THE TASK Force Detainees of the Philippines mounted an exhibit at the Tan Yan Kee Student Center last Sept. 19 to 23, marking the 44th anniversary of the Martial Law.
Seven panels told the stories of Martial Law victims, and narratives from different periods of the Marcos dictatorship beginning with the 1970 First Quarter Storm that led to the declaration of military rule.
Martial Law documentaries and the viral video “Millennials meet Martial Law victims,” produced last May by the Campaign Against the Return of the Marcos to Malacañang, were also shown to students.
“I’ve always known po that (Martial Law) was a bad thing but reading, seeing it and watching it gave me a fresh sense of why we’re against this,” Communication Arts junior Jane Marie Cruz said.
Cruz said she had always been aware of human rights violations during Martial Law due to her upbringing in a family that had anti-Marcos political sentiments.
“I don’t want it to happen again and I still question why there are some people who are for this,” she said.
Third-year psychology student Mariah Diane de Vera said her views on Martial Law contrasted with others in her family.
“Sinasabi [ng mga magulang ko na] nung time nila Marcos, parang ‘yung economy daw ng Philippines, nag-grow daw,” she said.
“I believe na ‘yung pag-grow ng economy is hindi dapat siya mag-equal sa tortures na nangyayari,” said de Vera, adding that her opinions on Martial Law were rooted in what she learned in high school.
Kevin Delfin, a fourth-year electrical engineering student, said he was impressed with movements against historical revisionism.
“Sana maparating ito hindi lang dito [sa UST], kung hindi sa lahat,” he said.
