Filipinos mark 37th ‘People Power’ anniversary

Marcos Jr fails to apologize for father’s abuses, calls for reconciliation and unity instead

Catholics and human rights groups in the Philippines celebrated the 37th anniversary of the People Power Revolution on Feb. 25 — a first under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. whose dictator-father was toppled by the peaceful uprising.

Thousands of people gathered on Epifanio De Los Santos Avenue, also known as EDSA, in the capital Manila and played loud music, detailing abuses committed by the late Ferdinand Marcos Sr. during the more than decade-long martial law years.

Former victims said efforts to whitewash the abuses by Marcos Jr would never succeed.

“They can never erase us … That’s why we need to relive the story of the People Power [Revolution] every year so that the country will not forget this dark moment in our history under one dictator, under one family,” Etta Rosales, a martial law victim and former lawmaker, told UCA News on Feb. 27.

“They put wires on my fingertips and electrocuted me”

On Sept. 21, 1972, Marcos Sr. established military rule, citing alleged attacks by the Communist Party of the Philippines. It kicked off years of arbitrary arrests, torture in detention, murders and enforced disappearances. 

Rosales said she was tortured by Marcos’ soldiers with electric shocks for purportedly teaching communism to university students.

“I was blindfolded. They put wires on my fingertips and electrocuted me every time after questions. They asked me questions about the whereabouts of certain people I did not even know,” she said.

“The spirit of the revolution is not just about the Marcos dictatorship. It is about every fascist government that violates human rights … the government that killed drug suspects without due process of law,” Rosales added.

She was referring to the “war on drugs” started by former president, Rodrigo Duterte, which has claimed between 12,000 and 30,000 lives, according to a January report by the International Criminal Court.

Rosales joined EveryWoman, a women’s human rights group, in a wreath-laying event at a statue of the Virgin Mary, where anti-Marcos protests were held in 1986.

In 1986, the decision of the then military vice chief Fidel Ramos and defense minister Juan Ponce Enrile to withdraw support from Marcos Sr. sparked the revolution. On Feb. 22, 1986, the then Manila archbishop, Cardinal Jaime Sin, in a radio address asked the faithful to support  Ramos and Enrile.

On Feb. 25 of that year, the dictator was ousted, paving the way for democracy in the Catholic-majority Southeast Asian nation.

“It is time for us to ask questions”

“We pay our highest respect to all women who fought, were arrested, disappeared, murdered, and widowed during martial law,” EveryWoman chairwoman Ging Deles told UCA News.

Kaparapatan, another human rights group, said it is against the current regime of Marcos Jr. as he has started a disinformation and fake news campaign to whitewash history.

Marcos supporters have continuously controlled all forms of media, particularly social media, “with fake news.”  We are “fighting to uphold the truth,” Kaparapatan member Josh De Guia told UCA News.

The human rights groups conducted a symposium —  “Philippines is there still hope?” — at the Our Lady of Peace Shrine, also known as EDSA Shrine, which was attended by clergymen.

“In the spirit of political love, and in the spirit of EDSA People Power, it is time for us to ask questions so that our political leaders can render us an account. How do we operationalize ‘political love’ today? What are the questions that we should be asking? Who should answer them? What are our next steps?” said Vincentian priest and theologian Father Daniel Franklin Pilario at the event.

Duterte, who had repeatedly criticized the uprising and supported the Marcos family, never attended any anniversary events during his six-year term. Marcos Jr., on the other hand, attended a local function on his turf, Ilocos Norte, and declared Feb. 24 a special non-working holiday, instead of Feb. 25, the actual date. 

Marcos Jr. has never apologized for the atrocities committed by his father’s regime.

However, to mark this year’s anniversary of the revolution he urged reconciliation and unity.

“I once again offer my hand of reconciliation to those with different political persuasions to come together as one in forging a better society,” he said in a social media post.

Amnesty International says that more than 70,000 people were jailed and about 34,000 others were tortured during martial law. The official death toll is 3,200. During his rule, Marcos Sr is believed to have plundered up to US$10 billion during his two-decade rule, aided by his wife, Imelda Marcos.

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