21/09/2025
๐๐๐๐ง๐ข๐ฅ๐๐๐ | ๐๐๐ ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ฉ
When the sun has set and the sky has turned dark, the cold eerie breeze of September 21 is set to remind us of the night etched in our nation's history. ๐ ๐น๐ผ๐ป๐ด ๐ป๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ, ๐๐ถ๐น๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ, ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฎ๐ป๐ด๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฃ๐ต๐ถ๐น๐ถ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ.
On September 21, 1972, Ferdinand Marcos Sr. signed Proclamation No.1081, placing the country under a state of martial law. He claimed that it was to suppress communist rebellion and restore order. In reality, it was a tool to extend his power beyond constitutional limits.
Overnight, Congress was padlocked, newspapers and radio stations were shut down, and political opponents were arrested. Military checkpoints, curfews, and censorship became part of daily life.
The Human Rights Victims' Claims Board has officially recognized 11,103 individuals as victims of human rights violation during the Martial Law period. Yet this number does not include the thousands more who remain silenced and unheard of. Student activists, journalists, and ordinary citizens suffered from the violence, their voices erased but their struggles never forgotten.
Beyond human suffering, the nation also experienced economic decline. Marcos and his cronies amassed wealth while the government's foreign debt ballooned from $600 million to over $6 billion between 1970 and 1980. Poverty deepened, corruption thrived, and the promise of "discipline and progress" was exposed as an illusion.
Despite the terror, the people's spirit of resistance endured. This courage paved the way for the historic EDSA People Power Revolution of February 22-25, 1986, where over two million Filipinos gathered on Epifanio de los Santos Avenue. This led to the fall of dictatorship, forcing the Marcos family into exile, restoring the democracy of the nation.
More than five decades later, we look back to not only remember the fear but to honor the resilience of those who fought for freedom. Martial Law has taught us that liberty, once taken for granted, can be stolen overnight.
๐ง๐ผ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ด๐ฒ๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ธ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ต๐ถ๐๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐. ๐ง๐ผ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐บ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ด๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ผ๐บ ๐๐ฒ ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐ต๐ผ๐น๐ฑ.
In the age when disinformation seeks to romanticize dictatorship and erase its crimes, vigilance is our duty.
๐ช๐ฒ ๐ต๐ผ๐ป๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐ท๐๐๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐๐, ๐ฏ๐๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฝ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ฏ๐ถ๐น๐ถ๐๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐โ๐๐ผ ๐๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ธ ๐๐ฟ๐๐๐ต, ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ผ๐บ, ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐น๐ผ๐ป๐ด ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ธ ๐ป๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ ๐๐ถ๐น๐น ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฟ๐๐น๐ฒ ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐น๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐ด๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป.
Pubmat | Karyl Daza
