Philippines marks 50th anniversary of martial rule

FILIPINOS should resist attempts to revise history and “sanitize” literature and the arts, a lawmaker said on Wednesday, as the Philippines marked the 50th anniversary of the late dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos’ martial law rule.

“Lamentably, the sins of the dictatorship — the grievous human rights violations, unrestrained cronyism, the plunder of the economy and negative economic growth — are barely taught in educational institutions,” Albay Rep. Edcel C. Lagman said in a privilege speech.

This is despite a law that sought to compensate thousands of victims and mandates education agencies to ensure these atrocities were taught at all school levels, he said.

Mr. Lagman said the advent of troll farms distort the facts learned by the youth about the dictator.

“The widespread proliferation of disinformation and historical distortion paved the way to historical amnesia of the atrocities that occurred during the martial law regime of the late dictator,” Party-list Rep. France L. Castro said in a separate statement.

“This is why it is very important to bring back Philippine History as a separate subject in high school to ensure that the Filipino people do not forget the lessons of the past.”

On Sept. 23, 1972, Mr. Marcos announced on national television that he had placed the Philippines under Martial Law, citing an alleged communist threat.

Proclamation 1081, which was dated two days earlier, abolished Congress and allowed him to consolidate power by extending his term beyond the two allowed by the 1935 constitution.

More than 70,000 people were jailed, about 34,000 were tortured and more than 3,000 people died under martial rule, according to Amnesty International.

“Fifty years constitutes a golden jubilee, a celebration of life for half-a-century, but for the imposition of martial law on Sept. 21, 1972, five decades recalls years of infamy, repression, corruption and economic despoliation,” Mr. Lagman said.

“We will never forget the thousands murdered and imprisoned under the Marcos dictatorship,”

Party-list Rep. Arlene D.

Brosas said in support of

Mr. Lagman. — Matthew

Carl L. Montecillo, Kyle

Aristophere T. Atienza and John Victor D.

Ordoñez