We'll Always Remember

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Today marks the 50th anniversary of the official declaration of martial law in the Philippines. The public announcement came two days later, on September 23, 1972, to give time for the military to round up the oppositionists and the dissidents and put them in jail.

As you read this, please take a moment of silence to remember those who lost their lives or have been permanently scarred by martial law: the imprisoned, the tortured, the raped, the abused, the salvaged, the disappeared, the dispossessed, the harassed, the displaced, the impoverished, the war victims and those who suffered the brunt of plunder and bad policies (we particularly remember the children of Negros during the 1985 famine).

Let's also remember our allies, those who risked life and limb to help mitigate the harm of martial law: the Filipinos abroad who did their part in exposing and opposing the dictatorship, the nuns and priests, the activists, the journalists (particularly the women writers), the movie makers, the academics, the documentarists who kept records, the authors, the businessmen who secretly supported the anti-martial law forces, the international humanitarian groups, the young military officers who organized to oppose the regime. Most of all, let's remember the ordinary people who offered support to the hunted and oppressed, whether it was shelter for the night or sustenance for the days ahead.

We remember through our stories this week:

A general's recollection of opposing martial law in theory

A Mindanawan's recognition of his psychological scars

Two Tony's -- Hilario and Tagamolila -- the early martyrs

We remember through films: Vince Tañada's Katips, the recent blockbuster and awards sweeper, now showing internationally; and

Batas Militar, the 1997 documentary which you can watch through the link be;low until September 30.

Today and always, WE WILL NEVER FORGET. 

More This Week

[Cook It Again] The Happy Home Cook: Vegetable Lumpiang Shanghai by Chef Richgail Enriquez

[Video of the Week] Executive Class: The Henry Suites MiraNila

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Staff

Here's to Pulutan

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PF Correspondent and food expert Elizabeth Ann Quirino checks in with chef/author Marvin Gapultos who has come out with a new cookbook, his second, that focuses on that most proletarian of food traditions: the pulutan. Gapultos, who has shared some of his recipes from his first cookbook, The Adobo Road, likewise shares with the Happy Home Cook his own take on the classic Fish Kilawin, a favorite among Filipino beer drinkers anywhere.

This month brings back memories of Proclamation 1081, President Ferdinand Marcos' declaration of martial law dated September 21, 1972. To counter the push from certain quarters to revise history, there are ongoing efforts to gather stories of that period so the millennial generation will know how life was during that time. I write this week about the curfew which, in the overall scheme of things, was a relatively benign imposition compared to the other impositions of the authoritarian regime.

A new contributor from Illinois, Christian Gabriel Pareja, introduces us to a Filipino art therapist, Corazon Pecson Pagnani, who treats mental patients at Chicago's Kindred Hospital.

The news from the Philippines about the government importing rice infested with bukbok (weevil) and the Agriculture Secretary trying to convince people of its safety by eating it himself beg the question: how much lower can the administration get on the pathetic meter? It's a good time to Read Again Fil-Am journalist Dorian Merina's piece, "Wanted: A New Agriculture to Face Climate Change." In this article, Merina also pays tribute to Fil-Am labor leaders Larry Itliong and Philip Vera Cruz whose contributions to the US farm labor movement are immeasurable.

Here are the links to stories you may have missed this week:

How Duterte Used Facebook To Fuel the Philippine Drug War
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/daveyalba/facebook-philippines-dutertes-drug-war

Duterte voids amnesty of critical senator, orders his arrest
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/duterte-voids-amnesty-of-critical-senator-orders-his-arrest/2018/09/04/0588ceae-b00a-11e8-8b53-50116768e499_story.html?utm_term=.fa377f0dc11e

The art find of the century or its greatest hoax
https://news.abs-cbn.com/focus/08/29/18/the-art-find-of-the-century-or-its-greatest-hoax

The Sarah Huckabee Sanders of the Philippines
https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/08/18/the-sarah-huckabee-sanders-of-the-philippines-219370

PH’s Maya-1 CubeSat deployed into Int’l Space Station
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1019926/phs-maya-1-cubesat-deployed-into-intl-space-station

And for Video of the Week, Our Better World features one of girls whose life was transformed when she was taken in by Tahanan Sta. Luisa, a shelter for girls in the Philippines.

Tell Us Your Martial Law Story

We are collecting personal stories of life under Martial Law (1972-1981) in the Philippines. If you were there, you would have at least one. Did you violate curfew? Were you arrested? Was anyone in your family a political detainee or was "salvaged?" Did martial law motivate you to leave the country?  Did you benefit from it? What is your most enduring memory of that period?

In 200-600 words, join us in documenting that important era in our homeland's history. Your story counts. And if you have pictures, that would be great.

Please send to martiallawstories@gmail.com.

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Gemma Nemenzo

Editor, Positively Filipino