their car horns and use any materials to make noise throughout the campus to demonstrate that the University will continue to be a bulwark of academic freedom and human rights in the light of attempts at historical revisionism and red-tagging to suppress dissent.”

Highlights from the statement of faculty members/ staff of the University of the Philippines Department of Political Science noted: “It is our duty to recall what others wish to forget and distort, as well as to remain vigilant against new forms of authoritarianism that assail Philippine democracy today.

The Marcos dictatorship stole our democracy’s most prized possessions: free speech, freedom of assembly, and popular sovereignty. Without public transparency and accountability, the Marcos family and cronies stole from the public coffers in the most egregious case of plunder this country has witnessed, leaving the economy in ruins.

The violence of martial law was truly a lived experience for some. Violence also had a chilling effect on the university, silencing dissent and crushing academic freedom.

We commemorate 50 years since our freedoms were taken from us so that we can collectively recall the horror of seeing our democracy die, and help younger generations understand why we abhor dictatorship and strongman rule.

This is crucial in today’s polarizing political environment in which President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and institutions of the state are distorting the truth about martial law. We protest the deliberate denial that Marcos Sr. was a dictator. It is our duty as scholars to remind the Filipino people of the unvarnished truth.

We remain committed to providing instruction, conducting research, and rendering public service that defends our democratic institutions, collective memory, and social justice.

We will always remember. We will never forget.”

#NEVER AGAIN/NEVER FORGET MARTIAL LAW posts were also noted in social media.