For Journal Critic Purposes – Special Exam
NU LIPA
To young Filipinos who never knew
martial law and dictatorship
By: Benjamin Pimentel - @inquirerdotnet
03:04 PM September 12, 2012
SAN FRANCISCO — You’ve been hearing a
lot about the date – September 21, 1972 —
and the event — the day martial law was
imposed on our country, the day the Marcos
dictatorship was born.
That was 40 years ago.
This may not mean much to you who grew
up after the nightmare finally ended, after
Filipinos rallied to oust one of the most
despicable leaders in world history. You’ve
probably heard about him. If you travel north,
you might even see his corpse in a glass
case. You might also see remnants of a giant
bust carved on the side of a mountain.
You know how shameless Filipino politicians
show off by putting up big posters with their
photos in public places? Well, try to imagine
living under a leader who actually thought
that he was so great he should have his face
carved on a gigantic rock for all to see.
Think about it.
Someone blew up that bust many years ago
— which is really a shame. It was hideous,
but still, it could have served as a reminder
of what we went through. What your parents
and grandparents went through under
Ferdinand Marcos? You probably heard
about the debates on whether he should be
buried with our other heroes at the Libingan
ng mga Bayani. You probably heard his son,
now a senator, defending his record,
claiming that had Marcos not been
overthrown, the country would have turned
into another Singapore.
It’s a bizarre claim. And I never get tired of
pointing this out: Bongbong is essentially
arguing that the Philippines would have
become another Singapore, known as one of
the least corrupt nations in the world, under
a president considered one of the most
corrupt leaders in history. (Google “most
corrupt leaders” and you’ll understand why
Bongbong is bonkers.)
You’ve probably also heard the dictator’s
supporters remember those years as the
good ‘ol days. The country was more
peaceful, and people were happier, they’d
say.
You know what, in some ways, they were
right.
I was eight years old when martial law was
declared, and I remember being so happy
that day. Classes were suspended, and
there was nothing to watch on TV but
cartoons.
Our neighbors and even my parents were
glad to see an end to the student
demonstrations. People were lining up to
ride a jeepney. To some, it certainly looked
like an entirely different country.
And it was.
 For Journal Critic Purposes – Special Exam
NU LIPA
But these were not the changes that most
people, especially the middle class, thought
were actually taking place.
For in those early months and years, middle
class and upper class families welcomed
Marcos’s version of “peace and order,” the
orderly queues and the empty streets where
activists once voiced their opposition to
corruption and injustice. But behind the
scenes, unknown to many, the stealing, the
torture, the killing had begun.
It had grown quiet all of sudden, because
those who had the guts to speak out had
been silenced. Imprisoned. Tortured. Co-
opted. Murdered. Actually, back then, the
term Marcos’s goons used was “salvage.”
Yes, salvage, as in “to save” or “to rescue.”
For that was how Marcos and his allies
imposed “peace and order.” They saved the
regime’s critics and opponents – by killing
them. Later on, even the phrase “peace and
order” morphed into a sick joke. My father
enjoyed telling it.
“Peace and order? Ah, that actually means,
‘I want a piece of this. I want a piece of that.
And that’s an order.’”
Remember that the next time you hear of
Imelda’s jewels or shoes, of news about
some mansion or bank account linked to the
Marcoses.
Then there’s the argument that goes like
this: ‘What was the point of getting rid of
Marcos? Look at how there’s still so much
corruption and injustice in Philippine society
after all these years.’
Good point.
But one thing you need to remember, and
perhaps we need to remind ourselves about
this too, those of us who joined the uprising
to get rid of Marcos — We didn’t march
thinking we would suddenly live in paradise.
We didn’t face riot police and the security
forces thinking that the country’s problems–
the corruption, the poverty, the abuse of
power — would suddenly disappear.
We joined the fight to get rid of a tyrant. And
guess what – we won. And you won.
I know it’s hard to believe, especially given
all the news of corruption and abuse and of
people dying and disappearing.
But trust me: it was much, much worse back
then. It was a much scarier, more violent
time, when even the mildest criticism of
government, of Marcos, of Imelda, could
land you in jail or even get you killed.
Look at it this way. Some of you don’t like the
current president. And you probably even
joined the fad of Noynoying, making fun of
the guy, calling him all sorts of names. You
know what would have happened to you if
you had tried a stunt like that during the
Marcos years?
Marcos’s allies want you to forget that. They
want you to see the long struggle against
dictatorship, and the uprising that finally
brought it down as wasted effort.
 For Journal Critic Purposes – Special Exam
NU LIPA
Which is really an absurd view if you think think they have all the answers and must
about it. It’s like telling our heroes and those therefore have all the power.
who waged past struggles in our history that They’ll present themselves as the nation’s
everything that happened, everything they saviors based on twisted claims. Some
did was a waste. would point to their military discipline and
experience. Others would claim to have the
It’s like telling Jose Rizal, “You know those correct political line base on historical truths.
novels and essays and poems you wrote, Some would claim to have god on their side.
including that last one you composed shortly Don’t trust the liars and the bullies.
before you were shot to death by the Democracy can be messy and chaotic. But
Spaniards, all that was a waste of time. For the alternatives are even messier. They
look at how messed up the country is right create a false, deceptive sense of “peace
now.” and order.”

It’s like telling my own father, “Papa, joining

the guerrillas was a stupid idea, given how
the country whose freedom you defended
against the Japanese has turned out.”
Fighting Marcos was worth it. For we took on
a bully and we won.

This is not to downplay or dismiss the

problems the country faces today.
And you should speak out about them. You
should complain and protest. You should
demand that things should be better, and
you should go out there to try to make them
better. It is perfectly all right for you to march,
to picket and even to go Noynoying.
Just don’t believe those who say it was much
better before.

You’ll hear it from Marcos’s old allies.

You’ll hear it from those who simply don’t like
democracy, who find it inconvenient
because it keeps them from acquiring more
wealth and more power.
You’ll hear from those who just can’t stand
ideas they don’t agree with, who arrogantly