Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 21) — Vice President Leni Robredo, who defeated the former strongman’s son Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr during the 2016 vice presidential elections, on the 48th anniversary of the declaration of martial law on Monday said it is important to look back at history so Filipinos are not fooled by the historical revisionism perpetrated by several groups.
The Marcos clan has been facing accusations of historical revisionism after Bongbong previously called for a revision of educational textbooks that depict “political propaganda” against his father’s over 20-year regime.
The Vice President said that regardless of political color, there is no argument on the scores of human rights atrocities and economic turmoil during the military rule of former strongman Ferdinand Marcos, who was in power for over 20 years.
Marcos, who first took office in December 30, 1965, signed Proclamation No. 1081, placing the Philippines under martial law on September 21, 1972. He made the public announcement two days later. He lifted martial law in 1981 but his one-man rule is said to have effectively continued for 14 years until the “people power” revolt forced him to flee into exile in Hawaii on February 25, 1986, shortly before mobs stormed Malacañang.
“Maraming pinahirapan, naglaho, at pinatay noong Martial Law; lumobo ang utang ng bayan na binabayaran natin hanggang sa ngayon; lumalim at lumawak ang kahirapan. Dinurog ang mga institusyong haligi ng lipunan. Naging bahagi ng diwa ng pamamahala ang korupsyon at pang-aabuso,” she said in a statement.
[Translation: Many were tortured, many disappeared, and many were killed during martial law. Our country’s debts ballooned during this time and we are still paying for it. It bred abuse and corruption in the government.]
“Those who attempt to tell us otherwise are not only merely telling a supposed version of the story: They are lying to our faces, stealing our truths from us, stealing our stories… Our task is to push back against these lies at every instant. To tell the stories of Martial Law and dictatorship over and over,” she added.
Around 70,000 people were imprisoned, 30,000 tortured, more than 3,000 killed, and hundreds disappeared during the martial law era, according to international human rights group Amnesty International.
The national government released funds until December 2019 from the recovered Marcos ill-gotten wealth to human rights victims during Martial Law. Aside from this, the family is accused of plundering billions of dollars from government coffers, including through dummy foundations in Swiss bank accounts.
