September journey
Born two years after Martial Law was declared, I did not directly witness how Ferdinand Marcos carried out his plan as outlined by his authoritarian declaration to my country and countrymen. That was Sept. 21, 1972 and many young Filipinos of that time will never forget their journey on that September month as a result of martial law.
Twelve years later though, its significance gradually dawned to my consciousness like small pieces of puzzle coming together and completing the picture. I had heard stories from family regarding friends who disappeared. The circumstances point out that they were silenced by government authorities for the reason that they were anti-government.
One family friend, an amiable man who played with me on times he slept over in our house, was later found on a ditch with his throat slashed. Let me call him Rene. Rene was in fact missing for several days before he was killed. According to whispered talks, Rene was heavily tortured, eventually killed, and dumped somewhere nearby his boarding house. At first, there were no willing takers of his body for funeral parlors were adamant. His case was no ordinary and not a result of usual street crime. Rene was deliberately killed by the people whose names alone command fear.
Though friendly to almost everybody in the community, I was surprised when I visited the funeral parlor that nobody came to his wake. His body was wrapped in an old barong assumingly donated by somebody. His slashed throat was covered with a cloth and his face hardly recognizable. At a glance, one would say this is not the person I am paying visit here especially if you missed Rene’s name in the entrance.
There were no biscuits, no coffee, no water, or candies that usually characterize the menu to entertain visiting friends paying last respects. Likewise, there were no cards, no mahjong tables, dominos, or other entertaining games set up to raise funds collected from a “tong.”
At such a young age, it puzzled me why Rene – a good man to me and our family and who fought for what is right and for the rights of his fellowmen met such a tragic end. He was a student leader. He can speak fluently in the public, he can write, articulate complex situation, and can explain things and events to someone like me who is not aware of the significance of it. But in a snap, he met his tragic end. If he were alive or was allowed to live, he could have been a valuable leader of our nation.
Yet later on I learned that he was not alone in his wake. Though there were no people in the funeral parlor, an alternative wake was held by his friends and “comrades” in another place. Though it pains them, they could not come near his body. The place was swarmed by government intelligence personnel and by what was then called the Philippine Constabulary. Their visit would mean arrests; their arrests will mean they will be tortured; and their torture will spell death. They will become like Rene.
Indeed his death was no ordinary crime, but rather part of a grand plan – that is, to put to silence forever all who are like him – young people, student leaders, activists, opposition, media practitioners – who are standing against the declaration of martial law and against the state oppression that was brought about by that declaration.
Just like Rene, thousands of young Filipinos of that time sacrificed their personal aspirations and journeyed to death in their fight against state oppression and injustice against the dictatorial rule of Ferdinand Marcos. Many of them have been buried in unmarked graves and the call for justice by their family echoes until today, 24 years after freedom was restored and elite democracy was established in our country.
Last September 21, with pale interest, our nation marked the 38th year of that dreaded martial law declaration. I hope we realize that though we are no longer under martial law, oppression and injustice remain a constant feature in our elite democracy. I hope we continue to learn lessons from the story like Rene’s in our desire to inspire present generation of young Filipinos of what they need to stand for and what they can do for their country.*
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