As the nation on Monday commemorated the 48th martial law anniversary, Vice President Leni Robredo called on the Filipino people to reject lies during the dark chapter of dictatorship.
The Vice President said it is high time that the people remember the past when martial law was proclaimed in 1972.
“In a time when divisiveness is the norm and the gaps in society continue to widen, it is essential that we strive to find more spaces of commonality. We do this not only by looking forward to a shared horizon, where our shared dreams may come to fruition, but equally importantly, by looking back,” she said in a statement.
“We do this by telling our stories, and by asserting the truths that bind us together as one people, with one history. Maraming pinahirapan, naglaho, at pinatay noong Martial Law; lumobo ang utang ng bayan na binabayaran natin hanggang sa ngayon; lumalim at lumawak ang kahirapan. Dinurog ang mga institusyong haligi ng lipunan. Naging bahagi ng diwa ng pamamahala ang korupsyon at pang-aabuso,” she added.
She said “those truths know no political color but come starkly in the black and white of our lived experience as a nation.”
“Walang debate dito; nangyari ito. And those who attempt to tell us otherwise are not only merely telling a supposed version of the story: They are lying to our faces, stealing our truths from us, stealing our stories. Because without these truths and stories, we will be further divided, at mas madaling magtatagumpay ang mga pagtatangkang abusuhin muli tayo,” she said.
“Our task is to push back against these lies at every instant, to tell the stories of Martial Law and dictatorship over and over so
that this generation, and the ones that come after, may be bound tighter through remembering. To hold firm to the truth of this painful chapter of our history, and through this, forge the determination to never again let our people fall into such despair. We must do this because, ultimately, our national aspirations can only be as strong asour national memory,” she said.
She urged Filipinos to rise up so that they will never forget the past.
As this developed, human rights advocates and several militant groups on Monday went to the Bantayog ng mga Bayani to honor the “heroes and martyrs” to mark the 48th anniversary of President Ferdinand Marcos’ declaration of Martial Law in September 21, 1972.
Members of rights group Karapatan offered flowers at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani.
“The Marcos dictatorship was an era of brazen disregard of people’s rights and civil liberties when democratic institutions became mere rubber stamps for authoritarian rule,” Karapatan said in a statement.
The group also slammed “blatant efforts to undermine historical facts, the narratives of the victims and survivors of the dictatorship, and to establish another fascist rule under Rodrigo Duterte.”
The group accused Duterte of using the COVID-19 pandemic to establish “what can only be described as a de facto martial law” by appointing former military and police generals to key government positions.
“Duterte is visibly desperate in tightening his grip on power as his last two years loom ahead,” it said.
The group also criticized the deployment of police and military forces in communities to enforce quarantine protocols as it allegedly resulted in human rights violations.