Remembering the disappeared

Have we truly recovered from the atrocities our country had faced under the Marcos regime? More than 40 years had already passed—does time really mend all damaged souls after being incapacitated by the outlaws?

Photo grabbed from CCP's website

The Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) aims to capture the Filipino audience with the ideals of freedom and human rights as they present “Pista Rizalina: A Festival of Arts and Ideas” on September 8-24, under the direction of Guelan Luarca and Chris Millado.

“It was the last year’s decision of burying Marcos in the Libingan ng mga Bayani which created a lot of discussion and controversy,” Chris Millado, the vice president of CCP, shared his motivation in crafting the Pista Rizalina in an exclusive interview with Dapitan Post.

Millado further mentioned that the project will serve as an instrument to bring back the stories of the atrocities.

"We thought it was time to bring back the stories, especially of people who underwent repression, so that the generation of today [will] engage with these issues and see if these issues continue to prevail today,” he added.

The festival is termed after Rizalina Ilagan, one of the young protesters during the Martial Law era of late President-Dictator Ferdinand Marcos, who dauntlessly stood against formidable odds under the said fascist dictatorship. She and two other activists were forcibly abducted by the military operatives on July 31, 1977, and are still nowhere to be found up to this day.

In remembrance of Rizalina and the long line of martial law victims, the festival honors young people who fought for freedom and justice and suffered from great agony under the regime of Marcos.

The Pista Rizalina will also include the film screenings of Pisay by Aureaus Solito; Sigma by Joel Lamangan; Dekada ‘70 by Chito Roño; Sister Estella L. by Mike De Leon; and screening of notable GMA documentaries, namely Busal, Alaala, and Ilaw ng Marawi.