Enderun urged to look into Martial Law atrocities
By John Santeo Tamayo, INK
Following the series of protests against the ‘blitzkrieg’ burial of Former President Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani and the apparent injustice of questionable claims and manipulation of facts about the Martial Law period, Lux Lucis promptly launched an awareness campaign for the Enderun community December 2, 2016. Lux Lucis is the student organization for research and scholarly work.
The Business Administration lounge and staircase set the scene with news items and memoirs of the violent dispersals and posters of desaparecidos, victims allegedly tortured and taken out during the Martial Law regime.
Martial Law atrocities were depicted along the staircase of the BA Lounge
Just before 1 o’clock in the afternoon, Lux Lucis took the Enderun community by surprise with the alarming, frightening sound of the siren remniscent of Philippine Constabulary Metropolitan Command, more popularly known as METROCOM, doing their curfew rounds, an inescapable feature of Martial Law. Likewise, the reenactment of the infamous broadcast of Marcos announcing “Proclamation No. 1081 placing the entire Philippines under Martial Law” was played.
Enderun President Edgardo Rodriguez addressed the community, denouncing Marcos burial and historical revisionism. “The crust has been opened again and that’s why we’re here.”
Dean Ed avered that history cannot be changed and “buried.” He asserted that there can be no “moving on” without admission of guilt and seeking of forgiveness.
Fil Garciano, President of Lux Lucis, expressed dismay and disbelief that the Enderun community seems to be unperturbed on this issue.
Garciano lamented, “We still think that making change only belongs to a few people, to the politicians, to the ruling families. For the real change to happen in our country, it has to happen with every single individual that calls imself “Filipino.”
He called upon his fellow students as young people to stand their ground and “reclaim the future,” being denied by the recent events that seek to alter the historical annals, and societal norms.
Dr. Rebecca Gaddi, professor of Enderun Colleges, was elated with the Lux Lucis Martial Law scenario. Having gone through the First Quarter Storm in 1970 and two decades of Marcos regime, she praised the “high level of symbolism” that Lux Lucis brought to bear in the reminiscence scene of Martial Law on the staircase.
Gaddi recalled that democracy was indeed repressed and that rampant abuse of power was evident during their time. Thus, she considered the “distorted and marginalized” account of Martial Law as “kasalanan sa kasaysayan [a sin of history].”
This flashback of Philippine history is the first of several more invitations to learn more about the Marital Law days and enhance our awareness of the atrocities suffered by activists, both students and professionals.
