STATEMENT OF SENATOR RISA HONTIVEROS ON THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE DECLARATION OF MARTIAL LAW IN THE PHILIPPINES

This year casts a harsh light on our obligations to the past-- it is not enough that we remember it. We must also commit to keeping the truth alive.

Today, we pay tribute to those who sacrificed their youth, shared their talents, and gave up their lives in the fight against oppression and injustice.

We uphold our solemn commitment to recognize, retell, and pass on the record of the political, economic, and social storm that led to and enabled the atrocities of Martial Law. This way, no amount of distortion can erase the torture, the disappeared, the countless deaths, broken families, and ruined lives because of this period.

We remember the heroism of the everyday Filipinos who confronted and resisted such great evil, because they do not deserve to see, in their lifetimes, the remorseless enablers of Martial Law reclaiming power.

We bellow "NEVER AGAIN" because Filipinos are still suffering from the deep wounds brought by the countless deaths, abuses and injustices during those dark years.

We cry out "NEVER FORGET" because our various media forms have become avenues of shameless lies and propaganda, infecting the very fabric of our institutions and collective identity.

It is not enough that we remember.

Let us continue mediating, sharing, and learning from each other.

The coming days and years provide fertile ground for us to empower our family, friends, and colleagues with the knowledge to recognize this painful moment in time.

The coping mechanism of cherry-picking and selective amnesia should not be tolerated. We expect efforts and online trolling to undermine the significance of this day. It is then, the duty of each and every Filipino citizen to deny them their goals.

NEVER AGAIN. NEVER FORGET.