Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 21) – On the 47th anniversary of the declaration of Martial Law in the country, Vice President Maria Leonor ‘Leni’ Robredo urged Filipinos to stand up for democracy amid the return of human rights violators, autocrats and plunderers.
“Ngayong araw, matapos ang higit apat na dekada, nahaharap tayo sa isang panibagong hamon: ang mga taong yumurak sa ating mga karapatan, tinapakan ang ating kalayaan, at nagnakaw sa kaban ng bayan ay nagbabalik sa kapangyarihan. Pinipilit nilang baluktutin ang katotohanan nang walang kahit anong bahid ng hiya at pagsisisi, para sa pansarili nilang kapakanan,” Robredo said in a statement on Saturday.
[Translation: Today, after four decades, we are facing a new challenge: people who have abused our human rights, trampled on our freedom and looted the country’s coffers are coming back to power. They are trying to bend the truth, without any sense of propriety and remorse, to advance their personal interests.]
The Vice President asked Filipinos who have not experienced Martial Law to remember those who have suffered at the hands of the “abusive and oppressive” regime of Ferdinand Marcos. The country was under martial law from September 21, 1972 to January 17, 1981.
Around 70,000 people were imprisoned, 30,000 tortured, more than 3,000 killed, and hundreds disappeared, Robredo said, citing data from international human rights group Amnesty International.
Robredo stressed that these victims are more than statistics, adding that they are real people with real stories.
“Ang iba sa kanila, mga bayaning nagpasyang tumindig sa kamay na bakal, kahit na buhay pa nila ang kapalit. Ang iba, ordinaryong mamamayan na nagsikap lamang manahimik at mabuhay nang payapa sa gitna ng pang-aapi ng diktadurya, ngunit naging biktima pa rin ng mga kampon ng isang administrasyong lasing sa kapangyarihan,” the government official said.
[Some of them were heroes who chose to stand against the iron fist at the expense of their own lives. Others were ordinary people who tried to remain silent and live peacefully amid the abuses of the dictatorship, but still became victims of an administration that is drunk with power. ]
Robredo called on everyone to be instruments of truth and justice, as she noted the culture of silence and apathy in the country.
She said no public official is more powerful than the people who elected him or her, and that people must make sure there is no place in a free country for any dictator.
“Sama-sama tayong titindig nang taas-noo at sasabihin: Hindi natin hahayaang umiral muli ang kadiliman sa ating bayan. Hindi dito, hindi ngayon, at hindi kailanman,” she said.
[Translation: Let’s all stand tall together and say: We are not allowing darkness to engulf our country again. Not here, not now and not ever.]
President Rodrigo Duterte has repeatedly asked Congress to extend martial law in Mindanao, citing insurgency. The current extension will last until December this year. He originally declared martial law in 2017 due to the siege of Marawi, which killed more than 160 soldiers and police officers. In August this year, following the spate of killings in Negros, he ordered the deployment of more police and military personnel to Samar, Negros Oriental, Negros Occidental and the Bicol Region.
In 2016, he declared a “state of national emergency on account of lawless violence” in Mindanao after a blast in a night market in Davao City killed 14 people.
