Victims urge Millennials to fight against Martial Law threats

Martial Law victims shared their stories of sufferings to remind millennials of the horrific situations that could happen, urging them to prevent and continue to fight against the Martial Law threats in the country.

(Levy Balgos Dela Cruz,sharing stories of sufferings during the Martial Law era at a talk held at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani ng Pilipinas. Photo by Mildred Mira, Dapitan Post)

Levy Balgos Dela Cruz, a Martial Law victim who was tortured and imprisoned in Camp Olivas in Pampanga for two years, shared torture stories of different Martial Law victims so the millennials will “never forget” the horrors of Martial Law.

“It’s throwback time mga millennials, mga apo ko na ito. Buhay pa kami, ito lang ang magagawa namin--isalin ang kasaysayan ng buhay namin noong panahon ng Martial Law para mapanghawakan at hindi n’yo na maranasan ulit ‘yun,” he said.

(Hilda Narciso encourages youth to continue their fight against the threat of Martial Law in a forum held at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani ng mga Pilipinas. Photo by Mildred Mira, Dapitan Post)

Hilda Narciso, a torture survivor of the Martial Law era and an educator emphasized that only millennials could respond to the threats of Martial Law in the country.

“Hindi na kami magtatagal sa mundong ito, at kayo yung susunod na henerasyon na pwede n’yong ipagpatuloy. Isipin n’yo, ngayon palang, sinasabi na namin sa ‘inyo, ito ‘yung karanasan namin. Ito ‘yung nangyari,” she said.

She further explained that millennials should be critical thinkers to free themselves of textbook-information which falsely depicts the Marcos Regime.

“‘Wag ‘kang pakulong, lumaya ka. Palayain mo ang isip mo, upang malaman mo ang katotohanan at ‘wag na sanang maulit ang nangyari noong Martial Law. Ayoko ring mangyari ‘yun sa ‘inyo, ‘yung naranasan namin,” she said.

‘Stop sharing fake news’

Narciso warned millennials about sharing unverified information from the internet especially during this time of the proliferation of fake news and trolls.

“... [‘W]ag tayong masyadong nagtitiwala sa isang information na nakukuha ninyo sa mga trolls o sa internet o sa ano ‘man. Kasi may tendency na babaguhin ng Marcoses ang ang ating history,” she said.

Before she started her talk, she listed several documentaries found on YouTube to give the millennials an imagery of the Martial Law under the former President Ferdinand Marcos.

“Our voices, our stories, our retention” is a video documentary that tells the stories of torture victims nationwide during the Martial Law era.

“So Why Samar?” is a video documentary about the people who were subjected to human rights violation during the Martial Law era.

“Palimbang massacre” is a video documentary that shows the sufferings of the Morongs when they were imprisoned, tortured and killed in their Mosque during the Martial Law era.

Unchanging history

Narciso explained why some people believed that the Martial Law was “better for the country.”

She cited the proliferation of infrastructures during the Marcos regime as a reason why people praised Marcos.

She contradicted this, saying Marcos was only doing his job as the President of the country and that these infrastructures resulted to the large debt that the Philippines would have to pay until 2025.

“Etong sabi ‘kong infrastructures na ginagawa ng gobyerno, ay dapat lang na sila ang gumawa, ang mga gamit natin sa lipunan ng mga tao,” she said.

She pointed out similarities between what happened during the Martial Law and President Duterte’s “war on drugs.”

“Mayroong ginagawang railway station d’yan, sa may Commonwealth. Sabi ko parang ganun sa Martial Law noon. Habang merong pinapatay, merong ginagawa. Merong pinapakitang magandang gawain kaya doon nakatutok ang mga tao,” she said.

She further explained that the “discipline” and “silence” caused by fear and anger of the people during Martial Law could also be seen at present time.

“Nag-umpisa ng takot. Naramdaman n’yo ba ngayon? Walang nagsasalita masyado sa ating gobyerno? Takot ‘yun. Hindi makapagsalita dahil uupakan ka, anytime pwede kang patayin. Takot. Ganun din ‘nung panahon ng Martial Law. ‘Yun ba ang tahimik at disiplinado?” she said.

“Yung takot na yun. Sa sobra na at sinasabing tama na, wala na kaming pwedeng puntahan kundi lumaban at doon nagkaroon ng EDSA power,” she added.

The activity “Martial Law Noon… at Ngayon?” was a millennial throwback to commemorate the 45th anniversary of the declaration of Martial Law in 1972. It was organized by Balay Rehabilitation Center in partnership with the International Studies Society (ISSOC) of Miriam College and HR Online Philippines and was held at Bantayog ng mga Bayani ng Pilipinas on September 21. MILDRED MIRA