21/09/2025
NEVER AGAIN. NEVER FORGET. MARCOS NOON AT NGAYON, WALANG PINAGKAIBA! PAREHONG TUTA, DIKTADOR, AT PASISTA!
53 years ago, Martial Law was declared in the Philippines, unleashing a regime built on fear, violence, and repression. What was framed as national discipline was, in reality, a way of dismantling democracy and human dignity.
According to Amnesty International (2022), during the Marcos dictatorship, at least 70,000 were imprisoned, 34,000 were subjected to torture, and 3,240 were killed. Students, workers, farmers, journalists, and community leaders were among those arrested and placed in military camps and detention centers, where torture was used as a weapon of control. Survivors recounted beatings, electrocution, sexual abuse, and psychological torture (Magramo, 2022). Beyond the walls of detention, extrajudicial killings became a grim hallmark of the Marcos dictatorship (Bicker, 2022). Some were killed in โmilitary encountersโ that were fabricated to justify their deaths and others were gunned down indiscriminately as meant to send warnings (Amnesty International, 2022). These killings struck fear among the Filipinos, emphasizing how lives could be taken at any moment, without justice and accountability. Moreover, to this day, families continue to search and demand justice and truth for their missing loved ones, the desaparecidos, who were forcibly abducted by state forces and never seen again (Bacalso, 2023). These acts of disappearance were meant not only to silence people but to frighten anyone who might intend to resist.
Martial Law was not only about silencing dissent, it was also about enabling corruption. Billions were siphoned from the national treasury and foreign loans lined the pockets of cronies while indebting generations of Filipinos (Dela Peรฑa, 2021). From flood control schemes to cultural institutions, nearly every major public initiative became a vehicle for plunder (Punongbayan, 2019). The continuous playing down of these horrendous events that took place during this regime must come to an end. The very fact that there are still people who boldly claim this period to be the so-called "golden age" is a striking reflection of how deeply disinformation has spread across our country. Such claims are not only misleading but also dangerous, as they distort historical truth and attempt to erase the painful realities endured by countless victims. History revisionism and the deliberate dissemination of false information must be confronted and stopped, for they threaten not only our understanding of the past but also the integrity of our future as a nation.
Today, the echoes of that past grow louder. Under another Marcos presidency, the Philippines continues to experience massive corruption in the guise of flood control projects and substandard infrastructure (Patinio, 2025). Even as billions are lost to corruption, public services suffer from deep budget cuts. State colleges, as well as sectors of education, health, agriculture, and social welfare are left underfunded while several public officials enrich themselves (Ocampo, 2024). But it is not only corruption that endures. The injustices of the Martial Law remain โ extrajudicial killings, red-tagging, and the harassment of activists persist, proving that the violence and repression of before still haunt our present. Just like before, it is the poor and marginalized who pay the price.
The patterns of abuse and impunity persist. But so too does the spirit of resistance, one fueled by truth and carried forward by those who refuse to be silenced. And so, as we mark the 53rd Anniversary of the Martial Law Declaration, the UP Venerable Lady Veterinarians Sorority stands in unwavering solidarity with all who continue this fight. We honor the heroes, activists, and victims who endured torture, silencing, and disappearance under a brutal regime. We continue to remember, because remembering is resistance and resistance is our refusal to stay silent in the face of corruption, historical distortion, and the ongoing abuses of the Marcos administration.
References
Amnesty International. (2022, September 21). Five things to know about Martial Law in the Philippines. https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2022/04/five-things-to-know-about-martial-law-in-the-philippines/
Bacalso, M. A. (2023, August 30). Families of the Disappeared: United in pain and struggle. VERA Files. https://verafiles.org/articles/families-of-the-disappeared-united-in-pain-and-struggle
Bicker, B. L. (2022, September 28). Philippines martial law: The fight to remember a decade of arrests and torture. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-63056898
Dela Peรฑa, K. (2021, September 21). Marcosโ martial law: Golden age for corruption, abuses. Philippine Daily Inquirer. https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1490968/marcos-martial-law-golden-age-for-corruption-abuses
Magramo, K. (2022, September 30). They were tortured under Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos Snr. Now they fear their stories are being erased. CNN World. https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/29/asia/philippines-martial-law-50-years-marcos-intl-hnk
Ocampo, S. C. (2024, December 13). Big unprogrammed funds contained in 2025 budget. Philstar.com. https://qa.philstar.com/opinion/2024/12/14/2407193/big-unprogrammed-funds-contained-2025-budget
Patinio, F. (2025, September 11). 20 DPWH personnel face raps over flood control mess. Philippine News Agency. https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1258484
Punongbayan, J. (2019, September 19). Just how bad was corruption during the Marcos years? RAPPLER. https://www.rappler.com/voices/thought-leaders/240477-analysis-just-how-bad-was-corruption-marcos-years/
Was it really a golden age? Myths on Ferdinand Marcos' martial law debunked. (n.d.). Philstar Life. https://philstarlife.com/news-and-views/246182-martial-law-myths-facts?page=2
