KULTURA Jericho Igdanes

Jericho Igdanes

Historical Past in the Making

» With another Marcos presidency inching closer, civilians and volunteer groups work together to guard our history through archival efforts.

Seven days after the 2022 national elections, internet users browsing the Malacañang website saw something different on their screens. Instead of the slider showing photos of the palace’s façade, an error message filled up the browser window. The website was inaccessible, taking a sizable collection of Martial Law era resources down with it.

With the Marcoses’ skillful manipulation of the public’s digital consciousness, it is not hard to see why people were alarmed over the downtime of the Malacañang website. The extended downtime feels a lot like a media blackout, reminiscent of media shutdowns during the Martial Law era. It does not help that Imee Marcos publicly stated that her brother’s presidential win is an opportunity to “clarify” her father’s legacy—a regime marked by killings, abuse, and censorship. An official statement from the Presidential Museum and Library said that the website is merely undergoing updates and all content remains intact. But fearing that this incident was a precursor to more widespread erasure of Martial Law era content, many individuals and groups enlisted the help of technology to take matters into their own hands.

Redacted and Tampered

The Marcos family has spent the last decade denying their crimes, downplaying criticisms against their late patriarch Ferdinand Marcos. Despite the solid proof of the Martial Law atrocities, many loyalists still deny those had happened. The denial comes as a result of coordinated attempts to distort history, in which online posts posit false claims about the Marcoses. These kinds of content spread rapidly on social media, gaining millions of engagements.

The cycle of disinformation owes its success to social media, where historical accuracy plays second fiddle to clicks. The Marcoses were able to change the narrative about their family, utilizing everything from bizarre urban legends to falsehoods aimed at their critics and rivals. It was a long game for them, one that they cunningly played until they delivered a checkmate last May 9.

The persistence of disinformation happened even with a plethora of Martial Law resources available online. There is the Bantayog ng Mga Bayani website, which is also undergoing a revamp. The Bantayog page carries an extensive collection of information about the martyrs of the regime. Ateneo de Manila University also has an online Martial Law Museum containing educational

resources about the Marcos regime. With more people believing what they see on social media, some netizens have started putting up more Martial Law archives online for easier access. These initiatives are among the few instances where social media users lead efforts to fight disinformation. At least one publicly accessible Martial Law archive has been up since October 2021. The Google Drive folder, dubbed “The Marcos Years,” was shared across the internet. Since then, several initiatives have followed suit.

While not as organized as mainstream media’s continued factchecking efforts, thousands of users have participated in or created their own archives. These folders cover a wide range of topics, from the more novel anecdotes, as in Marcos Sr.’s affair with Dovie Beams, to the more spine-chilling, vivid documentation of the torture of the late dictator’s critics.

In their raw form, these archives almost seem like mini-community libraries. Much like donating books, users can contribute by uploading PDF files or sharing video clips. Even the larger archives, like the Martial Law Chronicles Project and Developh’s Martial Law Index, also accept volunteer submissions.

Building these archives was a spontaneous process fueled by none other than people’s desire to share knowledge, one much appreciated due to the limited access to physical spaces because of the pandemic. The archives act as a stand-in for physical libraries. The availability of resources is also a massive opportunity to correct misconceptions, one analogous to the bite-sized fake news prominent on digital platforms.

Data Scrubbing

How the public receives fascist history depends on the iconographies associated with it, media scholar Kris Ravetto-Biagoli discussed in The Unmaking of Fascist Aesthetics. One of the hallmarks of the Marcos public relations machine is its usage of mysticism and trivialization to

The availability of resources is also a massive opportunity to correct misconceptions, one analogous to the bite-sized fake news prominent on digital platforms.

color the regime. For instance, the Tallano Gold conspiracy is imprinted in the public consciousness, even after having been debunked multiple times. The Nutribun USAID project was also framed as a tasty snack rather than a sign of widespread malnutrition.

Without factual information to correct these ideas, the public remembers the bloody regime less for its atrocities and more for falsehoods and mundane aspects. If archives like the Malacañang website disappear, it is likely that the current consensus on the Marcos regime’s atrocities will be relegated to an alternate interpretation of historical events.

The civilian archives were made in anticipation of a sanitized section about the Marcos regime replacing previous content on the Malacañang website. Should this happen, it’s easy to imagine that the other government agencies carrying documents about the era will get whitewashed or purged altogether. These include the Human Rights Violations Victims’ Memorial Commission and the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP).

“As president, Marcos Jr. has the power to appoint key administrative positions like the Department of Education, which was recently given to Sara Duterte. He also has the power to appoint the chairperson of the NHCP,” said Francisco Guiang, an assistant professor of history at UP Diliman. “The latter will be crucial because he will have the means to dictate a perspective of Martial Law history that will be favorable for their family even if it means disregarding important historical facts.” The NHCP has a series of online materials at the Martial Law Museum. The commission also objected to the burial of Marcos Sr. in the Libingan ng Mga Bayani in 2016. Initiatives like the Museum seem directly incompatible with the precedence set by the Marcoses, in which they whitewash welldocumented cases of abuse and killings during the Martial Law period.

The civilian-led archives are an alternative to these projects, although additional steps must be taken to ensure that they do not go down easily.

Duplicate and Disseminate

It will take more than enthusiasm and a stable internet for these archives to survive outside cloud storage. Replicability is important to ensure their survival, while widespread dissemination is essential to ensure that these links have a life outside the volunteers’ news feeds.

If books can be burned or shredded, downloaded files can be nuked through corruption or hacking. Even with their supposed immortality, digital files are always at risk of extinction if backups don’t exist. Volunteer group Developh recognizes this as a potential problem for their Martial Law Index, which is why they have already set up a backup website for the project.

“We want to create many digital mirrors and preserve files in physical media formats. We want the website itself to be reproducible so that in case our site goes down, two more rise,” said Chia Amisola, Developh’s founder. Besides ensuring their continued existence, there is also the challenge of letting these materials propagate beyond the echo chamber. The support page of the Martial Law Chronicles Project contains a similar message. Marked as “an inconvenient truth,” the page posits that their initiative is just a David to the Goliath that is the Marcoses.

But despite these challenges, many of these volunteers are committed to using technology to continue upholding Martial Law history. The key to rebuilding public trust may be cultivating engagement with the information, as posited by a 2021 paper led by Jesper Strömbäck and other media scholars. Rather than forcing them to participate with mainstream media institutions they find polarizing, civilian initiatives like the archives come without that baggage.

These archives are a demonstration of how technology and volunteerism can go hand-in-hand. But although a step forward, Martial Law archival efforts are not the solution to the historical distortion problem. There must be more vigilance in the coming months, as we wait and see how the incoming administration will frame the history of the Marcos regime. In the same way that volunteers put together these archives, the public also has the responsibility to ensure their survival against purging.

It is not enough for these archives to exist in the cloud. We should read, share, and keep backups. These community-driven initiatives are a reminder of our combined strength, a power capable enough of upholding Martial Law history online and offline. «

Keian Florino

Sa Huling Yugto ng Kanyang Termino

Ang Mukha ng Anim na Taong Paglabag ni Duterte sa Karapatang Pantao

» Para sa mga biktima ng paglabag sa karapatang pantao ni Duterte, walang ibang paraan para mapanagot ang pangulo kundi sa kanyang pagkakakulong.

Buhay at kabuhayan ng mamamayan ang naging kapalit ng ibinabanderang programa ni Duterte tulad ng Oplan Tokhang at ang pagbubuo ng NTF-ELCAC.

Mahigit 400 biktima ng Oplan Tokhang noong 2021, 121 indibidwal na minasaker, at 700 bilanggong pulitikal sa bansa ang iilan lamang sa mga lilisanin ni Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte matapos ang kanyang anim na taong termino. Walang anumang resolusyon sa mga kaso ng paglabag sa karapatang pantao, itong kawalang-katarungan umano ang magiging legasiya ng pangulo, ayon sa 48-pahinang ulat ng Commission on Human Rights hinggil sa estado ng karapatang pantao sa ilalim ni Duterte na inilabas noong Mayo.

Alamin sa dalawang kaanak ng biktima ng karahasan kung paano nila lalagumin ang pagtrato ni Duterte sa karapatang pantao at kung paano uusad ang kanilang panawagan para sa hustisya.

Silang Pinaslang

Dalawang taon na mula nang patayin ng mga hindi kilalang motorista ang ama ni Lean Porquia, si Jory Porquia, regional coordinator ng Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN) sa Panay. Bago pa mismo ang naging pagpaslang, mainit na sa mata ng estado si Jory gayong aktibo siyang organisador sa lugar magmula pa noong Batas Militar kung kailan dalawang beses siyang nakulong.

Dalawang taon mula ang pagpaslang, patuloy ang pagdadalamhati nina Lean at kanyang kapatid, gayong wala pa ring hustisya na naibibigay sa kanilang padre de pamilya.

“We haven’t gone through the process of grieving, but here we are facing the same challenge na ipanawagan yung hustisya para kay tatay, with another fear of a Marcos government na every single thing happened under Duterte will just continue,” ani Lean.

Huli pa umanong inasikaso ng mga opisyal ang kaso ni Jory noong iapela itong maisama sa mga iimbistegahang insidente ng pagpatay sa mga aktibista’t kasangkot sa pulitikal na gawain sa ilalim ng Administrative Order 35.

“Pinakamasakit doon ay wala na nga silang ginagawang tungkol sa kaso, na-reduce pa yung mga motibo kung bakit pinatay si tatay. Nung una, biktima lang daw ng petty crime na pagnanakaw, tapos we just learned that the case was already closed when the police gave another angle na there is another woman involved,” ani Lean.

Para kay Lean, biktima ang kanyang ama ng “Oplan Tokhang” ng administrasyong Duterte sa mga aktibista. Inamin ng gobyerno na meron nang 6,252 nasawi sa giyera kontra droga. Tinataya namang umabot ang bilang ng extrajudicial killings hanggang 30,000, batay sa isinumiteng datos sa International Criminal Court (ICC).

Inaasahang hindi magtatapos sa administrasyong Duterte ang Tokhang gayong nagpahayag si Ferdinand Marcos Jr. na ipagpapatuloy niya ang programa. Mas lalo ding iilap ang hustisya para sa pamilyang Porquia at sa kapwa nilang biktima ng pagpaslang dahil ayon kay Marcos, hindi tutulungan ng kanyang administrasyon ang imbestigasyon ng ICC hinggil sa mga pagpatay na magiging batayan sana sa pagpapakulong kay Duterte.

Pangamba ang nararamdaman ni Lean hinggil dito sapagkat tiyak na masusundan pa ang mga atake hindi lamang sa kanilang pamilya kundi maging sa mga aktibista. Magmula kasi noon, tinangkang patayin sa pananaksak ang abogadong rumesponde sa kaso ni Jory, inaresto ang kapatid ni Lean habang nasa protesta laban sa pagpatay sa kanilang ama, at si Lean mismo ay sinampahan ng gawagawang kasong human trafficking at child abuse and exploitation.

Sa kabila nito, pinipili pa rin ng mga Porquia na ipagpatuloy ang panawagan para sa hustisya at pagpapanagot sa administrasyon ni Duterte. Inihain ding ebidensya ang pagpatay kay Jory sa kaso sa ICC upang patunayan ang paglabag ni Duterte sa karapatang pantao.

“There are days we cannot speak, even utter a word, nor sleep. Napaguusapan namin ng kapatid ko na ‘what if what happened to tatay happens to us?’” Ani Lean. “The last two years were really a struggle for us dahil we feel so vulnerable everytime na may nababalitang pinapatay o pinapakulong na aktibista kasi we’ll never know kung kami na yung susunod.”

Silang Pinakulong

Malaking tulong para kay Mark Ryan Cruz, isa sa mga inaresto noong Human Rights Day 2020, ang regular na makatanggap ng liham mula sa kanyang anak para ipagpatuloy ang buhay sa kulungan. Magdadalawang taon na siyang nakakulong at walang usad ang kaso kung kaya hindi man lang niya magabayan sa paglaki ang kanyang anak.

Sinampahan ng gawa-gawang kasong illegal possession of firearms and explosives si Cruz kasama nina Lady Ann Salem, editor ng Manila Today, at lima pang unyonistang sina Romina Astudillo,

Rodrigo Esparago, Joel Demante, Jaymie Gregorio Jr., at Denisse Velasco. Dinidinig pa rin hanggang ngayon ang kaso ng mga inaresto maliban kina Salem, Esparago, at Velasco na ibinasura na ang kaso at pinalaya.

Dagok para sa asawa ni Cruz na si Ella Durana ang mag-isang itaguyod ang kanilang pamilya. Bukod sa kakapusang pinansyal at moral na pagkalugmok, mahirap palakihin ang kanilang anak na walang presensya ni Cruz. Kung kaya, inaasa na lamang ng kanyang anak sa pagsusulat sa diary ang pagtatala ng kanyang nalalaman tungkol sa ama kada matatapos ang kanilang pagbisita sa kulungan ni Cruz sa Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP).

Isa si Cruz sa 702 bilanggong pulitikal sa bansa, ayon sa datos ng Kapatid, isang grupo ng mga kaanak ng bilanggong pulitikal. Sa ilalim ng administrasyong Duterte, maraming pamilyang katulad nila Cruz ang pinahirapan at namatayan ng mahal sa buhay sa kulungan dahil sa pagtrato ng gobyerno sa mga aktibistang ipinakulong.

Inulan ng pagkundena noong 2020 ang pagkamatay ni Baby River, anak ni Reina Mae Nasino na hinuli sa parehong kaso kina Cruz. Namatay si Baby River dahil sa pagkawalay sa ina nang ibasura ng korte sa Manila ang apela ni Nasino na alagaan ang anak habang sanggol pa ito. Maging sa lamay ng yumaong anak, naging mahigpit ang korte na naging dahilan para magkaroon ng komosyon habang nagdadalamhati ang ina.

“Itong lahat ng pagtrato ni Duterte sa karapatang pantao ay tanda lamang na bigo ang kanyang administrasyong tugunan ang daing ng taumbayan na syang ipinaglalaban ng mga aktibista … Isa syang malaking duwag sa isang makatwirang labanan ng prinsipyo, paninindigan at programa para sa pagpapabuti ng bayan,” ani Durana.

Napipinto pa ang mas mahabang pagkakakulong nina Cruz gayong dinidinig pa rin ang kanilang kaso. Subalit sa kabila ng mga kabiguan at pagpapahirap sa mga bilanggong pulitikal, nagtagumpay ang pagkilos nila Cruz na “Padlock Under Protest” para mailipat sila mula sa Annex 2 ng BJMP patungong Annex 4 kung saan kasalukuyan silang nananatili. Mas maayos na ang pagtrato sa kanila rito, at kasama na rin nila Cruz ang iba pang bilanggong pulitikal.

Sa lahat ng paglabag ni Duterte, naninindigan si Lean at Durana na walang ibang paraan para mapanagot ang pangulo kundi sa kanyang pagkakakulong. Hamon umano sa ngayon ang patuloy na kundenahin ang mga paglabag sa karapatang pantao habang bumubuo ng matibay na kaso laban sa pangulo, sa loob o labas man ng bansa. Bagaman magiging mahirap ang pagkamit ng hustisya sa ilalim ng susunod na administrasyon, magpapatuloy ang kanilang paniningil habang malaya si Duterte.

“Kailangang mas maging matatag dahil hindi matatapos [ang laban] sa pagpapalaya sa kanya (Cruz), kundi hanggang sa tagumpay ng aming itinataguyod na hustisya–ang pagpapakulong kay Duterte at ang solusyonan ang mga [idinadaing ng mamamayan na] dahilan bakit maraming bilanggo ang kinukulong at pilit na pinapatahimik.” ani Durana. Hamon umano sa ngayon ang patuloy na kundenahin ang mga paglabag sa karapatang pantao habang bumubuo ng matibay na kaso laban sa pangulo, sa loob o labas man ng bansa.

Daniel Sebastianne Daiz

Democratic Institutions Barely Survived Duterte. Marcos Might Finally Shatter Them.

The strength of our democratic institutions depends on the political actors behind it. Such is the consequence of the assumption our body politic has: That our government officials will always act in good faith.

However, time and again, that assumption has always failed. It is not new that the lawgivers and lawmakers have become lawbreakers. So, post-EDSA 1, the constitution implemented heightened measures of accountability and checks and balances. This culture of distrust against politicians is exemplified when the 1987 Constitution gutted the power of the president to declare Martial Law, when the courts were given more power to review the decisions of nearly every government instrumentality, and when our fundamental rights were vastly expanded.

Many presidents have attempted to change the inner working of our government—mostly through plans of charter change. Yet still, the Filipino people have successfully resisted those attempts. Even President Rodrigo Duterte, whose campaign platform’s bread and butter was federalism, failed.

But under Duterte, we have seen an unprecedented assault on our government institutions. In 2017, the Senate—which commentators dubbed the “last bastion of democracy”—stripped Duterte’s political enemies of their committee leadership. That Senate shakeup happened just days after the arrest of Sen. Leila De Lima who led an inquiry over the administration’s war on drugs.

The following year, Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno was ousted by an arcane procedure called a quo warranto petition. Months before her ouster, Duterte, in a televised speech, called Sereno her “enemy” and called for her removal in the post. Even the country’s official lawyer, the solicitor general, was reduced into being Duterte’s personal lawyer, in charge of the administration’s legal attacks against the people and institutions.

As a result, barely two years into his term, Duterte already had the legislature and judiciary under his control.

The death of democracy, after all, is not an instant one. Its demise happens slowly.

From thereon, Duterte began his anti-democratic project in full swing. Congress became a rubberstamp and passed anti-people policies, as in the Rice Tariffication Law, the draconian Anti-Terrorism Law, and a law which allowed full foreign ownership of utilities like telcos and airports. A presidential task force, meanwhile, legitimized and funded Duterte’s anti-communist witch hunt. At the same time, courts have kowtowed to state forces’ fictitious evidence against legal organizations and activists. Under Duterte, court warrants have become death warrants for activists and dissenters.

As another Marcos assumes the presidency, the future is bleak for our democratic institutions. Marcos will undoubtedly continue Duterte’s authoritarian governance, never mind the concept of a coequal branch because whoever holds the presidency is now the overlord of the bureaucracy.

Any government’s duty is to uphold its people’s rights and interests. But for the past six years, we have witnessed a president slowly chip away at the independence and legitimacy of these government institutions, almost reducing them to merely effectors of the president’s whims and diktats. And we do not expect that to stop in the next administration.

Nothing more should be expected of our sham institutions. In Congress, for example, we will see a diminished presence of opposition lawmakers, which could possibly make it easier for the next administration to implement policies with little to no oversight or even debate.

It is likely that the next few years will be a continuation of our teeter toward the ultimate death of whatever is left of our democratic spaces. After all, the Marcoses have taken advantage of our institutions to stage their political comeback when they constantly evaded the law for their crimes and their deliberately delayed proceedings to retake their ill-gotten wealth.

The death of democracy, after all, is not an instant one. Its demise happens slowly: From barring most mainstream media from attending press briefings to years-long disinformation campaigns.

When our institutions can no longer protect their constituents, the people become the most powerful political actor. The strongest expression of the people’s democratic will, after all, is not in the ballot box. True democracy goes beyond the demarcation lines of what the laws dictate or whoever is in Malacañang. Real democracy is breaking the limits that the rich and powerful have imposed on us.

Direct democracy means the Filipino people’s collective resolve to show up in the streets and picket lines to force a radical reckoning of our system. And when that happens, we will make sure that it will be a meaningful and lasting one. «

Congressional leaders proclaim Ferdinand Marcos Jr. as the country’s next president, May 22. As another Marcos assumes the presidency, the future is bleak for our democratic institutions.