It has been 53 years since dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr. declared Martial Law in the Philippines on Sept. 21, 1972, beginning a 20-year rule marked by fear and repression.
The suspension of the writ of habeas corpus during this regime gave rise to desaparecidos (victims of enforced disappearances), or people abducted, detained, or presumed killed by state forces, their fates deliberately concealed.
According to Assoc. Prof. Augusto de Viana of the UST Department of History, these desaparecidos fall into two types: those seized by state agents and never seen again, and those who chose to vanish.
Many of those abducted, often labeled “enemies of the regime” and listed in the military’s “order of battle,” which included journalists, student leaders, and union organizers, were either permanently silenced or never found.
According to the Human Rights Violations Victims’ Memorial Commission, there were 2,326 recorded deaths and disappearances under the dictatorship. Some were Thomasians.
Armando Mendoza
Born and raised in Manila, UST student Armando Mendoza was an active member of Kabataang Makabayan during the protest known as the “First Quarter Storm” in 1970.
His brother, broadcaster Alfredo Mendoza, was also among the desaparecidos.
Following the declaration of Martial Law, Mendoza became a prominent underground organizer. By 1973, he was mobilizing farmers in Batangas on land rights and community issues, drawing the attention of the military.
He was arrested in November 1974, tortured in Sta. Cruz, Laguna, and later transferred to Camp Vicente Lim.
In December 1975, his family was informed that he had died in Lucena, Quezon, alongside three unidentified companions.
The remains of both Armando and Alfredo were never recovered.
Reynante Andal
Political science student Reynante Andal co-founded the Kilusang Kristiyanong Kabataang Pilipino (KKKP), a Christian nationalist group in UST, and also helped form the multisectoral Kapulungan ng Sandigan ng Pilipinas.
He was likewise active in the Samahang Demokratiko ng Kabataan.
In 1971, Andal organized pre-Martial Law strikes through the Samahan ng mga Kabataan sa Ikauunlad ng mga Tsuper. By mid-1972, he dropped out of school to pursue activism full-time.
Two years later, Andal and colleagues went to Pinamalayan, Mindoro.
Soldiers tracked them down and strafed the hut where they were hiding.
Andal was killed at just 21 years old.
Alfredo Cezar
A Pangasinan native and Faculty of Canon Law alumnus, Alfredo Cezar became politically active during his final years at UST and joined the KKKP.
Ordained as a deacon at the start of Martial Law, Cezar organized resistance networks, supported church initiatives, and sheltered activists.
By 1974, he was teaching in Ilocos Sur and aiding tobacco farmers abused by military forces. Soon after, he joined the armed movement under the alias “Ka Darwin.”
Cezar was killed in a dawn raid in 1982 at the age of 34.
Witness accounts say he fought off soldiers to buy time for his fleeing comrades.
Manuel Ontong
UST fine arts graduate Manuel Ontong was an artist-illustrator who wielded his craft against the Marcos regime.
After finishing his degree in the U.S. in 1967, he applied for a scholarship in Australia in 1969. Denied, he attributed it to injustice, which fueled his radicalization.
He worked for the National Museum for two years under a director who grew openly critical of Marcos Sr. ‘s administration.
In 1971, Ontong was detained for a week following the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus because of his activism.
Fulfilling his mother’s wish, he continued producing politically charged art while working as an illustrator at an agricultural research center in Los Baños, Laguna.
In November 1975, Ontong’s family received an anonymous tip that men in civilian clothing had abducted him near the Philippine General Hospital on Taft Avenue, taking him away in a military jeep.
Ontong was never found.
Remembering Martial Law amid deliberate ‘distortion’
More than half a decade since the declaration of Martial Law, De Viana warned that facts have become vulnerable to distortion — meaning, he said, “distorting history based on matters that are not actually the truth.”
He cautioned that distortion today is “more subtle,” spread through propaganda and social media, and urged Thomasians to remain vigilant in defending historical truth.
“Bilang mga historian o ordinaryong tao, ‘wag na ‘wag natin bastang tanggapin kung ano ang naririnig sa social media. Dapat tignan mo ang source,” he said.
De Viana called on the Thomasian community to “never forget,” underscoring the need for stronger history curricula, better learning resources, and active student involvement.
“Teachers cannot just do it alone. Dapat may participation din d’yan ng mga estudyante,” he said. “[Remembering] is a very gargantuan task, and mukhang pinapahina ng mga powers-that-be ang history.”
According to global human rights organization Amnesty International, 70,000 were imprisoned, 34,000 were tortured and 3,240 were killed from 1972 to 1981 under the Marcos Sr. regime. Ashley Valkyrie E. Bueno, David Nigel C. Cortes, Elihoenai Hazael B. Cortez
