The golden era, as they call it, wasn't in the first place; but rotten to the core, the darkest consequence of their choice, this is only a glimpse of what Marcos did when he implemented Martial Law in the Philippines.
As the common apologist kept saying up until now, “Masarap buhay naming noong panahon niya, Wala kang alam hindi ka pa naman buhay noon, Mura ang bilihin namin noon, payapa at disciplinado ang buhay noon”.
Today in history, in the year 1972, the late President Ferdinand E. Marcos signed Proclamation Number 1081 placing the Philippines under Martial Law. It ended on January 17, 1981. But nightmares of the past still haunt the present.
In a report taken in Amnesty International during Martial Law, there are 34,000 documented tortures, 70,000 imprisonments, 77 recorded disappearances, and 3,240 extrajudicial killings. If your parents, grandparents, close one or even you yourself lived a peaceful and abundant life during that dark era. That is you. But these people who were unjustly imprisoned, died, and tortured can never find justice if we keep denying what happened in the past and allowing these people to change our history.
The late dictator’s atrocities also extend to our economy. Marcos and his cronies (most notable persons according to martiallawmuseum.ph: Juan Ponce Enrile, Danding Conjuanco, Roberto Benedicto, etc..,) amassed wealth through plundering, overpriced establishments, embezzlements, and corruption when the Filipino people could not even meet their ends. Even at the peak of growth of the economy during his administration under Martial Law, the Philippine GDP could only grow by at least 6.1%, while the neighbouring ASEAN country peaked at 8.1% and right after his exile, he left the Filipinos with an astonishing debt of ₱ 28 Billion leaving the economy crippled and continuing to the future generation.
If that era is truly worth remembering, the current administration led by the late dictator’s son, BongBong Marcos Jr. would not have made such a blunder move by changing “Diktadurang Marcos” to “Diktadura”.
This was confirmed by Jocelyn Andaya, Director of DepEd’s Bureau of Curriculum and Development after it was reviewed by DepEd’s different bureaus. She also expressed: “If you look at the curriculum, you will see that the way lessons are presented is not particular on any person but on the historical events, in other words, we just organized the curriculum guide”. Additionally - She denied the claims that there was political pressure involved. “It’s purely an academic discussion,” she said.
However, it is clear that there’s an intention for historical revisionism with regard to his name.
We, as the Filipino people, must remain vigilant toward our government's actions. We must uphold the principles of democracy and demand transparency holding our leaders accountable in whatever they do, may it be humanitarian rights or our coffers.
As we commemorate the 51st anniversary of the declaration of Martial Law, we owe this freedom we are living to those who have died and been tortured to death during that dark past and to future generations hoping they may ensure that such things may never happen again. May we also remember and uphold their courage to stand for what is right, speak of what they believe and fight every injustice that we see.
Written by: Thomas Tuason
Added Words by: Michael Agang
Layout by: John Miel Dacanay
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