Lessons of Martial Law ring true today
In a bid to fight historical revisionism, a forum on Martial Law was organized by Tanggol Kasaysayan: Marcos to Marcos, in the Defense of Historical Truth, at the University of the Cordilleras theater on Monday, September 29. The event was highlighted by presentations and discussions on corruption, contemporary political issues, and the Marcos administrations.
Martial law activist and UC chairman, Ray Dean Salvosa, led the discussion of Martial Law in the Cordillera and its national context today.
“We are almost number one up there in the corruption index. So that says something about us as a people, as Christians, and as people who care about what happens to our country. We seem to be unable to address this issue in a manner that will be effective enough to eventually put a stop to it,” Salvosa said.
Salvosa survived the Martial Law era and has since become an advocate for human rights and education, stressing that the leaders we choose are crucial to good government. “But the problem seems to be that we never learn from the lessons of the past. And part of it goes down to even the way we elect our leaders. I think one of our biggest failures is the failure to inculcate in our youth, our young students, the idea that this is a shared responsibility.”
The forum was led by Janet Ribaya-Cawiding, Tanggol Kasaysayan coordinator, and aimed to highlight a concerted effort to foster critical discussion and activism around historical and present-day political truths.
Tanggol Kasaysayan, fully known as Alyansa ng Mga Tagapagtanggol ng Kasaysayan, consists of historians, teachers, researchers, students, and history enthusiasts who advocate a nationalist and progressive view of history. The alliance was relaunched in 2019 to “combat the rampant historical revisionism and widespread disinformation by the Marcos camp.”
National Union of Students of the Philippines (NUSP) President Eugene Enciso said, “That era was one of the darkest years in the history of the Philippines and commemorating it saves us from creating the same mistakes of the past. Aside from that, in commemorating the martial law, we learn from our martial law activism—on how they were able to topple tyranny and dictatorship during their times.”
Enciso said remembering events during Martial Law is important because events today are similar to happenings 53 years ago.
The event was attended by students and human rights advocates. By Maria Elena Catajan
