Finally, a book on martial law in Cebu

On Wednesday, September 21 at 2:30 p.m., lawyer and martial law veteran Democrito “Mocring” C. Barcenas will launch the book “Martial Law in Cebu: Stories of Life and Struggle During the Marcos Dictatorship” at the lobby of the Arts and Sciences building in UP Cebu.

The book is a collection of articles from 21 contributing writers, edited and published by Sir Mocring who is former Cebu chapter president and my fellow member and esteemed mentor at the Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG). “This Memoire is a priceless collection of the various first-hand accounts of Cebuanos who experienced arrests, detentions, torture and all forms of harassments perpetrated by the minions of Ferdinand Marcos,” Barcenas writes.

“Some wounds may have been healed but the scars remain. We owe it to our children and to future generations to write about the horrors of the Marcos dictatorship in the hope that people will learn the lessons of the past and avoid the same tragedy in the future.

“The nation will commemorate the 50th anniversary of martial law on September 21, 2022. It is appropriate, therefore, that this Memoire will be launched in September 2022, in time for the historical event.”

The book is over 240 pages and is divided into three parts: Part 1: Despair and Hope, Part 2: Awakening and Struggle, and Part 3: Remembering. National Artist for Literature Resil Mojares graces the book in the foreword. In Part 1 (Despair and Hope), Don Pagusara writes “Martial Law: Pandayan sa Rebolusyonaryong Kaigmat”. Retired judge Meinrado Paredes writes “A Dark Chapter in Our History” and “The Essential Truths”, while Barcenas pens “Martial Law and Remembrance”.

In Part 2 (Awakening and Struggle), retired judge Kit Enriquez recalls his experience during martial law in “A Horrible Experience”, while UP Cebu Journalism professor Mayette Q. Tabada writes “Press Behind Bars: Journalists Remember Martial Law”. “The Day the Soldiers Came” by Atty. Lourdes Unabia Barcenas recalls the time when soldiers came to arrest her husband Mocring on September 23, 1972.

Other write-ups include “Keeping One’s Humanity” by Ester C. Isberto, “Remembering the Horrors of the Marcos Dictatorship” by Fr. Amado L. Picardal, CSsR, “Remembering the Marcos Dictatorship” by former Cebu City administrator and DILG undersecretary Francisco “Bimbo” Fernandez, “The Horrors of Martial Law” by Atty. Democrito C. Barcenas, “The Day My Night Turns Black” by Bernabe “Bobby” Morales, and “A Short, Meaningful Life” by Earl G. Parreno.

Before his death in July this year, veteran Cebuano journalist Emmanuel “Anol” Mongaya was able to submit his contribution to the book in a piece entitled “Struggle for Human Rights”, reflecting the voice of young activists who fought against the Marcos dictatorship during its later years. Another young activist during that time and now veteran Cebuano journalist Candido “Bong” Wenceslao writes “From the Campus to the Countryside”.

FLAG’s pivotal role during martial rule is written by Barcenas in “Flagging Human Rights Violations: FLAG and Martial Law”. He also writes a piece about desaparecido priest Rudy Romano in “Fr. Rudy Romano: A Martyr and Hero”.

There many other writers with equally compelling pieces about martial law in Cebu that I failed to mention here due to lack of space. You have to find out for yourself by getting hold of a copy of the book that Barcenas dedicates to all the victims of the Marcos martial law and to his children and grandchildren and future generations, “in the hope that they will continue the struggle for justice, human rights and human liberty so that their future will be better than our past.”