By Reisha Mae F. Valdez, UC student
How many times does a country have to say “never again” before it finally means it?
Fifty-four years after Martial Law was declared, Filipinos are still taking to the streets to demand accountability. The faces may be different. The issues may have changed. But the questions remain familiar.
Who is responsible?
Who will answer?
And will anyone actually be held accountable?
On Sept. 21, groups gathered across Metro Manila to mark the anniversary of Martial Law and protest corruption and other grievances against the government. The rallies were generally peaceful, according to the Philippine National Police.
But for those who lived through Martial Law, this is not simply another date on the calendar.
There were people who were arrested and detained without proper protection. There were students, journalists, workers, lawyers and church workers who were targeted for being critical of the government. Some were tortured. Some disappeared. Some never came home. Amnesty International documented widespread arbitrary arrests, detention and torture during the Marcos years, along with enforced disappearances and killings.
Imagine being a mother waiting for her child who was taken away. Imagine being a child wondering why your father never came home. Imagine being afraid to speak because you did not know who might be listening.
These are not stories that should be buried because they happened decades ago.
They are the reason we remember.
Yet remembering should not mean looking at the past and simply saying, “That was then.”
Because corruption and abuse of power do not become harmless just because the people involved have different names.
Today, Filipinos are once again asking questions about public money, government projects and accountability. They are taking to the streets because they want answers.
And I understand why.
People get tired.
They get tired of hearing about investigations that seem to take forever. They get tired of seeing controversies disappear when another one takes their place. They get tired of being told to wait while public officials continue to make promises.
How long should people wait before accountability becomes action?
We often say that history must not repeat itself.
But history does not always return wearing the same clothes.
Sometimes, it returns as silence. Sometimes, it returns when people become too tired to question. Sometimes, it returns when those in power learn that they can escape consequences.
That is why remembering Martial Law matters.
Not to keep Filipinos trapped in the past. Not to reopen wounds for the sake of reopening them. But to remind us what unchecked power can do to ordinary people.
The people who lived through Martial Law cannot change what happened to them. Some carried their fear for years. Some carried scars. Some families carried empty chairs and unanswered questions. The least we can do is listen to what their experiences are telling us.
Power should always be questioned. Public money should always be accounted for. Officials should always remember who they serve. And people should never be made to feel that demanding answers is an act of disobedience.
Fifty-four years later, “never again” should not be something we say once a year.
It should be something we practice every day.
Because remembering the past means little if we allow the same culture of silence and impunity to grow in the present.
We cannot change yesterday. But we can refuse to make its mistakes our tomorrow.**
