Marcos’ atrocities, plunder on record

As educators, we find erroneous Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s claim that martial law and his father’s dictatorship brought forth a “golden age” for the Philippines.

The horrendous human rights violations perpetrated by the Marcos regime against the Filipino people are well documented: in the Human Rights Victims Reparation and Recognition Act; in scrolls at the archives of the Commission on Human Rights; on the walls of Bantayog ng mga Bayani, and in books—such as “Pumipiglas: Political Detention and Military Atrocities in the Philippines 1981-1982,”  “Not On Our Watch: Martial Law Really Happened. We Were There,” “Mondo Marcos: Writings on Martial Law and the Marcos Babies,” “Dekada ’70,” “Subversive Lives: A Family Memoir of the Marcos Years,” and “Days of Disquiet, Nights of Rage.” In fact, a number of signatories to this letter are victims of the Marcos dictatorship.

The poor economic performance of the Marcos dictatorship is recorded as well in researches, such as “Behest Loans, Nonperforming Assets, Low Growth—Deja Vu,” “Illegitimate Debt and Underdevelopment in the Philippines,” and “The Philippines: The Political Economy of Growth and Impoverishment in the Marcos Era.”

In Supreme Court decisions like GR No. 152154 (July 15, 2003), the evidence of the plunder committed by the dictator and his cronies is clearly revealed.

Educators and citizens should unite to impugn the wrong version of history now being peddled by Ferdinand Jr. and his allies. The pages of our history are clear: The Marcos dictatorship was plunderous and corrupt, and blatantly violated human rights.

As educators, we will always strive  to enlighten students and our fellow citizens on the evils of dictatorship and ensure that the brains, collaborators and implementers of martial law will never again regain power.

We will transform the education system and use it as a bastion of nationalism, democracy and democratization, against the cronies and collaborators of the dictatorship.

And we call on our countrymen to unite in shaping a bright future for all citizens by patiently organizing and mobilizing fellow citizens so as to deny any space for the glorification of dictatorship, while deriving strength from the unity of our people as the real shaper of history and the main force behind positive social changes.

Never again to martial law! Yes to the recovery of all ill-gotten wealth by the people! No to Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. as vice president!

Yes, justice for all victims! Yes, let’s stand for the truth and for social justice!

—187 SIGNATORIES (as of March 9, 2016) from University of the Philippines Diliman; UP Manila; UP Los Baños; UP Baguio; UP Cebu; UP Mindanao; University of Santo Tomas; De La Salle University Manila; Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology; DLSU-Dasmariñas; De La Salle Health Sciences Institute; De La Salle Araneta University; De La Salle-College of St. Benilde; De La Salle-Lipa; Polytechnic University of the Philippines; Philippine Normal University; Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila; Ateneo de Manila University; Ateneo de Naga; UP Rural High School; National University; La Consolacion University Philippines; Miriam College; Mapua Institute of Technology; Technological Institute of the Philippines; Bulacan State University