By: Herkurt Tamba and Aljim Kudarat
As much as laws provide a framework to regulate human behavior, man himself still has the power to yield or to resist, hence transforming the functions of society. Just as in times of civil unrest, nations often grapple with the heavy dilemma of imposing martial law to restore order and safeguard the well-being of their citizens, this is also the same ground where the intentions of those in authority wield it for purposes beyond the protection of citizens. Relatively, the experience of the Philippines during the iron ruling—silencing of media outlets, extrajudicial killings, and freedom repression—serves as a prime illustration of how individuals in positions of authority painted martial law red, thereby tarnishing something originally neutral and turning it into a negative force.
As we commemorate the inglorious past of Philippine history at the hands of the dictatorial regime, we should also shed light on the emerging deceptive agenda that recurringly dims the frailty of the administration. In the data provided by the Human Rights Violations Victims’ Memorial Commission, the Philippines recorded 11,103 people who were tortured and abused during the martial law period. And before the ousting of Marcos Sr., between 1972 and 1986, there were 2,326 killings and disappearances.
Perhaps this speaks of the accustomed narrative that martial law has become over the years—the default reference to the era of the late Ferdinand Marcos Sr. The imposition of martial law becomes so feared that it loses its essence because of the dreadful events of yesterday. Hence, the prevalent social condition reshapes the ideas that people have believed in, just like how historical distortionists try to reinforce a consensus to soft-pedal the horror that transpired during those dire years.
In congruence, here lies the adage "power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." According to the World Bank and the UN Office on Drugs and Crimes, Marcos looted between $5 billion and $10 billion from the country's treasury during his longest term as dictator. The corruption was so heinous that it earned the appellation of "The Greatest Robbery of a Government" from Guinness World Records," a title never competed upon. The misery of the corrupt practices as manifestations of the power overreach can easily turn martial law into a political toll rather than a tool.
Moreover, 51 years in fatuity Filipinos were barraged to succumb to the fallacy that Martial Law was the "Golden Age" of the Philippines, yielding misleading remarks that the Philippine economy was booming and even regarded as a time of "when life is easier" based on a 2016 New York Times article. However, in the late eighties, the Philippines dramatically catapulted into its worst postwar recession or economic downturn, resulting in a GDP shrinkage of a whopping 7.3% for two consecutive years, 1984 and 1985. The same notes appear in the current administration as it faces pecuniary complications from debt swelling almost 14 trillion pesos at the end of January 2023 to the rapid upswing of the inflation rate, hitting 8.7% in the same month—a déjà vu in the making. Indeed, it is a pure reflection of the past that heralds a great implication for the present, but this time, history has already bypassed the nation, repeating itself slowly over time.
To keep the record straight, historical distortion must have no chance to vanquish or corrupt the minds of Filipinos now that it is explicitly presented and prompted by the administration. Recently, DepEd has moved to change "Diktadurang Marcos" to mere "Diktadura" in the Grade 6 Araling Panlipunan curriculum, provoking Vladimer Quetua, chairperson of ACT, to comment that the alteration is a disservice to the innumerable victims of his regime as well as a disrespect to historical reality and truth. Retrospectively, the late dictator ordered the closure of privately owned media outlets, curtailed civil liberties, and suppressed dissent during Martial Law. This is a clear and blatant manifestation of whitewashing and humanizing the sins of the past, as this circumstance depicts that when accounts are held high, exposing the truth would handicap those who are in power.
All these years, we have painted martial law red, just as we blame the wrong victim. The issue lies not in the concept of martial law itself, for it is not the provision of the law that is inherently bad, but rather in the potential for misuse and overreach by those entrusted with its enforcement.
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