Fifty-two years ago, on Sept. 21, 1972, Ferdinand Marcos Sr. imposed Martial Law and put the country of 39 million Filipinos under his total control.
It took the Filipinos 14 years and enormous sufferings, including torture and deaths, of hundreds of thousands of activists and political opposition figures – to restore in February 1986 the halted democracy.
The election of Ferdinand Marcos Jr. as president in 2022 may have rehabilitated the Marcos image to many Filipinos but it did not completely erase the scars left by Martial Law. The younger generation are enjoined to learn from the experience of history to save themselves from the curse of dictatorship.
On Saturday, the police blocked activists who staged a rally close to Mendiola Bridge, not so far away to Malacañang, the presidential office and residence.
Photos and videos by Bullit Marquez for VERA Files.
