September 21 , 1972 is a dark period in our people ’ s history when the dictator Ferdinand Marcos placed the whole Philippines under martial law with his Proclamation No . 1081 . He started a reign of terror against his own citizens whom he had sworn to protect and defend . Hundreds of thousands of men and women , from all sectors of society , political opponents and activists who were critical and resisted the government were arrested and detained , tortured , abducted and forcibly disappeared . Whole villages and communities suffered from strategic hamlettings , imposition of food blockades , bombings and militarization . The government , the military and police , and its paramilitary units ruled with impunity , backed up by the courts and other agencies of the state . With martial law , Marcos was also able to extend his rule beyond the constitutional two-term limit as President ( 1965-1969 , 1969-1972 ) until he was overthrown by the people ’ s uprising that culminated at EDSA in 1986 .

It is unfortunate that the younger generation seems not to know , or know enough of this period in our people ’ s history ( or our people ’ s history period ). There could be several reasons for this ignorance or gap in our collective political memory -- the failure of schools and teachers , the legacy of fear and terror , the attempts

to rewrite history from the side of the Marcos family and the status quo , and the traditional and social media ’ s dishing out of myths , lies and distortions of history .

It is hard to listen to compatriots who revere Marcos as a saint and go on to defend martial rule , extol the virtues of martial law ( citing “ peace and order ”, curfew , concrete edifices ), praise his use of the iron hand , and to simply ignore the horrors and human rights violations that plagued those dark years . The impact of the martial law years and the ideology of fascism are carried over by the post-Marcos governments . The struggle of the victims of human rights violations to demand justice and indemnification continue and are deeply felt even now .

I find this thinking that martial law was good for the people troubling and I find it difficult to be calm about it . Why ? Because I grew up under this dictatorship , it was my generation who lived , studied and worked in the Philippines . I witnessed it . Martial law was not just a theoretical and academic construct . It was real . Marcos , the architect of martial law , also made it very personal – when the military arrested , tortured and detained my husband in 1982 , I took that against Marcos and his minions personally . His mother became politicized , like many mothers of political prisoners . Together ,

my mother-in-law and I marched with other families in many rallies and carried our placards and banners , picketed in front of the Supreme Court , stormed the offices of the military and the office of National Defense to demand the release of her son , my husband and that of the other political prisoners . My mother-in-law ’ s fierce love for her son extended to other political prisoners and their families and she became a passionate advocate for human rights .

I know full well the ugly face of martial law . From among the many people who were arrested and detained , killed and salvaged during those years , are people I know or have met . One of them was my best friend in UP , she was arrested , tortured and detained in Nueva Ecija in 1981 . As a human rights worker , I have also met mothers whose young sons and daughters h a v e disappeared for many years but they still remember and hope . In 1983 , I sat across the table with Juan Escandor ’ s family after their son ’ s

body was exhumated and autopsied

only to grieve a thousand

times over to learn that their son suffered terribly before he died and that his captors had desecrated his body as well . One female cultural activist who was “ salvaged ” by the military in Mauban , Quezon in 1976 especially inspired me with her rendition of Amado V . Hernandez ’ s poem “ Kung Tuyo Na ang Luha Mo , Aking Bayan ” in many premartial law performances .

It is also troubling when threats of martial law from President Duterte are announced and circulated , and more recently when the declaration of the “ state of lawlessness ” was declared after the Davao bombing . We have already seen close up the horrors of martial rule . Martial rule and

whatever transformations it takes under different governments must be questioned , critiqued and resisted . The extrajudicial

killings in the Duterte government campaign

against illegal drugs should be stopped and should be resisted .

Never again . Never forget . We must continue to be vigilant and critical . We must continue to organize and demand the meaningful change that we want , as communities , as overseas Filipinos , for the Philippines .

We must continue to remember and honour the many men and women , especially those who lived and died in defiance of the repressive Marcos regime . Never forget . Continue to fight .

Never forget . I named my child “ Leah ” to honour friend and activist Leah Masajo who was pregnant when she was “ salvaged ” by the military . She was buried in a common grave and there are no crosses or flowers to mark her resting place . But Leah is not forgotten .