Albay 1st district Rep. Edcel Lagman (left), President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. (Facebook, Speaker’s office)

For Liberal Party (LP) President Albay 1st district Rep. Edcel Lagman, President Marcos' perceived lack of reaction to the 51st anniversary of martial law declaration in the Philippines speaks volumes. 

"The ominous silence from the Office of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on the 51st anniversary of his father’s declaration of martial law is both deafening and revealing," Lagman said in a statement Thursday, Sept. 21. 

"It would appear that President Marcos Jr. refuses to acknowledge the very huge elephant in the room – the avarice-tainted and repression-filled years of his father’s misrule that he and his family continue to deny and refuse to atone for," said the self-styled independent minority congressman. 

Military rule under the late former president Ferdinand Marcos Sr. lasted from 1972 to 1981. Lagmam in a previous statement Wednesday, Sept. 20, described the period as "the darkest era" in the nation's history. 

The Bicolano lamented that, these days, "state-sanctioned narratives on the 'golden era' of martial law flourish in both traditional media and online sites". 

"Historical revisionism and negationism have even creeped into our schools with the Department of Education’s (DepEd) September 2023 memorandum mandating the change from 'Dikdaturang Marcos (Marcos Dictatorship)' plain 'Diktadura (Dictatorship)' in the Araling Panlipunan (Social Studies) syllabus of Grade 6 students," added the former House minority leader.
 
"We cannot alter historical facts. We have a civic duty to be faithful to the truth and promote a culture of remembrance," noted Lagman. 

"There can be no forgiveness without remorse and repentance from the surviving martial law implementers, perpetrators, and beneficiaries," he insisted.