“The folk will never forget.”
(A message for the 50th year of commemorating
Martial Law in the Philippines)
By Kat Ulrike
Despite messages urging people to move on, this attempt to belittle memory is a mockery of one’s desire for justice and freedom, especially in this 50th year of commemoration.
For whether it was dubbed as “constitutional authoritarianism” to that of “revolution from the center”, Martial Law will always be remembered as that of failed promises and bloodied truths, of false pride and impunity all in the name of discipline and “development” that is, appeasing foreign masters, banksters, and the cronies.
That by claiming that the country was facing an “oligarch-led coup”, a “communist rebellion” and a “Moro separatist movement”, Marcos sr’s thesis of “constitutional authoritarianism”, coupled with the trend of authoritarianism in Asian countries (Indonesia under Soeharto, South Korea under Park Chung Hee), and the provisions of the 1935 constitution as the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces, Martial Law, despite its “achievements”, was a narrow justification to establish a civilian-military dictatorship, whose real aim was to monopolize political power, suppress all forms of dissent and opposition, and camouflage their reign of plunder and corruption.
Its apologists, as in the past, will try their “best” to justify Martial Law as the golden age- that the “revolution from the center”
meant a showcase of infrastructure development to that of the nutribun and imported milk in a time people had to queue in lines for a mixed corn-rice. One cannot forget how Marcos, claiming to be “liberal”, used Martial Law to counter a Jacobin threat- only to unravel its truths that fan the flames of resistance for nationalism and democracy. True that the infrastructures brought by the regime did benefit, but, these were not motivated by improving peoples lives- let alone seeing a regime and its apologists bragging and justifying political patronage.
Decades after that self-proclaimed “revolution” attempts to silence calls for justice continues- this time by the state that ironically promised to respect human rights and civil liberties. Apologists continue to deny these inconvenient truths if not to justify the atrocities as necessary to stem the tide of subversion even willing to eschew human rights and civil liberties for their distorted view of discipline and order. It is not surprising that with their penchance for Martial Law and its “correct” terms (“Constitutional Authoritarianism”, “Revolution from the Center”) shows being paranoid as tyrants do- fear of a growing knowing populace that’s able to seek truth from facts, and all despite established facts and court decisions, both Philippines and abroad, that Marcos Sr. and his wife, nor any one of his officers, was ever punished for the crimes made in the name of “national security”.
What more to demand the folk to “move on” from the past that shows insisting a country to self-deny this part of history, while at the same time seeing the brutal tactics of Martial Law being applied to suppress the people’s civil and political rights and eliminate all forms of resistance and opposition.
But regardless of these attempts, the folk will never yield. As in the past, those who take the bitter cup of resistance will make various moves to counter that of the establishment’s, as well as that of its apologists who rather mum on the sufferings of many- from widespread unemployment, low wages and salaries, lack of income, landlessness, disenfranchisement, violation of civil liberties, and the likes. With these truths meant for the folk not just to say “never again” and “never forget”, but to “fight on” and “fight back” as it vigorously reject and denounce the abuses of political, economic and military power that continue to this day.