Martial Law Memories
By Marlet D. Salazar
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 07:16:00 11/23/2008
MANILA, Philippines - It remains one of the darkest periods in Philippine history, but one that few of the call center generation remembers, or probably even cares to know about.
Fortunately, there’s the Bantayog Museum, a part of the Bantayog Memorial Center in Quezon City, a part that recalls the perils, anguish and torment of martial rule. The museum focuses on the rise and fall of the authoritarian regime that began with the declaration of martial law by then President Ferdinand Marcos in 1972.
Bantayog Museum chair Carolina “Bobbie†Malay described the artifacts in the museum as “a powerful way for young people to know what martial law was like and what it has done to the country, and very importantly, to realize the heroic struggles of their fellow Filipinos.â€
Susan Macabuag, a museum volunteer who was also an anti-Marcos activist, was probably talking from experience when she summed up what the permanent exhibit is all about: “It depicts the situation leading up to martial law, the collective and isolated resistance of people from the city and countryside, and finally, the people power that toppled the oppressive regime.â€
As if to underscore her words, Macabuag displayed a copy of The Sunday Times Magazine dated Feb. 22, 1970, whose cover story tells of the gruesome fate of activists, laborers, and students, with pictures of bloodied and wounded demonstrators, the dazed faces of the victims, and the bodies of those who did not survive. Also on exhibit is a copy of The Manila Chronicle, dated Sept. 23, 1972, that was never circulated because by then, martial law had been declared. On its pages are letters of children addressed to Marcos.
The hall of heroes and martyrs, people who died in the struggle against martial rule, is arranged according to their field and discipline: Students/Youth, Professors and Teachers, Farmers, Community Organizers, Women Activists, The Religious, Journalists and Artists, Professionals and Businessmen, and Public Servants. Most of them are not even mentioned in history books; the exhibit makes sure they are no longer faceless and unnamed.
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