It has been 48 years yet the horrors of martial law still haunt many Filipinos to this day. Deaths and disappearances of family members or friends have scarred people who cannot forget.
Former President Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law on September 21, 1972. For 14 years, people in the Philippines lived under martial law, and according to the history books, they lived with conditions that people born in the 90s and 2000s have not experienced at all. These include the nightly curfew, media censorship, the ban on mass activities and protest, and the suspension of civil and political rights.
Has the public's view on that dark chapter of Philippine history changed? We talked to three college students in their early 20s from a university in Manila, and a development communications specialist on their thoughts on that period in Philippine history.
A better future
To Communications student Aeron Pantig, given the capability of this generation to search for information, it is inevitable that they encounter contradictory information on what actually happened during martial law.
He said he believes that the youth, ”the hope of the nation,” has the duty to understand martial law so they can change the present and create a better future.
"What happened in September 1972 gives the youth the responsibility to always fight for press freedom, academic freedom, human rights, and prevent historical revisionism," he said.
The situation when “the Marcos Administration was feared during that time should remind us that the Filipino government is the government of the people, by the people, and for the people," he added.
Important lesson
Maureen Basa, editor-in-chief of a student organization publication, said martial law was clearly a period of social unrest that people should learn from.
"I see it as a period of social unrest, of an array of human rights violations, and of corruption disguised as a move to combat rebellion. At the same time, it is a lesson for the present and future generations to ponder on," she said.
Maureen said she first learned about that period of martial law in elementary school. She said textbooks labeled Ferdinand Marcos as a dictator who declared martial law in the Philippines.
Family also played a role in how Maureen viewed martial law. Maureen said that growing up, she would hear stories from her father that it was the military who abused this power, but not Marcos. But her perspective changed the more she heard stories about the said period.
"I am convinced that Martial Law is a painful memory to many Filipinos," she said.
Change of heart
Communications student Rebecca Dabalos admitted that she used to be a fan of the late dictator because of the stories she heard from her father who she described as a "Marcos apologist.”
She said her teacher in elementary school even described martial law as the "Golden Age" since people were disciplined and there was good infrastructure, a strong economy, and she said we had the respect of other countries.
She said she even defended Marcos to critics by saying that those who were punished during martial law "deserved" it.
But this changed when she entered senior high school.
"One of my professors discussed in class what really happened during the Marcos regime. I was curious and researched about it — and I found out that history said he was not a hero but a dictator," Rebecca said.
From school to research, Rebecca, the fan, became Rebecca, the critic. Her thoughts on martial law changed. She observed that that Marcos used infrastructure to build the myth that the Philippines was a rising nation in Asia and to cover up for stories on human rights violations, torture, attacking press freedom, injustice, cronyism, and ill-gotten wealth.
She said martial law has no room in a democratic country like the Philippines.
"The only cause of martial law is the systematic implementation of injustice and the oppression of our people, and it should not exist in a free and democratic country," Rebecca said.
The intention was good
Meanwhile, to DevCom specialist Hero Hernandez, father of three, martial law, if implemented properly on its purest intention, is good.
“To an ordinary family like mine, we benefitted directly from some of its programs. But the bigger picture---the many cases of abuse, the silencing of dissenting opinions, made it one of the darkest periods in our history," he said.
Hero said his father was a Marcos supporter. He said his father used to tell stories about the Kadiwa Store where he worked, how it brought down prices of basic goods and agriculture products.
"That's my early recollection about martial law. The concept of my father being proud of his work in the Kadiwa Store,” he said.
He said his knowledge about martial law is also limited because he was born in 1985. He started seeing the other side of martial law when he was exposed to movies and books about the said period.
"At first, I cannot comprehend the full story on martial law. Even in elementary, limited lang ang references and lessons sa school (we had limited references and lessons about it in school). Not until I started watching movies like "Eskapo" or reading books about EDSA People Power Revolt," Hero said.
"I started seeing the other side of martial law," he added.
A 25-year-old journalism teacher we interviewed, whose knowledge on martial law only came from history books, films and conversations with those who lived in that era, had this to say about that period in our history:
“It is important to understand what happened during the martial law period so that we can continue to protect our freedoms and rights and prevent history from repeating itself.”