I was in grade school when martial law was declared on Sept. 21, 1972. I remember that morning—there were no newspapers, no TV, and no school. One of my classmates called me up and said, “Do you know what happened today?” I said, “No, what?” She replied, “Martial law (has been) declared!” I could sense the fear, though I really had no idea of what martial law really meant.
Throughout my teen years and as a young adult, the only leader I knew was Ferdinand Marcos, nobody else. And Filipinos had no choice. There were no elections. But I did not really know what I was missing, as all I read in newspapers and heard on TV was that he and his spouse Imelda were great. They were wealthy, powerful and could do no wrong.
They were like demigods.
Politics was not talked about in school—it was not only a social and an educational taboo, but one could not talk against the demigods. And anyone who did was supposedly evil—especially one by the name of Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino. I was taught by media that he was an evil man who was rightfully put in jail by demigod Ferdinand Marcos.
But when I was around 19, at a college party, I happened to meet a young man by the name of Noynoy Aquino. We chatted the whole night. He ended up calling me a lot after that and visited me at my home a number of times. At times we would talk on the phone until past midnight even on a school day because I found him interesting, intelligent, full of integrity, and very inspirational. His philosophies and ideals were profound. He would also talk to me about his family life, his father being in jail, and how they would visit him.
And then I found myself very confused. I asked myself, “How could somebody so full of integrity and profundity be the son of somebody who was supposed to be so evil?” Surely a son learns from his father, I said to myself.
I could not make any sense of it.
But that was the start of my epiphany. Knowing Noynoy was the catalyst that opened my eyes.
Now, I have come to realize the tragedy into which martial law had plunged our country. Even long after he had gone, Marcos’ evil legacies linger.
In the early 1960s it was not uncommon for Filipinos to have Chinese “ahmas” working for them as housekeepers and nannies, migrating from Hong Kong and China to our country. The Philippines then was the Pearl of the Orient, the Pride of the Pacific, and Asia’s Leading Man. We were the most advanced compared to our neighboring countries, and the envy of Asia. We were the country to beat.
Today, more than 40 years later, our neighbors have advanced light-years ahead of us and not only have we stood still, but we have regressed.
Now we have a people with a mentality so deeply corrupt that corruption appears ingrained in our culture. How did this come about? Have we always been so corrupt as a people?
Many of today’s lawmakers who sit in the House of Representatives and the Senate are my contemporaries in age. In other words, many of them are martial law babies.
Also a martial law baby is the now infamous Janet Lim-Napoles.
Is it any wonder how a generation, growing up in an era when corruption reigned and watching by the wayside the wealth and power that it brought about, might have subconsciously adopted its practices?
My heart aches for those of our countrymen left in poverty. One might ask why I should bother when I am sitting halfway around the world in my little golf and beach paradise island in Florida. The answer is, my blood is still and always will be Filipino. The Philippines is still my birthplace. An injustice done to the millions of Filipinos in my motherland is also an injustice to me.
Today, 24 long years after Ferdinand Marcos had gone to his grave, his corrupt ways vicariously still continue to cause suffering to millions of Filipinos, through the inherited morally depraved ideology that today’s current senators and congressmen have taken from his example.
This, I believe, is the depth of the dark and evil legacy that Ferdinand Marcos has truly left behind.
—LAURA TOMACRUZ,
lauratcruz@hotmail.com